“The Future Depends on You”

I was born in the fall of 2004. I’ve grown up surrounded by budding internet culture and social media sites that collect far more information on you than necessary. I was caught in the middle of America’s hard right turn from the first black president to reality star with a concerning number of devout followers. I lived through the 2008 recession and am currently witnessing the massive impact of a pandemic that some people don’t even think is real. I grew up surrounded by outcries for racial equality, LGBTQIAP+ rights, and a rise in extremism amplified by the current political landscape and the internet. At this point, 2020 alone has checked off all the teen dystopian novels plot cliques, excluding WW3 and the zombie apocalypse. So, in short, I’ve seen a lot in my mere 16 years on this Earth.

Yet my generation and I struggle to be taken seriously, while simultaneously being expected to save the world.

No pressure.

In an attempt to make me and perhaps themselves feel better, I’ve heard a multitude of recycled motivational quotes, especially from the older generations. For example,

“Your generation will do great things.”

“Your generation will turn everything around.”

“Your generation will be so resilient and open-minded.”

While they may seem like inspiring and highly complimentary on the surface, it comes off as quite detached and apathetic toward our current situation. There’s nothing wrong with the words themselves.

But behind the well-meaning words of encouragement, they reflect a very disturbing disconnect between generations.

To most of my generation, these sentiments are not hopeful, they’re cumbersome. There is an immense pressure put on us to fix everything that’s gone wrong and stop anything else from going wrong. And I can’t say that that’s not what I aspire to do in my life, but coupled with the sheer determination to create a future that I feel safe in, is a feeling of resentment towards my parents and their parents. I didn’t ignore the effects of global warming for decades. I didn’t vote in the 2016 election, and I didn’t continue to spread the prejudice and unempathetic dogma that is tearing America apart.

Yet here I am, in a world that is both literally and figuratively on fire and I had little to no part in it.

But let’s forget about the past and focus on the future, that at least we can shape…or not since most of my generation can’t vote, run for office, or have the connections to organize massive campaigns. And to make us feel better, they say to “start small.” Yet no matter how hard we try, our uncle won’t wear a mask and our grandma still won’t stop calling the neighbor, “the gay guy.”

It’s quite frustrating that everyone wants you to change things, but nobody actually wants to change.

There’s the ever-looming “activism burnout” not to mention, having a quarter-life crisis because you lose yourself trying to fix everything and everyone else. It’s like the world has been left on the operating table and is slowly bleeding out. There’s a desperate urgency to save a dying patient followed by the terrifying realization that no one nearby is a surgeon or even knows basic CPR. This desperation to save a world, where trees are bleeding, people are dying, and the clouds have no more tears to cry, isn’t very conducive to good mental health or a good “childhood.”

Though I think this responsibility forced on literal minors, reflects more on the older generations, who push these ideas, I understand taking a step back and letting younger people help lead. But just because you hit the ripe old age of 50, doesn’t mean you just get to kick back and pretend you’ve done your part. Change is slow and demotivating.

Yet those who we’re supposed to look up to seem to have given up and resigned themselves to this doomed future.

Even if you have less time on this Earth than others, that doesn’t mean you are absolved of any responsibility in creating and shaping its future.

Oh yes, responsibility. It’s something we’ve been taught about since our formative years, but no one ever seems to want to claim it. If no one’s responsible for this mess, then how did it happen? Even above, I vehemently denied any involvement in our situation, but I’ll be the first to concede that I have done things that were counterproductive to change.

So, to demonstrate the importance of our actions, here are the truths that we ALL have responsibility for and need to accept before real progress can occur:

1. Prejudice against race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, and the like are still alive and well and we haven’t done enough about it.

2. Climate change is real, and we haven’t done enough to stop it.

3. No matter your political views, our current government is a mess (the election didn’t fix everything) and we haven’t done enough to stay informed and active citizens.

4. By not doing anything, we are complicit in the world’s injustices.

5. This is our fault (yes you too).

It’s not just about us as individuals right now, it’s about our future and the future of those we care about and those who we don’t want to struggle as we have. After all, a group of teenagers and young adults can’t fight off the hoard of greedy grifters that have been gradually penetrating all levels of society alone.

It’s not about what my generation can do, it’s about what all of us together can do.

So, I’m asking for help from anyone who cares, no matter their race, identity, gender, religion, or political stance. We all need to do more to help and if we focus on compassion and understanding, we’ll get through this together.