What if the millennials are not to blame
Rethinking America
It’s not Wednesday, but so what? This has been bugging me for a few days, so there you have it. I know many of my readers are parents of millennials and probably feel conflicted, at least.
Being the judgy person that I am, I call millennials lazy and confused, generalizing for the whole group even though I know that millennials and their technology run the world these days. So, at least some of them don't fit my mental image of the whole generation. But let's stick with the generalization for a second.
I compare them to myself in my 20s, 30s, and 40s. I started a business in Hawaii from my living room while still attending community college and took it nationwide, or at least "a few states wide." I budgeted, saved, and made do with little, sacrificing for the future. I went to school and graduated without debt because I worked full-time, lived in a camper in the parking lot at Whittier College to save money, and skipped most parties. I drove used cars, except for the one new Ford Escape I couldn't pass up because it was $0 down and $0 interest for 5 years. I just loved the idea of driving a "free" car, sort of.
America has been good to me. I got a great education, a huge portion of it funded by scholarships, owned homes, and benefited from the tax shelters they provide and the investment payoffs. I also owned several successful businesses and learned a ton. I built financial stability and have had a rewarding, productive, and enjoyable life so far.
My logic has always been, since I am an immigrant who started life in America with $450 in my pocket and have no wealthy parents to prop me up and get me going, "If I can do it, anyone can do it." Yes, I am not the likes of the uber-smart people who make a giant leap in life, but still, I am miles ahead of too many my age in the US and light years away from almost everyone in Bulgaria.
Until recently…
I've been thinking a lot about America now, and with a heavy heart, I've been rethinking my judgments of millennials and the generations coming after. Then I watched this TED talk: