We hear all the time that the Millennial Generation is the entitled generation. They want everything handed to them without having to work for it and spend all their time on their cell phones. The Bible tells us that For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” A good rule to live by. And those who can’t work are to be cared for, not those who won’t work.
There are approximately 75.4 million Millennials
in the world today.
But is it really true that Millennials are the entitled generation? Let’s compare them to my generation. I’m 56, so I grew up in the 1960’s.
People of the 60’s wanted marijuana legal because it isn’t any worse than alcohol. Millennials want marijuana legal also, but for medicinal purposes.
My generation wanted the government to pay for abortion in the guise of Planned Parenthood while Millennials want the government to pay for college. (By the way, according to the government census information in 2015, 37.3% of people without a college education participate in some type of government assistance. And 12.6% of people over 65 receive some sort of government assistance other than Social Security.)
People my age are terrible savers. We buy what we want when we want it on credit, so we have a lot of debt. Some need to move back in with their parents in order to make ends meet. Millennials have debt also. A lot of it comes from student loans. They have a hard time finding a job that will make ends meet with the massive debt they’ve accumulated for school, so they move back in with their parents to pay off that debt. In both cases, neither usually pays much rent.
As you can see, labels don’t always work. Each generation has their hand out for something. Mine wanted women to go to work, even stay-at-home mothers, so they didn’t have to rely so much on their husbands for support. That, in turn, caused housing prices to increase and daycares to flourish. Unfortunately, so has gang membership and violence. My generation makes excuses for behavior with terms like ADHD, whereas some Millenials don’t allow labels to stop them. Just ask Grayden Lucas who plays baseball despite only having one arm. Watch this 2015 video to be inspired:
Millennials do have their faults, they are quick to believe the media instead of looking for the answers themselves even though they are top notch in technology.
We need to step back before we put one generation in a large box. I see a lot of good from the Millennial generation. For instance, most appear to realize an education is the only way to get ahead. Sure, they want that education free, but in the end, they are willing to pay taxes once they get a job in order for others to get educated as well. While my generation voted for a political party, these young people seem more willing to look at the person. I find that very comforting as I get older and have to rely more on them to run this country.
How about you? How do you feel about Millennials? Do you see them as only wanting or do you see them as advancing things in ways we never saw possible?
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