Every time I hear Tom Brokaw talking about the “Greatest Generation,” I wince. I understand why he would honor World War II veterans and want to tell their stories, but I’m hoping the 20-somethings, and all the Millennials, will be greater. The reason for this is because things seem a bit of a wreck to me, and I’m hoping they will do some fixing. I’m also hoping those graduating 20-somethings will forgive crap commencement speeches.
A few weeks ago I listened to a white, male, forty-something with this theme: “Be thankful. Be proud. Be great.” His speech did not get any better than the lame title, worse, in fact. And just when I was thinking he was too young to say anything interesting, the senior class president redeemed the whole day by saying, “I’m going to be someone who helps other people achieve their goals.” You go, Girl.
When I graduated from Penn we had Denzel. Yes, the Denzel Washington. I’ll give you the link here because he really was that good. He told us to “fall forward,” which should be read in the context of Ivy League super achievers unaccustomed to failure – and Denzel was recommending you be willing to fall on your face. Here’s how he summed it up: “First, you will fail at some point in your life. Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something…If you don’t fail, you aren’t even trying.” I especially hope the 20-somethings, and all the Millennials, embrace his thinking because as Denzel said, “And let me tell you, the world needs your talents.”
Denzel Washington’s graduation speech at Penn
In case you weren’t already depressed about the state of the world, there was a scientist on the Aljazeera network talking about the tons of plastic frozen in arctic ice. It’s not bad enough we’re making polar bears extinct or that one day Pennsylvania will have beach-front property, now we have to think about the toxic plastic in the melting ice. But that’s not all that worries me.
On the way to pondering the Millennials fixing the world, I noticed my 20-something relatives seem adverse to advance planning. Since I am now the generation who shops for, prepares, serves, and cleans-up holiday meals, I have noticed great difficulty in getting a head count. In fact the only way to know if there will be representation from that generation is if I see them walking through the door – seldom on time. Not me, I’m a list person. I might even add something already completed, but not listed, so I can feel the satisfaction of crossing it off. Sick. Yes, I know. Now you can see why not planning ahead is beyond my understanding. Still, how can they save the world if they never plan ahead or make a damn list?
In my effort to understand those younger, non-planners I read The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter – and How to Make the Most of Them Now, by Meg Jay, PhD, who writes on all 20-somethings, not just Millennials. In 
writing about the twenties she said, “Eighty percent of life’s most defining moments take place by age thirty-five,” (p.xiv). The current context for today’s 20-somethings is that they are “more educated than ever before, but a smaller percentage find work after college,” (p.xxiii). Now I’ll be the first to say that money isn’t everything – but survival is, and for most people that takes having a job. Dr. Jay tells us that those who do have jobs are making less than their 1970s counter-parts, adjusted for inflation. Here’s the thing, I don’t think they’re going to save the world if they can’t even find a job – or find one that pays the rent.
With all her case studies, research, and good advice for anyone who is floundering a bit, I was surprised that she didn’t talk about volunteering, or civic involvement. There was a time civic involvement or church attendance were social obligations that only the most nefarious people ignored. While it is good that these things are no longer empty obligations, it is sad to me that volunteerism continues to decline.
According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, volunteerism in this country has been around 26-27 percent for about a decade with a bump-up after 9/11. In 2013 it fell to 25.4 percent which may seem insignificant, unless you understand that means that about two million fewer people are volunteering (4/7/2014, p.1). The Corporation for National & Community Service reports that 65.4 million people volunteered in 2012, and if someone had been paying them it would have cost $170 billion. Volunteering had been trending up with Generation Xers at 30.1 percent; Millennials are below Xers and the national average at 22 percent.
The Pew Research folks define Millennials as 18-29, named for “coming of age” at the millennium. The Pew Forum’s “Religious Landscape Study” reported that only 18 percent of Millennials currently attend religious services weekly/nearly weekly. When their Baby Boomer parents were young, it was 26 percent. If you look at the percent of people who do not affiliate with a religion, 25 percent put themselves in this category. For the generation in their 40s or 50s, it would be 15 or 14 percent respectively.
Here’s some good news, fewer Millennials are homophobic. Among Millennials, 65 percent say they should be accepted by society, whereas it is only 35 percent of people of 65 and older think that. Our Millennials are not afraid of science, at least that is what I conclude from the percent who think evolution makes sense, 55. And lest you think they are so liberal they have no moral compass, 76 percent believe there are standards of right and wrong, which is within one percent of older age groups.
Dr. Jay agrees that they are not all good at planning ahead, like my 20-something relatives. But she agrees with the Pew research people that they do care. They may volunteer less or have less interest in religion than the next demographic older, but they do care about a sense of right and wrong. Still, they are better educated but more likely to be unemployed or under-employed. I hope they don’t go all French Revolution on us and storm the castle at Wall Street. No wait, I would love that. I just hope they don’t revive the guillotine.
Reluctantly, I admit I am at an age that there are things I will not do and probably won’t see. And though I have done my part to reduce my carbon footprint and recycle, I acknowledge we are leaving the next generation a hot mess. Tom Brokaw can have the “Greatest Generation” because we need the Better Yet generation to fix the mess the Greatest and Baby Boomers have left them. It’s time for a change in focus. How can we help Millennials do what we didn’t do ourselves? Can I show you how to make a list? And I’m ok if you’re always late or unable to RSVP, if you’re working on global climate change. I’m sorry we stole Facebook from you, but you still have Instagram and Pinterest. How about using all these amazing resources for solving problems other than finding a ride to the next party? I promise I will stop nagging about being on time and making lists. – J. B. Good
