This is a bit of a rant, dont take it too seriously.

What can older people learn from your generation

In a recent discussion about social justice, history, and the values of culture, I was told “Our generation is going to be one of the most important, if not the most important generation.” This was in terms of bringing about change in the prejudices and stereotypes that people have of others in different socioeconomic class. In the past, in America, everything was done for an by old, rich, white men. To an extent this is still true, but the old white men that are in power now are soon either going to die or retire. That will allow people of a more progressive age to come forward and take charge.

People from my generation and the one directly before, are probably the first to be told, as a whole, to be accepting of all types of people. This is probably made most obvious by the bill that passed last year to allow homosexuals the right to marry. In the 90’s and early 2000’s, being gay was still something that society completely shunned or made fun of. That’s not to say that people don’t make fun of gays or bully them in school and that they are one hundred percent accepted, but the point is that in just a couple of years, there has been a huge shift in the attitudes towards them as the younger, more progressive generations became more prominent in protests and making change happen.

Now obviously not all older people are like this. Bernie Sanders is like a million years old, but is super liberal. I think everyone that I know personally who are getting up there in age are pretty liberal, but the fact of the matter is that the people in power are from a generation in which very few people held social, political, and cultural power. They are taking the mindset from back then and applying it to now. So I think that if anything, older people should learn to change their mindsets and be more open.

The rate at which social progression is coming is faster than ever before. This is indicative of people in charge becoming more open, but also that the process for the old people of the general public need to change faster - and speed isn't exactly easy for the elderly. The youth of the nation are mostly quite liberal, and ready to take up arms against anyone who wants to put someone else down because they are maybe a little different. That's all well and good, but for me it’s a bit extreme. Being politically correct is now so important that teachers can’t even put up Christmas trees in their classrooms to celebrate the holidays. “In our effort to be tolerant of everyone, we become intolerant of everything.” This is something I see more and more. Both Mr. Sutton and Mr. Butler, history teachers, have said the the 2010's is reminiscent of the 1950's in that everything is censored and everyone must be politically correct. So I guess older people will need to learn to have the correct mindset sooner and sooner. Or they could just learn how to use modern technology.