Millennials are mistakenly being viewed as apathetic. In truth, they have felt traumatized and powerless during these chaotic times of surging racism, anti-democratic politics, gun violence, and the high cost of living. However, millennials are now talking amongst themselves about how they will reverse what they see as the dangerous decline of their country.
With the political parties at war, an omnipresent former president whose character and beliefs are the antithesis of what their generation stands for, and severe financial obstacles to attaining independence from their parents, millennials have been discouraged and therefore less proactive in influencing the issues that concern them. It is a reasonable reaction to the disturbing times in which we live. However, millennials are tight with each other and they are united in the belief that radical change is needed. They are a smart generation being wrongly judged by the older generations who call them lazy, videogame players. They are organizing and beginning to form ideas about the kind of change that makes them look forward to the future.
Like their parents and grandparents generations, millennials are old enough to feel nostalgic about how many things they grew up with have disappeared. They can remember hanging out at Blockbuster video, radio shack stores, Toys R Us, and bookstores, all experiences that have been replaced by Amazon and other online stores. They know what it is like to miss the past and question which advancements in society improve our lives and which ones diminish it. The are now old enough, educated enough, and mature enough to know their influence on society, culture and politics can be considerable. They can re-create what has been lost and improve on what harms, not helps society.
For example, their views on how to reduce corruption and increase equality in politics are radical and logical at the same time.
Being a generation that believes in fairness and equality, millennials support getting rid of the electoral college. The fact that a person can become president and lose the popular vote makes no sense to millennials and angers them towards politics. They also oppose the lifelong appointments of judges and Supreme Court justices because they view that tradition whose goal is to create a political monopoly on the judiciary to promote conservative, antiquated policies. They also oppose laws prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.
Socially, the majority of millennials support racial, religious, and gender diversity. They are passionate about equality in law enforcement practices, helping the poor, protecting the environment, and protecting the health and safety of the public. In other words, millennials are compassionate and are becoming more passionate about inserting themselves into the process of changing and improving the world.