What Happens When Millennials Change the World?
We are doing it now.
MILLENNIALS OF NYC
“Don’t become too narrow. Live fully. Meet all kinds of people. You’ll learn something from everyone. Follow what you feel in your heart,”
– Civil Rights activist Yuri Kochiyama.
As the Millennials of New York City, we encounter all sorts of people, images, ideas, and movements daily. It seems as though we are constantly given the chance to learn, grow, and strengthen our moral fortitude by being surrounded by such diversity — differences in race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, and income — differences that serve as our guiding light for spreading tolerance. All the more reason why it is our responsibility to educate and challenge injustice.
EQUALITY
Yesterday, I discussed Jamie Foxx’s blunder at the iHeartRadio Music Awards — where he took to the stage to make a mockery out of Bruce Jenner’s transition. Instead of applauding Jenner’s courage, Foxx’s uncouth comment ushered in negativity and distracted from our most pressing conversations about equality and justice. Disguised as comedy, such remarks attempt to reduce the progress that is being made every day. As perhaps the largest viewer and listener base, and consumers of all entertainment platforms, it is up to Gen Y to challenge such backwards thinking.
CHANGING THE WORLD
We are a demographic, by nature and by exposure, that leans left; politically, Millennials were among Barack Obama’s strongest voter base in the 2008 Presidential Election. And according to a Pew Research survey, Millennials are on track to become the most educated generation in American history. We are confident, accepting, and as TIME’s Joel Stein contends, we believe we can change the world.
MORALITY IS FEARLESS
According to the survey, millennials are more racially tolerant than their elders, more receptive to immigrants, and as we dive into adulthood, maintain better relations with one another. With all of our confidence and connectivity — a hallmark of our generation — it is up to us to live as Kochiyama advised, to spread tolerance, correct wrongdoing, be fearless in our guiding moral compass, and continue to “feel what’s right.”
