Dear Earlier Generations,
For decades you have complained that politicians are corrupt and do not listen to the people and yet every election instead of voting for someone who promised idealism you turned away and embraced the status quo. You watched as America lost jobs, income inequality grow rapidly, and did nothing to defend minorities because they were not you. Now, unlike Earlier Generations blaming Millennials, I do not, and will not, blame entire generations because it’s not entirely your fault.
Over time the media stopped talking about issues that matter to people such as universal health care, universal college education, and getting money out of politics and, instead focused on trivial matters. The rich and powerful stole America and democracy from you, and when people like Martin Luther King Jr. demanded equality, you were afraid or too cynical to fully embrace this change. Even with this fear and cynicism you taught us, the Millennials, to hope and dream, to stare at the future and the world in wonder, and to change the world and to care for our fellow human beings.
Some of you may have actually believed that we could, while others might have said these things so that we could remain naïve and childlike for a little while longer, but something interesting happened. We believed you and held onto that message. We saw the harm done to minorities and shouted NO; we saw the massive income inequality and shouted NO; and we saw the damage that had been done to the earth due to climate change and shouted NO. We then looked around and saw that you, who had taught us so much, were silent… There were pockets to be sure and still are, but we did not see entire generations joining us to make the world a better place. Instead we were told that we were naïve and that the world doesn’t work that way. We were told we were lazy when we didn’t have a job because so many jobs have been sent overseas. When we said that student debt was crippling us you said that when you were in college you could pay for it by yourself and we must be lazy. When we said that climate change must be addressed to save our planet you didn’t believe the scientific community. We were devastated and were beginning to lose hope and were not involved in politics as much as we should have been.
Obama helped keep the flames of our idealism alive for a time, but when he did not hold Wall Street accountable and didn’t get money out of politics we felt betrayed, even though we still like the President. Perhaps I am speaking for myself, but I began to lose hope that the world would ever change; that we would never be able to put aside our differences and help pull each other up instead of fighting with each other and being divided as the rich and powerful have wanted the people to be for centuries. But then something happened, a 74 year old, white, Jewish, democratic socialist entered the race for President, and boy was he angry. He had seen the injustice in America for decades and had fought for 50 years to help those who did not have a voice. He brought a righteous anger to Congress and stood up for the American people when Congress only cared about their wealthy donors. He got silence at best and vicious attacks at worst for his efforts. Now, I agree with almost everything that Bernie Sanders is proposing, and as the richest country the world has ever seen, America can afford all of his proposals, and if you all will indulge me for a moment I have a hypothesis as to why millennials support Bernie so much.
Yes we love his policies, his authenticity, and consistency, but it’s more than that. It’s the fact that he holds on to what was taught to millennials - that we could change the world and make sure that everyone has a good life. He didn’t give in to cynicism and the status quo. Instead he has fought with everything he has to destroy our oligarchy and give democracy, and a voice, back to the people. We support him because, whether or not you agree with him, he held onto his values and principles for over 50 years, which is hard enough as it is, and damn near impossible if you are a politician.
So, I ask the earlier generations to do something difficult, I want you to remember when you were filled with hope and idealism, when you believed with all your being that you could change the world. I want you to grab hold of that feeling with everything you have and believe that we have a shot, a real shot, to make real change for America. I’m not asking you to trust Bernie Sanders. I’m asking you to trust your sons and daughters, your nieces and nephews, your granddaughters and grandsons, and to join us as we show the rich and powerful that united we are unstoppable. Yes, it will be hard, but anything worth doing is. Let’s change the world.
From a hopeful Millennial