by Evan Williamson · November 25, 2013 2:59 PM
I don’t want to put labels on the Millennial generation. With due respect to Generation X, who had plenty of stereotypes and buzzwords attached to them during their youth and coming of age, the evolution of the Millennial generation has come under the microscope more times than any of us care to count.
A plethora of articles have come out, some thoughtful, many condescending profiling the 90 million Americans born, as I was, between 1981 and 2000. Many chart the course of our generation, from home, to school, then right back home with debt, a degree, and no job.
Very few (with some exceptions) note how difficult it is to tease out what makes a generation different, or what shared experiences might shape the mentalities discussed. Certainly, to explain why a generation leans one way or another, we have to isolate factors that stretch across races and languages, and apply to all genders. This is especially true for the most diverse generation in American history.
There are experiences—like growing up during the tech revolution, coming of age in the wake of 9/11 and watching friends and classmates ship out to fight the two wars that followed, or entering the job market in the shadow of the Great Recession—that cut across the cleavages that define Millennial demographics. Bearing a disproportionately high amount of student debt may also fit the bill for what is projected to be the most educated generation in American history.
These shared formative experiences have, if polls are to be believed, led Millennials to adopt radically different attitudes than older generations. From Millennials’ well-documented embrace of equality and civil liberties, to our deep optimism about the future, this is a generation with its own very distinct opinions and ideas.
Gridlock, however, has alienated potential Millennial voters from participating in the public sphere. For the politically minded, it’s no surprise that 55% of Millennials feel that legislators don’t share their priorities while almost half feel that today’s politics can’t handle today’s problems.
This leads many to conclude that Millennials are simply jaded, or unreachable, or self-absorbed. I disagree. I believe that this disaffection will continue until this generation establishes its voice among our national leadership.
Cultivating that representation will take work, and that is why I joined Launch Progress. Together, we can show this generation that not only can their views find a voice in the public debate, but that any one of them can be that voice.
I joined LaunchProgress so that Millennials who want a voice can be a voice, so that the largest generation in American history can contribute meaningfully to the debate over how our shared future forms.
Evan Williamson is a native Illinoisan living and working in Washington, DC.