Quote:
Millennials did do something, they/you were the generation most effected by 9/11 as it occurred during your formative years and it was your generation that fought in those wars and are now securing positions of power. |
They fought in those wars and should be commended for their service, but what I wasnt communicating effectively is my thought/belief that Gen Z is already far more politically active and service-oriented than Millennials were at the same ages.
We bitched about what an awful president was George W. Bush and about how much the recession sucked, but what actions did we take at the time (other than the failed Occupy movement then Handro referenced)? I dont believe Millennials, collectively, have the same appreciation for the long-term implications of our current actions as Gen Z, who at least recognize they're (we're?) fucked and are trying to do something about it and draw attention in ways that are productive. Millennials mostly just like to bitch/moan/whine/complain. And yes, the irony is not lost on me that is exactly what I'm doing right now /hypocrite |
Quote:
I do agree that we have crap voter turnout but it would be interesting to compare boomers during the same voting age. Is it really worse? Maybe better? |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Hell, look at the disdain we receive from several formers here for our entitlement and profound selfishness. I know a lot of us here arent like that (I am, but that's a separate matter) but collectively, we've been pretty terrible when compared to our counterpart generations. |
Quote:
This all has nothing to do with the thread topic and is probably frustrating for those who see that I'm dragging Current Events subforum discussions into City Discussions. For the sake of everyone's sanity, I'm willing to discuss/argue further in private messages. I apologize for wasting everyone's time with my ranting. |
The millennial generation is bigger than the boomers and in the distant future will have incredible power, I guess we'll see what happens. Boomers are still very comfortably at the wheel in terms of government.
|
Quote:
Or another way: Stranger Things is legitimately nostalgic for me. But I would have only been 3 years old for Season 1. A mid-cohort Millennial would have to Wikipedia all of that awesomeness you listed. |
Quote:
I just shake my head at those who think politics today is angry and "polarized". Many times in American history things were a lot worse, from the very beginning (the American Revolution was not universally popular with the colonists) forward. And the Bush era--a time of peace and prosperity with the single exception of the WTC attack. That was bad but it was something that happened and then it was over and if you didn't live in Manhattan you could have ignored it. It didn't go on for years and years (or it needn't have) like the nightmare in Vietnam. And unlike Vietnam, there was no draft to disturb the lives of the young. Some small fraction of them voluntarily participated in the unnecessary Iraq adventure and the slightly more justified Afghanistan one, but most didn't. To make clear where I'm coming from, I entered the military in 1973 as a result of a thing called the Berry Plan: Quote:
Had I not taken advantage of this plan, I would have been drafted in 1971, probably into the Army (the Berry Plan also gave people who signed up the opportunity to pick their branch of service). I was lucky in that the war was largely over--although it technically continued until 1975--by the time I arrived in the far east and I stayed on Okinawa assigned to a Marine regiment. Since I wasn't exposed to combat, I think it fair to say I enjoyed the travel and other aspects of military service enough that I stayed for a career. But had I not been involuntarily brought into the service, I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have joined and my life would probably have been very different. From the late 70's onward, this sort of life-altering interaction with the federal government just hasn't been an issue for young people so from my perspective, most of them really have nothing to complain about. |
Quote:
I'd wager the average high school kid who didn't read the newspaper in the morning, maybe heard a bit of the 6 o'clock news during dinner, and caught most of his political discourse from in-person conversations was far less exposed than one today. Anyone interested in politics has an unlimited amount of content at their fingertips, and even those uninterested are bombarded on basically all forms of social media or traditional news. And what about the last part of that post? This generation never had to go through a draft so their complaints against things like affordable housing, stagnant wages, and growing income equality are invalid? Not sure what the message is there? We've moved beyond involuntarily sending young men off to war so no need to push for any more social progress? WW2 was pretty bad... but you know they never had to live as a serf in feudal Europe so nothing really to complain about. |
Quote:
The general rule of thumb is that if you were not yet an adult by the time the 1990s ended, then you are at least a millennial. And, if you don't remember the 1990s then you're Gen Z. Anyone who was college aged when Facebook was founded is a millennial. |
Quote:
|
It applies your approach equally.
That's a good test of an idea...apply the same formula in a variety of cases. If the more extreme results are flawed, the rest of the results are generally inaccurate. |
Quote:
However, I recently asked both my mother and mother-in-law about their impression of that era compared to today and both said today is more uncertain and at the time, my mom was off at some hippy school near the Vermont border and my mother-in-law was a Navy wife...so very different world views. The angst was mainly focused concentrated on Vietnam and civil rights where as today, people are divided on everything. Today's it's sneakers, razors and Taylor Swift. We just haven't had our Kent State and/or '68 Chicago DNC moment...yet. Charlottesville was a primer. |
us millennials saw that the generations before us tryed a lot of things that never happened so we are the generation that just shares something over the internet that we know wont change anything. we are just learning all the time and thats about all.
|
May I suggest a musical interlude - YouTube "We Didn't Start the Fire", a late 1980's song by Billy Joel.
That song may provide some with a new perspective on the "then versus now" debate. For me, it helps remind me that the issues of today will eventually pass. But, alas, they will be replaced by new issues. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
Actually, this article says it was the kids of several decades: Quote:
While I can't honestly say I feel "scarred", I do remember watching TV about the Cuban Missile Crisis with the adults at my grandmother's apartment one day while it was happening and I also remember one day asking my father what we would do if the Russians dropped a bomb on Washington (we lived about 7 miles outside DC). He said (really), "Go outside and watch." I might also suggest to today's generations: Don't take yourselves so seriously. A little irony can be effective. |
I was a kid during the Reagan era and remembered that TV movie "The Day After"..and that movie freaked the hell out of a lot people...especially my age. We didn't have the Cuban Missile Crisis looming over us...but we still had the imagery.
|
Quote:
i was 7 at the time and my older sister was babysitting me. we ended up watching it for some reason (TV was A LOT more limited back then) and we had no idea that whole fucking thing was fake because we we're just kids home alone who didn't know any better, or maybe my sister did know and was just stringing me along. either way, it scared the ever living shit out of me. i literally though Charleston, SC was about to be imminently destroyed by a nuclear bomb as we were watching it. i was shaking by the time my parents finally came home and had to explain to me that it was all just a silly movie. It was my version of "The War of the Worlds" radio broadcast back in the '30s. |
All times are GMT. The time now is 8:32 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.