I'm a millennial! I'm inclined to agree with the political aspects of this article. Many of my "Republican" friends are really only fiscally conservative. Most of them tend to be liberal in their social thinking.
However, it's interesting that you call us "self-reliant" when so much of the media criticizes our generation for participation trophies, "helicopter parents", and narcissistic social media tendencies... I feel empowered already!
And yes, I am distrustful of a lot of public things. Mass shootings, policy shaped by wealth, and the prevalence of ignorant politicians do that to me. Combine that with the higher education racket we've been sold, and there's nothing there. No wonder we want to stay at our jobs for so long. We come out of college with crushing debt and a lousy job market. I came out with a masters degree from a prestigious university and work three part-time jobs, and I have yet to find the full-time employment I crave. And from what I understand, my story is not unique...
We'll be force for change, alright. But don't expect me to rely on your "solid supporting structures" for anything.
However, it's interesting that you call us "self-reliant" when so much of the media criticizes our generation for participation trophies, "helicopter parents", and narcissistic social media tendencies... I feel empowered already!
And yes, I am distrustful of a lot of public things. Mass shootings, policy shaped by wealth, and the prevalence of ignorant politicians do that to me. Combine that with the higher education racket we've been sold, and there's nothing there. No wonder we want to stay at our jobs for so long. We come out of college with crushing debt and a lousy job market. I came out with a masters degree from a prestigious university and work three part-time jobs, and I have yet to find the full-time employment I crave. And from what I understand, my story is not unique...
We'll be force for change, alright. But don't expect me to rely on your "solid supporting structures" for anything.
71
Who, as late as 1988, could have imagined or would have predicted that within a matter of months, we would see the demise of the Soviet Union? None of the usual causes for that fall, in themselves, were enough to precipitate the event--not the zealotry of a Polish pope or the ideology of an American president, or even the disaffection of millions within the Soviet bloc lured by the tinsel and glitter of American-style capitalism. The most likely cause for the old order's demise is that it just ran out of steam, that in spite of glasnost and perestroika, (remember those?), it became moribund and just too tiresome to inspire many defenders. Like a building being demolished, the USSR collapsed into its own footprint in what seemed just a brief moment.
Echoes of the celebrations among conservatives and self-appointed Judeo-Christian knights fighting the old dragon can still be heard. But wait. In the midst of those echoes a new sound emerges. An American politician, a senator from New England no less who identifies himself as a socialist! And, up until now, there has been no red-baiting, no hair-pulling in the streets. Who, in 1989, would have thought that a socialist candidate for president would be welcomed by millions of Americans?
Echoes of the celebrations among conservatives and self-appointed Judeo-Christian knights fighting the old dragon can still be heard. But wait. In the midst of those echoes a new sound emerges. An American politician, a senator from New England no less who identifies himself as a socialist! And, up until now, there has been no red-baiting, no hair-pulling in the streets. Who, in 1989, would have thought that a socialist candidate for president would be welcomed by millions of Americans?
8
"But philosophically millennials are harder to pin down."
Gee, could this be because NO generation fits neatly into a category or belief system. Maybe our young people are not unique at all. Maybe they are, like the rest of us, a conglomerate of thought and action based on personal experiences that can't be wedged into boxes made up by other people.
Gee, could this be because NO generation fits neatly into a category or belief system. Maybe our young people are not unique at all. Maybe they are, like the rest of us, a conglomerate of thought and action based on personal experiences that can't be wedged into boxes made up by other people.
52
The information from the poll cited by Mr. Brooks is in line with social profile of Millennials from other sources. I think his last paragraph betrays his own bias as a Babyboomer, however. Interesting oped nonetheless. Millennials appear more like their grandparents--more self-reliant, less strident ideologically--than their parents.
4
There's no millennials, or boomers or any of the rest of it. We're all living in this same world, same struggles, dealing with a shifted economy, trying to learn how to function in this new workplace. Marriage doesn't mean all that much to any of us, and neither does organized religion. Nor even affiliation with a nation. Why would it? We live and work in a global economy and we recognize we are one world with some serious one world problems ahead. Dividing us into little boxes serves no purpose, and more than anything that is what has changed. Political parties, nations, religions don't mean a damn thing anymore and that's the same truth whether you're 25 or 65. You say there's going to be a revolution? It already happened. To all of us.
15
There was some great news in this column for we who hope for a better future. 1) That only 32% believe America is the greatest country. This may mean the end to blind patriotism, rabid chants of "USA," and it being de rigeur for pols and pundits to speak of "American exceptionalism" on everything even when reality is quite the opposite (as in healthcare) 2) Great to hear that only 35% are affiliated with any organized religion. Considering the damaging effects of fundamentalist christianity on our country since about the 1980s, we can only hope this trend towards secularism accelerates.
92
As this column shows, traditional "left vs. right" analysis can cause more trouble than it is worth. Many of my millenial children's friends are very libertarian because they are socially liberal - as in "let's not have the government restricting individual behavior around reproduction, sexual preference, non-addictive drugs, etc". Yet this "libertarian" bent is considered "right-wing". That's why I am attracted to a self-definition of "progressive" that breaks the right/left molds and is centered in progress...progress towards individual freedoms and progress in achieving a more sustainable economy (which partly if not mostly requires governments changing some of the economic rules towards a more sustainable capitalism), reducing US interference in the affairs of people around the world (as in let's not try to convert Iraq to a democracy, etc). Progress on these fronts is critical for our survival and happiness, and sometimes it means less government, and sometimes more. And regarding outmoded political labels, a true "conservative" would be risk-averse, and would act quickly to reduce our risks from climate change instead of taking a very radical "technological optimist" approach and not "buy any insurance". Such views are like owning a home without fire or property insurance - they are radical and reckless, and not "conservative" whatsoever.
17
Poor Mr. Brooks.
Your bubble is going to burst again when Bernie wins by a landslide.
You get your thoughts and ideas and "facts" from the like of Carl Rove and Trickle Down supply siders that flood your inbox daily. That look of shock when POTUS, (twice elected by landslide) Obama won was priceless.
You see the dam water spilling over everyday in your own column and the editorials posted by commentators, yet you still don't believe.
Boy, one of us is going to be surprised in '16.
Hey, Millennials!
Get! Out! and Vote!
Your bubble is going to burst again when Bernie wins by a landslide.
You get your thoughts and ideas and "facts" from the like of Carl Rove and Trickle Down supply siders that flood your inbox daily. That look of shock when POTUS, (twice elected by landslide) Obama won was priceless.
You see the dam water spilling over everyday in your own column and the editorials posted by commentators, yet you still don't believe.
Boy, one of us is going to be surprised in '16.
Hey, Millennials!
Get! Out! and Vote!
24
Wow - an article that using the term "Millennial" other than to describe my generation as a group of lazy, entitled narcissists? I'm blushing.
So many of the other commentators are spot-on: my generation is keenly, painfully aware that the country we have inherited from our parents' reckless greed and it's-all-about-me ideology - offshored jobs, crumbling infrastructure, melting polar ice caps, endless wars which only make the world more dangerous, severe income inequality, a toxic political environment, crushing costs of education - leaves us with little faith in anything resembling the status quo. Many of us think of how much worse the world is today than it was at this stage of our parents' lives, and you wonder why we don't want to have children? What world will we bequeath them?
And that is why anyone who wants to see Millennials mobilized for the 2016 election had better hope that Bernie is on the ticket. Sure, Clinton is better than any of the members of the packed GOP clown car, but she is in every way a representative of the values which got us to this place. Don't expect to see us out in droves on Election Day if it's Hillary vs. Rubio; to us, it's voting for two sides of the same business-as-usual coin.
So many of the other commentators are spot-on: my generation is keenly, painfully aware that the country we have inherited from our parents' reckless greed and it's-all-about-me ideology - offshored jobs, crumbling infrastructure, melting polar ice caps, endless wars which only make the world more dangerous, severe income inequality, a toxic political environment, crushing costs of education - leaves us with little faith in anything resembling the status quo. Many of us think of how much worse the world is today than it was at this stage of our parents' lives, and you wonder why we don't want to have children? What world will we bequeath them?
And that is why anyone who wants to see Millennials mobilized for the 2016 election had better hope that Bernie is on the ticket. Sure, Clinton is better than any of the members of the packed GOP clown car, but she is in every way a representative of the values which got us to this place. Don't expect to see us out in droves on Election Day if it's Hillary vs. Rubio; to us, it's voting for two sides of the same business-as-usual coin.
81
Just a comment regarding voter turnout. I think changing voting day from Tuesday to Saturday would help immensely.
12
Relying on a series of polls, including one by Fox News, showing that among caucus goers in Iowa under the age of 45, Bernie Sanders leads Hillary Clinton 56 to 34 percent, David Brooks concludes “that this millennial generation, having endured the financial crash and stagnant wages, is ready to lead a big leftward push.”
Yet it may not be that simple.
The millennial generation has inherited an aging America, one that has aged beyond its years. Exhausted by unnecessary wars, driven by greed, tarnished by racism and plagued by fear, to days’ America is different from the America of the early fifties.
My seven grandchildren, who are of the millennial generation, often gather around our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables. I hear them compare to days’ dysfunctional and bewildered America, whose Supreme Court decided that “money is speech” to that earlier America, whose Supreme Court decided that “separate is not equal, which welcomed their grandfather to its hospitable shores and magnanimous people and institutions.
Like their generation, my grandchildren ache for answers to what their future would be like if America were to install a racist or a demagogue in the White House.
Like millions of the millennial generation, they no doubt see a glimmer of hope in Bernie Sanders.
For their sake, for America’s sake and for the sake of all humanity, may their hope be fulfilled.
Yet it may not be that simple.
The millennial generation has inherited an aging America, one that has aged beyond its years. Exhausted by unnecessary wars, driven by greed, tarnished by racism and plagued by fear, to days’ America is different from the America of the early fifties.
My seven grandchildren, who are of the millennial generation, often gather around our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables. I hear them compare to days’ dysfunctional and bewildered America, whose Supreme Court decided that “money is speech” to that earlier America, whose Supreme Court decided that “separate is not equal, which welcomed their grandfather to its hospitable shores and magnanimous people and institutions.
Like their generation, my grandchildren ache for answers to what their future would be like if America were to install a racist or a demagogue in the White House.
Like millions of the millennial generation, they no doubt see a glimmer of hope in Bernie Sanders.
For their sake, for America’s sake and for the sake of all humanity, may their hope be fulfilled.
26
Self reliance is complete mythology and a denial of what it means to be human. From our earliest ancestors on it is ONLY through collective effort that survival has happened and civilization moved forward.
It is especially galling that Bobo writes about this subject given how he married into wealth. Go preach your idiocy elsewhere because we are full up on crazy here.
It is especially galling that Bobo writes about this subject given how he married into wealth. Go preach your idiocy elsewhere because we are full up on crazy here.
7
Mr. Brooks:
Another, in a long line of either,or thinking; wishful thinking, at that. I would like to know what you think any of us are getting from "solid supporting structures".I would imagine that millenials are not alone in their distrust of the way things should be, according to you. It seems to me that millenials have figured out that none of those structures has the slightest interest in their future.
The real issue here is: just how solid anything is right now. A happy middle-aged life built on a social structure of lies and deceit seems a far-fetched dream for all of us, not just the young. What you seem to be afraid of is that
the change that might be coming will explode the myth that you so fervantly insist is real. The myth can't pay the rent. Millenials have that one figured out.
Another, in a long line of either,or thinking; wishful thinking, at that. I would like to know what you think any of us are getting from "solid supporting structures".I would imagine that millenials are not alone in their distrust of the way things should be, according to you. It seems to me that millenials have figured out that none of those structures has the slightest interest in their future.
The real issue here is: just how solid anything is right now. A happy middle-aged life built on a social structure of lies and deceit seems a far-fetched dream for all of us, not just the young. What you seem to be afraid of is that
the change that might be coming will explode the myth that you so fervantly insist is real. The myth can't pay the rent. Millenials have that one figured out.
6
The intensity, insight and recognition of harsh realities expressed in so many of these comments by so-called 'millennials" is fascinating, refreshing and sobering. It's comments like these that make the online Times an even more valuable news source than it is in print.
12
Thankfully, the Republican party is on borrowed time because millennials don't watch and are not brainwashed by Fox News.
11
This is not true in my household. My son is a millennial. He leans liberal, very liberal. He reads the New York Times and watches Morning Joe and Rachel Maddow daily. He has a full time job and lives at home, saving his money so he can one day buy a home of his own. He is fully aware that most Americans are one paycheck from the street, and he doesn't want to be a member of that group. He passionately believes that our government is no longer working for us, he feels it is being hijacked by the wealthy and is an avid (and vocal) Sanders supporter. In fact, he made us all Sanders supporters, including his grandfather. David, you confuse trust in government with a government that has been bought by the wealthy. And that is a very different thing indeed and to be honest, much more dangerous to the stability of our nation.
123
No mention of debt! What world are you living in?
11
"a concrete hunger for order, security and stability"
You're projecting, Mr. Brooks.
You're projecting, Mr. Brooks.
11
What would you expect from a generation that has grown up in such an overt political culture of "let's make the rich richer to solve poverty and income inequality", and a corporate culture that is out to get you, from Finance to Healthcare, to Education, and everything in between?
What institutions can you objectively trust?
Maybe millennials are still a largely fact-based generation. Let's hope they stay that way.
What institutions can you objectively trust?
Maybe millennials are still a largely fact-based generation. Let's hope they stay that way.
13
Interesting observation from someone with Mr. Brooks' leanings. Not really news that the right is dying out. Shrug...
2
The New Year is always a time for predictions. David is making a big one: "Something is going to change."
We have our Nostradamus.
We have our Nostradamus.
4
The millennials are Awake! They've got "solid supporting structures"- they are very attached to their families and/or their tribes. PLUS they have huge virtual supporting networks on Facebook and LinkedIn. They have started a Sharing economy that is supplanting the .01% problem.
3
"Millennials travel and move less than earlier generations."
Perhaps this is not just a surface attitude of the generation. I would think that this is very much related to the notion that young people want to live in cities. Previous generations lived in urban areas and sprinted to the suburbs once it was feasible.
As a suburban millennial myself, I understand the appeal of the big city. Everything is close, public transportation is available, and far more job opportunities are just around the corner. Who needs to move when you have everything you need within a walk or short bus ride?
Perhaps this is not just a surface attitude of the generation. I would think that this is very much related to the notion that young people want to live in cities. Previous generations lived in urban areas and sprinted to the suburbs once it was feasible.
As a suburban millennial myself, I understand the appeal of the big city. Everything is close, public transportation is available, and far more job opportunities are just around the corner. Who needs to move when you have everything you need within a walk or short bus ride?
25
"You just can’t be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life." When Mr. Brooks makes his earlier points, he points to social science research findings. This concluding thought, central to Mr. Brooks' main thesis over the years, is unsupported by evidence and is merely his opinion.
3
Not until millennials have children, mortgages ,and other adult type responsibilities, will they take voting seriously as a defining change agent to improve future generations.
7
Might it be that millennials aren't quite as "sophisticated" as Mr. Brooks? Brooks holds onto some idealized Conservative view that is quite rationale but doesn't exist (and really never has existed). Perhaps millennials look at the actual choices offered and think voting for a Republican is a bad idea? It's hard to know what "conservative views" are, but it seems to me that they revolve around a young earth view in which science is Devil's work and wealth is proof of God's love. A pragmatic voter can't vote for crazy. Crazy can't govern.
3
Nice job of setting expectations. Millenials who would be inclined to vote Democratic are expected to stay home instead. "Most" (no data) of this generation expect Social Security to go away. This is all just the way things are, according to David Brooks. Don't let him be right.
3
Why on earth use anything from Fox News for something other than wrapping up the used cat litter?
2
I have learned to look for subtle signs of an ulterior motive even when David Brooks has interesting and seemingly true things to say. In the first paragraph, a Sanders-over-Clinton poll result of 56 to 34 is "crushing" but a Clinton-over-Sanders ratio of 59 to 24 is "leading." Hmmm...is this Brooks's way of undermining Clinton before launching into his millennials discussion?
1
Once again, Bernie Sanders appears in a dismissive way in yet another New York Times column. Brooks, I think you're trying to fight what will turn out to be a losing battle -- and insulting the kids too boot. The kids, the Millennials, grew up watching the nation under conservative rule. Like many, many older people (I"m 71), they've seen conservatives transform into CONS, serving up transparent horse manure time and again in the rush to be ever more "conservative" than thou. This has been going on for their entire lifetime. They want something different. Barack Obama opened the door. Bernie Sanders is kicking it open farther. They like it. They're ushering in a new age, Brooks, one that you're not going to like because it will be sensible and progressive, but also conservative in the older, more responsible sense of improving on what already exists.
11
Funny that wife & I had this conversation earlier today when discussing one of our nieces who is (unexpectedly) doing quite well in her life as she and her spouse in their late 20's. The kids are allright...
1
Youth is no different, just technology. It's conservatism that's changed. Why would anyone who has grown up in an era of information be drawn to a party that welcomes people who are overtly racist (former KKK members, neo Nazi's) but initiates crusades against LGBT children? Why would they nod in consent when refugees fleeing death and destruction must be Christian in order to qualify for help? We know what the statistics are re gun violence. Why would they choose not to listen?
3
My millennial friend says I am encouraging Brooks' column by writing a comment. She says his columns are "click baits" for people like me and thus help the columnist keep his job. Still, I did want to say that the "harsher" world Brooks writes of was largely created by Republicans and also, admittedly, some by the Crime Bill and the Free Trade bills under Bill Clinton. Republican tax policies and starving of Wall Street oversight agencies decimated our middle class and led to 2008 recession.
Okay, I bit the bait and wrote a comment. It was the last sentence that got me. "Something is going to change." What the heck does that mean? Okay-the penultimate sentence also got me. How dare Brooks predict who will lead a happy life?
And in this whole column about the millennials' world, there is no mention of climate change . It was a worry that I, a 69 year old, did not have in my youth.
Okay, I bit the bait and wrote a comment. It was the last sentence that got me. "Something is going to change." What the heck does that mean? Okay-the penultimate sentence also got me. How dare Brooks predict who will lead a happy life?
And in this whole column about the millennials' world, there is no mention of climate change . It was a worry that I, a 69 year old, did not have in my youth.
43
No, GenX is superself reliant. No one even pays attention to us, our cohort is too small to garner any respect. But we're used to that from Brooks' boomer generation.
2
Very left and different drumming Jeremy Corbyn was elected the leader of the British Labour Party, much to the disdain of that party's establishment. I'd suspect that was, in part, by the same disenfranchised millineals as the American group cited here that support Bernie Sanders.
4
"You just can’t be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life. Something is going to change."
I've enjoyed hate reading your column silently for many years, but I can't hold it in. The generations before have left us holding the bag. You literally live in a mansion and are criticizing us for being unsettled. You teach a college course on humility with your own columns.
Everything we will achieve will be in spite of the boomer generation, not because of it.
I've enjoyed hate reading your column silently for many years, but I can't hold it in. The generations before have left us holding the bag. You literally live in a mansion and are criticizing us for being unsettled. You teach a college course on humility with your own columns.
Everything we will achieve will be in spite of the boomer generation, not because of it.
10
Still live at home, no cars don't drive, face stuck to an electronic device. Sounds self reliant to me.
PS. Parents pay for the phone, too.
PS. Parents pay for the phone, too.
7
According to David Brooks, millenials are investing their money using Wealthfront?? Well, I think that's the first time that our eminent social science-loving conservative op-ed columnist is basing his generalizations about Americans based on banner ads in the Huffington Post.
1
Winston Churchill:
"If You Are Not a Liberal at 25, You Have No Heart. If You Are Not a Conservative at 35 You Have No Brain"
This quote was to justify Churchill's own shift from the Liberal to the Conservative party in Britain in the early 20th century, but it lives on because it is a nugget of wisdom which often reflects the truth. Little has changed today except lifespans and the length of adolescence. I would shift the ages up five years from when Churchill opined. At some point most people switch from striving for great change to trying to preserve what they have already achieved. This is true for an individual's own situation, but greatly affects their outlook on society as a whole.
"If You Are Not a Liberal at 25, You Have No Heart. If You Are Not a Conservative at 35 You Have No Brain"
This quote was to justify Churchill's own shift from the Liberal to the Conservative party in Britain in the early 20th century, but it lives on because it is a nugget of wisdom which often reflects the truth. Little has changed today except lifespans and the length of adolescence. I would shift the ages up five years from when Churchill opined. At some point most people switch from striving for great change to trying to preserve what they have already achieved. This is true for an individual's own situation, but greatly affects their outlook on society as a whole.
5
Random thoughts:
They expect to stay with their current employer for at least nine years? They figure they'll take care of retirement individually, using algorithm-based vehicles? They're in for the shock of their lives. The decision to stay with an employer is not unilateral; when they age to the point they may be a drag on that mandatory health plan, the boss will sell them to the knackers like Boxer the Draught Horse. (In Orwell's book the pigs promised 'retirement' for Boxer.) Relying on some magic system to beat market returns? That snake oil's stale, too.
'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul', proclaim the young. Our American founding myth is built on 'rugged individualism' and an overweening confidence in the individual's ability to take life in two hands and shape it to his or her will. Even the left proclaims you can be anything you want to be.
In addition to being 60 years old and having seen that myth collapse repeatedly in my lifetime, I've read a lot of history. So I'm like Benjamin the Donkey who knows there's nothing new under the sun.
They are at least a little realistic in having less social trust. Give them that much. And if 'it is not clear that they will vote,' they're merely following in a well-established pattern of people, particularly younger ones, who talk a good game but don't show up on election day.
'But there will be some giant cultural explosion down the road.' Isn't there *always*, David?
They expect to stay with their current employer for at least nine years? They figure they'll take care of retirement individually, using algorithm-based vehicles? They're in for the shock of their lives. The decision to stay with an employer is not unilateral; when they age to the point they may be a drag on that mandatory health plan, the boss will sell them to the knackers like Boxer the Draught Horse. (In Orwell's book the pigs promised 'retirement' for Boxer.) Relying on some magic system to beat market returns? That snake oil's stale, too.
'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul', proclaim the young. Our American founding myth is built on 'rugged individualism' and an overweening confidence in the individual's ability to take life in two hands and shape it to his or her will. Even the left proclaims you can be anything you want to be.
In addition to being 60 years old and having seen that myth collapse repeatedly in my lifetime, I've read a lot of history. So I'm like Benjamin the Donkey who knows there's nothing new under the sun.
They are at least a little realistic in having less social trust. Give them that much. And if 'it is not clear that they will vote,' they're merely following in a well-established pattern of people, particularly younger ones, who talk a good game but don't show up on election day.
'But there will be some giant cultural explosion down the road.' Isn't there *always*, David?
3
Millenials have been dealt a bad hand (like a lot of past generations) but a lot of their angst is self-inflicted. The embrace "disruption" but then wonder why the ground under their feet feels so shaky.
1
Are any young folks reading this? Most of you haven't been voting. Let's change that, starting today. Send as little as a couple of scarce dollars to the most sensible presidential candidate (and you know who that is). Tell your friends. Then defend your investment by voting, this time and every time. Your spirits will be lifted. History proves that minorities have some power. Even if you live in a state where the outcome is predictable, it makes a difference what you do.
11
"They want systemic change but there is no compelling form of collective action available." When people do form collective action like Occupy Wall Street the power of the state comes crashing down on them. And in terms of movements like Black Lives Matter the state has never not cracked down. Police murders and beatings just continue. And the grinding oppression of everyday life grows increasingly harsh.
They want systemic change but there is no compelling form of collective action available.
"You just can’t be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life. Something is going to change." And hopefully it won't look anything like what you call happiness.
They want systemic change but there is no compelling form of collective action available.
"You just can’t be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life. Something is going to change." And hopefully it won't look anything like what you call happiness.
2
Well, reading some of the comments one is not surprised to see younger people having little trust in the society the older ones are soon to leave us.
3
Democrats have had this problem for 30 years now... their constituency does NOT vote. Young people don't vote even when Obama's on the the ticket (see his reelection turnout). Poor people don't vote at all ever.
If Democrats want to win they have to figure out a way to consistently get their supporters to the polls.
If Democrats want to win they have to figure out a way to consistently get their supporters to the polls.
3
Is self reliant another word for selfish and civically lazy. So millennials basically sat out the 2014 election. Yet there was a stark contrast in the way Obama and Romney would run the country which would have a dramatic impact on the economy and the future lives of this rather unappealing group. Actually millennials are neither Republican, Democrat, or Independent; politically they could be categorized as uninterested and uninvolved.
I don't know. It is hard to define a generation these days. Former GOP presidential candidate Gov Romney talked about the free stuff gang. In his mind, probably he was thinking about the unfortunate who got the blunt of the 2008 Great Recession. And there are a lot of them. Then there are millennials who complained they had to pay for WiFi signals. Should we lump them in the Occupy Wall Street crowd? It'd be easy until we read about one of the militia taking over the Federal building turned out to have a really large SBA loan.
What I am trying to say is that in every group, there are genuine people with well-meaning philosophy but there are also impostors who would wave whatever flag to serve their selfish purpose. GOP bad & DEM good or vice versa is really an attempt to dumb down our own intelligence.
What I am trying to say is that in every group, there are genuine people with well-meaning philosophy but there are also impostors who would wave whatever flag to serve their selfish purpose. GOP bad & DEM good or vice versa is really an attempt to dumb down our own intelligence.
4
"You just can’t be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life."
Why is it, pray tell, that conservatives have the silly belief that the only goals and lifestyle that are valid are their own? We don't all want what you want, Mr. Brooks. I mean really. Ugh.
Seriously........... It's okay that there is a whole generation of real people who see your idea of "happy, middle-aged life," and just say no.
Why is it, pray tell, that conservatives have the silly belief that the only goals and lifestyle that are valid are their own? We don't all want what you want, Mr. Brooks. I mean really. Ugh.
Seriously........... It's okay that there is a whole generation of real people who see your idea of "happy, middle-aged life," and just say no.
22
I'm a Baby Boomer. Bernie Sanders' ideals remind me of the ideals of my youth. They're still good ideals, and I'm voting for him. My youngest daughter is one of those self-reliant Millennials. She's also voting for Bernie Sanders. She likes his honesty and integrity, and says he reminds her of the grumpy old man in "Up." My older daughter, a Generation Xer who grew up during the Reagan Years, is also voting for Bernie Sanders, but her peers are all Trumpists. I think that her voting for Sanders has something to do with her needing a good caring father-figure. So we have, in one family, three generations, all of whom are voting for Bernie Sanders for various reasons. Whatever gets the job done!
9
What you are describing, Mr. Brooks, is a response to decades of conservative demolition of society, the emphasis on the individual over the community. In the name of 'freedom', conservatives have driven us apart, isolated us from each other, and denigrated the idea of a social contract and the common good.
It's a great world if you are in the top .1% It's not so great for the rest of us.
It's a great world if you are in the top .1% It's not so great for the rest of us.
21
I am 54 and apparently a lot more like millennials than boomers. I am self reliant (started my own business) liberal, unmarried, and no kids. One way I am not like them is the less sex part, but hey that's a difference I can live with.
7
You're living in a dream world, Mr. Brooks. I'm the parent of two millenials whose personalities couldn't be more different. However, one of the few things they agree on is that they will never vote for a Republican (my daughter is disgusted by the attacks on Planned Parenthood and my son by their opposition to "Obamacare," which he needs).
My son has already convinced two of his friends to go to the polls for the first time. And they'll all be voting for whoever is on the D side of the ticket.
My son has already convinced two of his friends to go to the polls for the first time. And they'll all be voting for whoever is on the D side of the ticket.
22
I don't think you have to be a data scientist to figure out that statements like: "millennials change jobs less frequently " or "travel and move less", "are less likely to have cars"... "than people in other generations" aren't exactly telling. Sir, they are the young ones, good entry level jobs are scarce. Social scientists who are making these surveys also will understand (sooner or later) that self definitions of "conservative" and "liberal" will depend on the context somebody is asked and are often worthless. Also, Millennials out of college probably haven't yet gotten used to a world where you cannot be pro-choice and anti-social spending, or anti-new-immigrant and pro social security etc. The total flattening of the political world has occurred only quite recently (2010), leading to bubbles in the time-opinium continuum like the Trump candidacy.
3
If Mr. Brooks' analysis is correct, his most chilling phrase is "it is not clear that they (millennials) will vote." We must do everything possible to persuade them to vote, not so much to rack up support in the "D" or "R" columns as to get younger people to take political responsibility for their own futures.
Of all demographic groups, the young have the most at stake. If they squander their patriotic duty and right, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves for the consequences.
Perhaps the Democratic Party should take a closer look at Bernie. He alone seems to have the charisma to move the young.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Of all demographic groups, the young have the most at stake. If they squander their patriotic duty and right, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves for the consequences.
Perhaps the Democratic Party should take a closer look at Bernie. He alone seems to have the charisma to move the young.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
6
As the father of two Millenials, I see them as more progressive socially, but pretty conservative financially. Trying to convince them that they need to sacrifice today (ala ACA, SSI, Medicare, etc.) so my generation can live comfortably, is a hard sell. And after all, these wealth transfer programs are primarily designed to support Baby Boomers, who's petulance and lack of planning have bankrupted the country.. God help us when they figure that out...
4
Characterizing what people think according to when they were born is like characterizing what people think according to their race or sexual orientation.
Offering one statistic from one survey and generalizing from that is a shallow substitute for real research and deeper thinking.
Offering one statistic from one survey and generalizing from that is a shallow substitute for real research and deeper thinking.
11
Mr. Brooks paints a bleak picture regarding the so called "Millennials" This one line is descriptive "They are less likely to have cars, and their relative lack of driving time is not compensated for by the use of other modes of transportation." I have a vision of young fat men hanging out in their bedroom in their parents house playing video games all day and occasionally interacting with other millennials on Facebook. Mr. Brooks' underlying message is vote republican. Nice try.
3
When I was the age of millennial I too thought there would be no social security for me, now at age 56 I know how important how SS is and how sturdy SS is. I expect it and demand it and will vote for people who continue to support one of the best programs, ever.
20
What if the solid supporting structures are toxic?
Maybe we need to give millennials more credit for seeing hypocrisy and re-ordering their lives accordingly.
Wall Street, the church and the military/industrial complex gloss over how much damage they have caused.
Maybe we need to give millennials more credit for seeing hypocrisy and re-ordering their lives accordingly.
Wall Street, the church and the military/industrial complex gloss over how much damage they have caused.
11
"Something is going to change." That must have been hard for Mr. Brooks to write. Things are already changing. I have sons 26 and 31. Their lives will be very different from a prime-time boomer like me. Mr. Brooks ignores the question: are these good or bad changes. If they turn out to be as bad as I expect, they may be accompanied by a loud boom, of which I'm sure Mr. Brooks and his elite cohort will not enjoy the sound.
8
"this millennial generation, having endured the financial crash and stagnant wages, is ready to lead a big leftward push."
For a "hard core" Republican, this is quite an objective assessment, and a wise one! And Bernie Sanders appears to have a fighting chance, not unlike what Trump has.
Of course, being a liberal 'naturalized' voter, a Sanders presidency is quite attractive to me. But my fear has been he may turn out to be another McGovern, if he gets the nomination, as opposed to Hillary Clinton.
I was hoping the rise of Sanders would be great for Hillary in that she could tilt far more to the left under the cover of Sanders popularity. I have always felt both Clintons are as progressive/liberal, even socialistic as Sanders, or McGovern. Or that's what I wanted to believe.
I also wish both Sanders & Clinton announce they would pick O'Malley as their running mate if either wins the nomination & O'Malley is willing, maybe after Iowa & NH, or at least after Super-Tuesday.
For a "hard core" Republican, this is quite an objective assessment, and a wise one! And Bernie Sanders appears to have a fighting chance, not unlike what Trump has.
Of course, being a liberal 'naturalized' voter, a Sanders presidency is quite attractive to me. But my fear has been he may turn out to be another McGovern, if he gets the nomination, as opposed to Hillary Clinton.
I was hoping the rise of Sanders would be great for Hillary in that she could tilt far more to the left under the cover of Sanders popularity. I have always felt both Clintons are as progressive/liberal, even socialistic as Sanders, or McGovern. Or that's what I wanted to believe.
I also wish both Sanders & Clinton announce they would pick O'Malley as their running mate if either wins the nomination & O'Malley is willing, maybe after Iowa & NH, or at least after Super-Tuesday.
4
Being the father of two millenials I am very optimistic for the future of our country based on what I perceive is their generation's adaptation of our counter culture philosophies which correspond to a more libertarian/independent political perspective opposing the dominant coalitions damaging and polluting our society (nee, hyper-processed food industrial complex, environmental degredation industrial complex, failed war on drugs industrial complex, injustice industrial complex). They are humanitarians as well and their selflessness will reap societal benefits as they assume control for the future direction of our society.
6
Has it occurred to you that your experience with millenials may limited to the upper-middle class variety?
3
This article is contradictory. If millenials are so self-reliant, why do they support Sanders and social security? Maybe they are more altruistic than previous generations.
39
@C.C.
Not more altruistic than all previous generations, but surely moreso than their parents' generation (or THEIR parents').
Not more altruistic than all previous generations, but surely moreso than their parents' generation (or THEIR parents').
1
Which millennials is Brooks talking about? Some who are poor and whose families struggle to make ends meet, have very little mental bandwidth to formulate abstract positions on affiliations and social change. Would the likes of Baron Brooks, please spare some thoughts to them? They too exist, but no kind of safety net exists for them, never have.
23
Far more Americans would be conservative if the current generation of leaders in the Republican party were not a bunch of crackpots.
I consider myself a pro-life, pro-family leftist who favors higher taxes on the rich, less interference in other countries, and a single payer health care system. Are there others like me? Would the young share MY values?
I consider myself a pro-life, pro-family leftist who favors higher taxes on the rich, less interference in other countries, and a single payer health care system. Are there others like me? Would the young share MY values?
2
You might want to have a look at Catholic Social Thought...there's a journal called Millennial written by young Catholic thinkers that you might find interesting.
Mr. Brooks said, "The general impression one gets is of a generation that is stressed, energetic, creative, skeptical and in the middle of redefining, and thinning out, the nature of affiliation."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Said F. Scott.
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." Said F. Scott.
3
Something is going to change alright, Mr. Brooks!
It will be the national indebtedness of our millennials and their children and their children's children.
There are far too many among us, millennials included, who are not self-reliant, almost 100,000,000 and growing. One-third of our population who can't work or chooses not work.
We need more "Little Red Hens" and if if you don't know what that means, Google it.
It will be the national indebtedness of our millennials and their children and their children's children.
There are far too many among us, millennials included, who are not self-reliant, almost 100,000,000 and growing. One-third of our population who can't work or chooses not work.
We need more "Little Red Hens" and if if you don't know what that means, Google it.
1
As a millennial, I approached with the column with the hope that it would present a portrayal I could identify with, but I was let down. Perhaps that is the root of your so-called "self-reliant generation."
In your example about Social Security, it is not that we expect no SS benefits in the future because the program is unsustainable. We know that the solution, clear as day, is to increase the taxable wage cap. But we don't expect the people in power to do anything to change it, they just chase power for their own sake. So we deal with it on our own. It doesn't mean we like it that way.
You may call us a "muted political force," but that is merely because we mostly reject ultra-conservatism and HRC's center-right neoliberalism. We only participate in movements we believe in, and for the first time in many of our lives, Bernie Sanders represents a political and social contract we only know through history books and the stories of our parents. People are already fed up, and it is a mistake to think that they will wait another four years until they open their windows and shout: "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
In your example about Social Security, it is not that we expect no SS benefits in the future because the program is unsustainable. We know that the solution, clear as day, is to increase the taxable wage cap. But we don't expect the people in power to do anything to change it, they just chase power for their own sake. So we deal with it on our own. It doesn't mean we like it that way.
You may call us a "muted political force," but that is merely because we mostly reject ultra-conservatism and HRC's center-right neoliberalism. We only participate in movements we believe in, and for the first time in many of our lives, Bernie Sanders represents a political and social contract we only know through history books and the stories of our parents. People are already fed up, and it is a mistake to think that they will wait another four years until they open their windows and shout: "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!"
11
"49 percent of people in their 20s have not had sex in the past year."
Wow, that's amazing. Celibacy was almost unheard-of when Boomers were in their 20s. It sounds like millennials are lonely and isolated, their main connection to other people being electronic. How very sad for them.
Wow, that's amazing. Celibacy was almost unheard-of when Boomers were in their 20s. It sounds like millennials are lonely and isolated, their main connection to other people being electronic. How very sad for them.
3
So, david brooks tautologically says that the causes of individualism are social forces that stymy sociality and encourage individualism, hinting at the economic causes? I'm glad Brooks is not a social scientist.
Millennials will grow more conservative as they have more to conserve. Just look at the hippies who settled down and become Republican dentists. At some point, most successful people have just had enough of huge portions of their income being taxed away and given to others who frankly don't deserve it.
3
Simply (and gently) put, millenials know they have been "hosed" by previous generations and especially the "me first" baby boomers. They are left holding the bag with crushing debt and a dying planet due to the selfishness of their parents and grand-parents.
4
If I were a political pundit with a biweekly column in the New York Times, I would know that the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision of early 2010 destroyed the American democracy, and that none of the Republican Party's current candidates for President have any intention of doing anything about it.
Yet for years David Brooks has been attempting to put people in his silly catagories (bobos, creedals, dispositionals, Burkeans, etc.), all in an awkward effort to justify the increasingly unacceptable and inexcusable positions of the G.O.P.
Today he discusses yet another absurd category, millenials. Either Brooks is somehow completely unaware of what is going on or he is a liar.
Yet for years David Brooks has been attempting to put people in his silly catagories (bobos, creedals, dispositionals, Burkeans, etc.), all in an awkward effort to justify the increasingly unacceptable and inexcusable positions of the G.O.P.
Today he discusses yet another absurd category, millenials. Either Brooks is somehow completely unaware of what is going on or he is a liar.
7
Mr. Brooks..engage some ethnographic methods before your oraculate about a class of people. Your still believe in the institutions of the middle class, when the middle class is being eviscerated by global capitalism. The masses will gladly be docile if they have "some" security; our culture has none: healthcare, gun violence, expensive education, low wages, expensive housing... Where, Dave, is the terra firma to construct this glorious middle class? The system is broken, and it is exhausted still feeding on racism, xenophobia, and global adventurism. Compassion is dead, the SEC is dead, the NRA rules and the 1% grows. Republicans are zombies that don't even know they are eating human flesh.
5
If these imbeciles in Oregon were living in the wild-west of their fantasies, there would already be a posse headed their way, and they would be dealt with severely.
2
Do not underestimate the impact of parents struggling into old age with savings that are meaningless, pensions that are cut, and 401Ks that become worthless with every fluctuation in the market. Do not think for one 21st Century minute that these kids aren't worried about how their folks are going to live when they hit the point where they cannot work any more....or the retirement money runs out.
Do not think for one 21st Century nanosecond that the millennials aren't watching college tuition rise into the stratosphere without wondering how they're going to pay for education AND their own retirement.
This group is not nearly as naive nor self-centered as some might think. They have every right to be unaffiliated and unattached; they are concerned about the coming reality. They are the first generation in a long time that does not expect to do better than their parents. This is troubling.
I am doing everything humanly possibly to protect myself so I do not have to burden my kids with my old age. It's not just about what they are doing for themselves and their kids, it's also about what we, the Boomers, should be doing for ourselves. Just as the millennials cannot rely on Social Security or Medicare to be there for them, it's becoming increasingly possible it might not make it to be there for us, either.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
Do not think for one 21st Century nanosecond that the millennials aren't watching college tuition rise into the stratosphere without wondering how they're going to pay for education AND their own retirement.
This group is not nearly as naive nor self-centered as some might think. They have every right to be unaffiliated and unattached; they are concerned about the coming reality. They are the first generation in a long time that does not expect to do better than their parents. This is troubling.
I am doing everything humanly possibly to protect myself so I do not have to burden my kids with my old age. It's not just about what they are doing for themselves and their kids, it's also about what we, the Boomers, should be doing for ourselves. Just as the millennials cannot rely on Social Security or Medicare to be there for them, it's becoming increasingly possible it might not make it to be there for us, either.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
3
It looks to me like a return to the old left: no longer defining progressivism by sex, drugs and rockn'roll, but by traditional values such as earning, benefits, retirement and so-forth
1
Many Commenters seem to look back at the pre-present as some sort of Utopia or Garden of Eden. News Flash: the Sixties and Seventies were no picnic, if you were a teen or in your twenties or thirties.
Millennials can sit at any lunch counter, even be President, regardless of their color. Millennials can be openly gay and not lose their seat in Congress or their job as C.E.O. of a major corporation. Millennials don't have to worry about a lottery sending them abroad to be slaughtered.
Millennials have been bequeathed and happily wallow in a culture of instantaneous gratification, whether it the ability to send an immediately replied to message, tomatoes in the middle of winter, or the availability of music. Thus, if political change does not come at once, they tend to withdraw into displaying their dissatisfaction online, if at all. The idea of a struggle taking personal sacrifice and decades of effort seems beyond their comprehension. Easier just to blame and give up. Easier just to indulge in self-righteous polarization, secure in technophilic tribalism.
Millennials also seem to indulge in gutless narcissism if, as Brooks writes, "Only 42 percent plan to have kids."
Oddly for a usually thoughtful person, Brooks appears to too readily accept at face value an aggregation of various polls and "studies" without analyzing their validity, too ready to accept conclusions from data which might imply the possibility of other interpretations.
Millennials can sit at any lunch counter, even be President, regardless of their color. Millennials can be openly gay and not lose their seat in Congress or their job as C.E.O. of a major corporation. Millennials don't have to worry about a lottery sending them abroad to be slaughtered.
Millennials have been bequeathed and happily wallow in a culture of instantaneous gratification, whether it the ability to send an immediately replied to message, tomatoes in the middle of winter, or the availability of music. Thus, if political change does not come at once, they tend to withdraw into displaying their dissatisfaction online, if at all. The idea of a struggle taking personal sacrifice and decades of effort seems beyond their comprehension. Easier just to blame and give up. Easier just to indulge in self-righteous polarization, secure in technophilic tribalism.
Millennials also seem to indulge in gutless narcissism if, as Brooks writes, "Only 42 percent plan to have kids."
Oddly for a usually thoughtful person, Brooks appears to too readily accept at face value an aggregation of various polls and "studies" without analyzing their validity, too ready to accept conclusions from data which might imply the possibility of other interpretations.
6
"You just can’t be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life." Are you barking for churches again, David? You never do stop.
Speaking anecdotally, I am 59 years old and quite thoroughly detached from your proposed "solid supporting structures" which I've found to be undermining, defeating and inhibitory of personal and human development. I haven't much time left to claim membership in middle age and I'm still waiting for your promised loss of happiness. Perhaps it will be in my old age?
What is really going on is that the trends leading up to the Great Recession and its aftermath have created the proverbial perfect storm for inhibiting family formation. Young adults are saddled with middle-aged level debt. Boomers at what would be considered retirement age are unwilling (or more often simply afraid) to retire and free up their jobs for the next generation in an economy that doesn't have as many of those jobs anymore. Young adults are living hand to mouth which of course means none of the previously typical investments can be made. Whether it be Hillary or Bernie who makes it to the White House I hope she or he comes up with programs to accomplish at least two things: (1) encourage the older folks in my generation to relinquish their hold on their jobs and (2) a college debt Jubilee for the generation on which our future depends.
Speaking anecdotally, I am 59 years old and quite thoroughly detached from your proposed "solid supporting structures" which I've found to be undermining, defeating and inhibitory of personal and human development. I haven't much time left to claim membership in middle age and I'm still waiting for your promised loss of happiness. Perhaps it will be in my old age?
What is really going on is that the trends leading up to the Great Recession and its aftermath have created the proverbial perfect storm for inhibiting family formation. Young adults are saddled with middle-aged level debt. Boomers at what would be considered retirement age are unwilling (or more often simply afraid) to retire and free up their jobs for the next generation in an economy that doesn't have as many of those jobs anymore. Young adults are living hand to mouth which of course means none of the previously typical investments can be made. Whether it be Hillary or Bernie who makes it to the White House I hope she or he comes up with programs to accomplish at least two things: (1) encourage the older folks in my generation to relinquish their hold on their jobs and (2) a college debt Jubilee for the generation on which our future depends.
7
"Another glaring feature of millennial culture is they have been forced to be self-reliant and to take a loosely networked individualism..."
The data presented does not add up to this statement. Most who have Millenials in their familes, know the lack of "self reliance" which is not owing to their desire for such. They simply do not have the financial underpinning to become self reliant [whatever that definition is]. Burdened with college debt and nominal job prospects and/or inability to complete college and [still] nominal job prospects...
The same generation having to rely on their parents health insurance [adolescents extending to age 26 and dependency status on parents 1040s]. No, this is not a generation of self reliance. The title of this piece is a glaring misnomer and the writer seemed to have stuck himself into a box because the "title" sounded good.
The data presented does not add up to this statement. Most who have Millenials in their familes, know the lack of "self reliance" which is not owing to their desire for such. They simply do not have the financial underpinning to become self reliant [whatever that definition is]. Burdened with college debt and nominal job prospects and/or inability to complete college and [still] nominal job prospects...
The same generation having to rely on their parents health insurance [adolescents extending to age 26 and dependency status on parents 1040s]. No, this is not a generation of self reliance. The title of this piece is a glaring misnomer and the writer seemed to have stuck himself into a box because the "title" sounded good.
6
With all due respect, how on earth did you manage to leave out the fact that millennials are living at home with their parents longer than they did even 5 years ago? Certainly every case is different, but you cannot possibly argue this trend showcases a "self-reliant" attitude or that they are actively fixing their lives themselves. It is, in many cases, asking Mom and Dad to continue to support them, financially and emotionally, at a time when some of those Moms and Dads should be putting more of their resources toward retirement savings.
2
The reason millennials may have less of an influence on upcoming elections is they'll be so busy taking selfies at the polling place, and texting observances of the experience for their blogs, that they'll forget to vote.
2
Wishful thinking, David. Millennials are more fundamentally progressive than any generation before. They know no world without ecological crisis. The shun religion because it only serves to retard their human development (at least the normative American mode of Christianity). They support Bernie because he is who they truly desire. But do not delude yourself into thinking they won't rush right behind Hillary when the horrorshow of the Republican general election begins. Fortunately there is too much available information out there in the world and too few millennial sociopaths to make that grevous mistake.
I will relish watching you backpeddle in November David.
I will relish watching you backpeddle in November David.
4
The power of language and silent persuasion:
Sanders was crushing, but Clinton was leading.
Leftward shift--only in America can any party of more than ten members be described as being to the left.
But more significantly, Brooks ignores the tons of evidence that the young are less well informed of the constitution and of the governance of America. In mid-term elections for decades now, the young sulk and stay at home--or in the bar with friends, all immersed in their cells.
Sanders was crushing, but Clinton was leading.
Leftward shift--only in America can any party of more than ten members be described as being to the left.
But more significantly, Brooks ignores the tons of evidence that the young are less well informed of the constitution and of the governance of America. In mid-term elections for decades now, the young sulk and stay at home--or in the bar with friends, all immersed in their cells.
1
The under 49 statistics are as usual leaving a whole very different generation out in the cold, or depending on how the narrative is written, tossing Gen X 35-45/49 in with either Boomers, or rarely as in this case with Millennial's.
Seperate us as we should be and the entire set of numbers will differ. To say that the high school- 35 age Millennial's are self reliant, stable workers, or anything else is not what I have read or experienced (I have 3 adult Millennial children).
Seperate us as we should be and the entire set of numbers will differ. To say that the high school- 35 age Millennial's are self reliant, stable workers, or anything else is not what I have read or experienced (I have 3 adult Millennial children).
The numbers cited for millenials - much more Democratic but not much more liberal - are exactly what one would expect considering that the Republican party has jumped off the right wing deep end.
I am sure the Republican party leadership is aware of these numbers, but they obviously lack the institutional capacity to do anything about it.
I am sure the Republican party leadership is aware of these numbers, but they obviously lack the institutional capacity to do anything about it.
1
What is going to change is that millenials are going to expunge the lying, thieving, racist, xenophobic, mysogynist Republican Criminal Organization from American political life, for once and for all. The damage they have done since their corporate stooge Reagan took office in 1980 is incalculable .
4
Millennials seem to be just pain lazy, with no passion and no commitment to anything. That spells problems for both political parties. They are by and large 'selfish' to an extreme So, I disagree about energetic and creative. Most of these millennials seem interested in one thing. What's that? Having their student debt forgiven. So don't be surprised if Bernie becomes their man.
1
Older Millennial here (born in '83). Here's what I remember in my lifetime: OJ and Bill Clinton scandals. Columbine. The dotcom bubble. Then 9/11. Mission Accomplished. The Great Recession. Housing Bubble. Obama and reaching across the aisle. Sarah Palin. The ACA being cut until it is useless. Citizen's United. The Koch Brothers. Sprinkled in, add "school reform", the Catholic Church, Social Services cut, college debt. Fear of SS going away, seeing Medical Debt being piled up on our parents and friends. Now we have Trump, erosion of Women's reproductive rights and cops shooting black kids. Anyone who I should be able to trust has let me down.
I'm in a good job and am valued. I will stay here through my children being born, so I can have insurance and maternity leave. I will give half of my paycheck to daycare (I make a good living). And I will wait until someone fixes this broken, terrible system. I will vote in 2016. But I am not happy with the choices, and will rely on myself and my husband until one comes along.
I'm in a good job and am valued. I will stay here through my children being born, so I can have insurance and maternity leave. I will give half of my paycheck to daycare (I make a good living). And I will wait until someone fixes this broken, terrible system. I will vote in 2016. But I am not happy with the choices, and will rely on myself and my husband until one comes along.
2
This is old, old news. Brooks's discovery is about a decade late. In Spain, the demographic Brooks writes about was dubbed "The 1,000 Euro Generation" way back in 2005, and the trope spread like wildfire in the culture there.
With stagnant monthly wages of 1,000 Euros, this over-educated generation saw no future other than shared apartments, dead-end jobs and no prospects of achieving their parents' standard of living. Cars? Homes? Out of reach, along with children, seen as unaffordable. You can read the column that started it all in Madrid's El País:
http://elpais.com/diario/2005/10/23/domingo/1130038892_850215.html
I suspect that the milleurista phenomenon has existed in the US as long as it has in Spain. The difference is that Spaniards are more reflective and less likely to tolerate the intolerable than their American counterparts.
It took a while, but the recent Spanish elections finally repudiated the politics of austerity that were partially responsible for the economic stagnation at the root of the mileuristas' bleak outlook.
Don't look for the same in the US, where our two-party system effectively shuts Bernie Sanders' supporters out of the legislative process. The best advice is to keep your basement bedrooms ready for day your children realize there's no other place for them.
With stagnant monthly wages of 1,000 Euros, this over-educated generation saw no future other than shared apartments, dead-end jobs and no prospects of achieving their parents' standard of living. Cars? Homes? Out of reach, along with children, seen as unaffordable. You can read the column that started it all in Madrid's El País:
http://elpais.com/diario/2005/10/23/domingo/1130038892_850215.html
I suspect that the milleurista phenomenon has existed in the US as long as it has in Spain. The difference is that Spaniards are more reflective and less likely to tolerate the intolerable than their American counterparts.
It took a while, but the recent Spanish elections finally repudiated the politics of austerity that were partially responsible for the economic stagnation at the root of the mileuristas' bleak outlook.
Don't look for the same in the US, where our two-party system effectively shuts Bernie Sanders' supporters out of the legislative process. The best advice is to keep your basement bedrooms ready for day your children realize there's no other place for them.
1
These polls mean nothing if people don't vote. In my community recently, only 11% turned out. Even a young man who campaigned for a ballot issue told me he didn't vote. Don't bank on the vote of the younger generation. Unless they can do something online with minimal effort. For the record, I do think we should vote nationally by mail, like is so successful in Oregon and Washington state.
2
"...it is not clear that they will vote. They didn’t in the 2014 midterm elections."
Mr. Brooks dissembles. Surely, he is aware that it is precisely the democrat leanings of most millennials which ensures that for them, as with most democrats of older generations, politics is an affair that occurs every four years rather than, as with most conservatives with known grievances, a sport and a pastime. And then to employ the non-sequitur suggestion that voting somehow reflects a promotion of "transfers that come out of Washington".... Now that is rich.
I for one fully expect millennials to come out in 2016 at precisely the same time as whichever goon emerges from the Republican swamp begins to tap the social medievalists for votes. Because, ultimately, this what currently defines this generation, at this age: their social liberalism.
Mr. Brooks dissembles. Surely, he is aware that it is precisely the democrat leanings of most millennials which ensures that for them, as with most democrats of older generations, politics is an affair that occurs every four years rather than, as with most conservatives with known grievances, a sport and a pastime. And then to employ the non-sequitur suggestion that voting somehow reflects a promotion of "transfers that come out of Washington".... Now that is rich.
I for one fully expect millennials to come out in 2016 at precisely the same time as whichever goon emerges from the Republican swamp begins to tap the social medievalists for votes. Because, ultimately, this what currently defines this generation, at this age: their social liberalism.
3
Millenials --of whom I know but few well, these being the nephews and nieces of my wife, while my two sons bookend the Gen-X cohort-- are probably as predictable as I was at their age, which is to say: not very.
These nieces and nephews, from good German-Catholic farmer stock (meaning they are not scarce), have not one military veteran among them, although the husband of one is an Iraq War vet. From staunch, conservative, almost exclusively Republican backgrounds, they range politically from a- to Democratic with the odd conservative "R" here or there.
Three of the 17 own homes. Eleven have at least a bachelors degree. Seven are married, and of those, 5 have children of their own. One has debilitating substance abuse problems.
But, from what I've seen of these young folks, if they are representative of "their" generation as a whole, the country will be in very good hands for the next half century.
These nieces and nephews, from good German-Catholic farmer stock (meaning they are not scarce), have not one military veteran among them, although the husband of one is an Iraq War vet. From staunch, conservative, almost exclusively Republican backgrounds, they range politically from a- to Democratic with the odd conservative "R" here or there.
Three of the 17 own homes. Eleven have at least a bachelors degree. Seven are married, and of those, 5 have children of their own. One has debilitating substance abuse problems.
But, from what I've seen of these young folks, if they are representative of "their" generation as a whole, the country will be in very good hands for the next half century.
1
As a father of a young millennial I would suggest they are more interested in the personal than the institutional. Sanders may inspire many of them but they are more interested in being nice and tolerant, unlike the Republican Party, of people even when different. Economically they want the government to help people but aren't sure they government really does that.
2
As a parent of millenials many of David Brooks conclusions are based on his generational biases. As parents, many of us encourage our kids to be independent, wait to marry, be critical thinkers.
Unfortunately, this generation has grown up knowing only endless war, reality tv, the unrelenting noise of social media, and big data intrusion into every crevice of life.
It's should be of no surprise they are untrusting; they have known only lies of our leaders, unnecessary dramatization of everything, and see clearly the wide chasm between actual living and what delivered by corporate media.
David, they see you and your ilk as absurd cartoon characters.
Unfortunately, this generation has grown up knowing only endless war, reality tv, the unrelenting noise of social media, and big data intrusion into every crevice of life.
It's should be of no surprise they are untrusting; they have known only lies of our leaders, unnecessary dramatization of everything, and see clearly the wide chasm between actual living and what delivered by corporate media.
David, they see you and your ilk as absurd cartoon characters.
2
Problem with Sanders is you can only tax the rich so much, until you bleed them dry. Are marginal tax rates for the 1% in a progressive tax system too low? Perhaps they are. But Bernie Sanders talking about taxing them to the tune of 60 or 70 percent is not the solution either. Government has no business taking that much. Also on the other end. Low income workers should also pay income tax. Im not talking about a lot, maybe 1% of their income. But every citizen should have skin in this game. Paying a fare share is a 2 way street.
1
Millennials expect no Social Security because they have been told all their lives by the Right, Republicans and various hate speech media there won't be any left. They can see the concentrated effort by one national political party to destroy this resource.
So are the Millennials looking to the kindness of corporations? Yeah, we've seen how that works. No, they support Mr. Sanders because he represents a power base which can oppose their exploitation. Your insistence on self-reliant freedom simply breaks up opposition into smaller unit which are helpless before moneyed interests.
So are the Millennials looking to the kindness of corporations? Yeah, we've seen how that works. No, they support Mr. Sanders because he represents a power base which can oppose their exploitation. Your insistence on self-reliant freedom simply breaks up opposition into smaller unit which are helpless before moneyed interests.
12
As the boomer father of three millennials, I must say that Mr. Brooks misses the mark, but so do many comments here. My kids, and their friends, do not easily fit in the simplistic generalizations used by either Brooks or the leftists so eager to condemn him. Based on what I have seen amongst my kids and their friends, the split between conservatives and liberals seems to be holding. A third are liberal, a third are conservative, and a third are in the poorly-defined "independent" category.
Unlike so many commenters, I don't see bitter hopelessness. Instead, I see bright, confident young people who remind me of my friends and I forty years ago. All of the handwringing in these pages is, I believe, overwrought. These kids are going to take the world as they found it and do great things. Just like the generations before them.
There has never been a time when challenges didn't confront us, some just forget that this is so. Our kids will muddle through as best they can just as we have.
Blame boomers or praise them, every generation does what it can based on what is known at the time.
Unlike so many commenters, I don't see bitter hopelessness. Instead, I see bright, confident young people who remind me of my friends and I forty years ago. All of the handwringing in these pages is, I believe, overwrought. These kids are going to take the world as they found it and do great things. Just like the generations before them.
There has never been a time when challenges didn't confront us, some just forget that this is so. Our kids will muddle through as best they can just as we have.
Blame boomers or praise them, every generation does what it can based on what is known at the time.
62
Bernie Sanders like Elizabeth Warner is right on many aspects of the economy and yet I cannot see him as president. I believe we cannot overlook the need for good people in the Senate and the House. During a national election too many look at the presidency as the sole person to solve problems. We need good people in Congress so I would suggest the older group of voters may be thinking as I do that Bernie needs to stay in the Senate. We also need good people in the House. Some are saying that they will vote in primary for Sanders but Hilary in general election. Playing games with ones vote hardly seems to help.
7
"It could be they are more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington."
Mr Brooks could have been a priest in ancient times, cleverly directing the great unwashed to seek contentment in the intangible and spiritual, hoping to distract them from their empty bellies and naked backs.
"A good life can be had for free!" he cries, with nary an explanation as to why the wealthy fight tooth and nail to hold onto their money.
Mr Brooks could have been a priest in ancient times, cleverly directing the great unwashed to seek contentment in the intangible and spiritual, hoping to distract them from their empty bellies and naked backs.
"A good life can be had for free!" he cries, with nary an explanation as to why the wealthy fight tooth and nail to hold onto their money.
5
The world has changed and older conservatives seem unwilling or unable to accept this. But Millennials, even those who lean conservative in their beliefs, have grown up in this changed world. They don't suffer from a nostalgia for the 1950s when straight white men ruled the country and the rest of us were expected to quietly know our place. That's textbook history to them. I'm not a conservative but my hope is that millennials will update and modernize conservatism in this country as they move into middle age. Because right now half the country just isn't living in 2016.
3
As a part of the generation in question, I can relate to what David Brooks has written in his column. Speaking in generalities, my colleagues definitely feel less party affiliation and loyalty than seems to have been the case in previous generations. Many appear open to conservative ideas in economics, and the idea that the federal government should be smaller and less intrusive. However, most of my generation takes gay rights as a given and, even if they themselves would not get an abortion, support a woman's right to choose. Interesting to see how the statistics match up with my experiences. Thank you David Brooks!
Why are you concerned that millennials do not believe that America is the greatest country on earth? For millennials, it is not the greatest place on earth. They begin their lives faced with an outlay of $250k for 4 years at a private university. If they excel at university, they might - if lucky - get a job teaching as an adjunct at the university they just completed, making less per course than one student pays for the course. Full-time faculty appointments are disappearing as universities cut costs (but never tuition). Student loan payments crush parents and young graduates alike. Health insurance is a sham - affordable only if co-pays and deductibles are unaffordable. Military spending outstrips the spending of every other country, but what benefit does that give young Americans? Americans are surrounded by insane levels of gun violence, yet nothing ever seems to be done about it. Politicians are bought and sold. Climate change and the environment - the world millennials are inheriting from Mr. Brooks' generation - barely register as issues, while the world becomes an ever more toxic place in which to live.
So, Mr. Brooks, perhaps your question should be: Why do 50% of boomers believe that America is the greatest country earth when its shortcomings are both substantial and numerous?
So, Mr. Brooks, perhaps your question should be: Why do 50% of boomers believe that America is the greatest country earth when its shortcomings are both substantial and numerous?
8
You have described my two children, but within this general self-reliant feeling, I see another strain. One of my children sees traditional political parties as a vehicle for change while my other child is deeply skeptical of any organized body, whether corporate or political, solving any problem ---but he still votes. I should add that my wife and I spent our careers in the public sector and both our children have worked in the corporate sector, which in their sectors, self-reliance seems built into their jobs.
unattached and self-reliant might not be the same. if "millennials: (suppose for a minute we all find brooks' sledge-hammer labels credible) are suspicious of organizations and eager to insulate themselves from them (i guess this would not include google or instagram), that does not mean they are "self-reliant." in unprecedented proportions, they don't work, drive or complete educational programs. they don't build, repair, or sew. they don't farm or garden. in the english-language, those are the attributes of "self-reliant" folk. i don't know any living generations in the USA who are particularly self-reliant, but the people under 30 in this country would not rank among the most likely to be so characterized.
1
A bit smug, no? I'm of the boomer generation. Most boomers I know don't garden, sew or build either. I do all of these things but most of my friends do not. My mother sewed and taught me to sew. She didn't garden but she did build and encouraged me to build as well. My father, an accountant, would not have known which end of the hammer to use or the difference between a screw and a nail. My boomer brother is not much better. I have taught one daughter to sew. The rest have no interest. She also gardens since she is the only one who owns a house. And she builds. She's definitely a millennial as is her husband. It's pretty hard to garden from a high rise apartment complex. Also pretty hard to build since the landlord tends to frown on that. Our son gardens and builds, too and repairs his computer, his car, his washing machine, his dryer, his heating system and anything else that needs fixing. His father does all this and more. Sadly neither sew. I'm teaching his wife to sew, make porcelain dolls and a host of other crafts. She also builds and helped our son roof our house. They will teach their children to build and sew and garden and cook. All is not lost.
2
The cost of moving jobs is prohibitive for millenials because a) jobs pay less than previously so the transaction costs are too large b) new jobs aren't jobs that pay as much in the service economy and return of pay-per-piece arrangements like Uber and c) student loans.
Student loans yoke youngsters to their labor like no other force.
Their self-reliance is really just an instinctual reaction as neoliberal capitalism dissolves the social contract returns us to barbarism.
I mean look at what they read on your page about virtue, character, community, meaning... these are all luxuries when you have to instrumentalize yourself to pay off student loans previous generations never had.
It's our generation that set the table for them. We have effectively screwed them over financially both through lacking an industrial policy to attract high paying jobs and student debt (seriously, look at the numbers). This is not to mention the destruction of the planet at Boomers' hands.
The concrete hunger for order, security, etc. is undermined by the economic forces that shape our lives. These forces have been unleashed through deregulation pushed through by the capitalist class. It ain't rocket science.
Student loans yoke youngsters to their labor like no other force.
Their self-reliance is really just an instinctual reaction as neoliberal capitalism dissolves the social contract returns us to barbarism.
I mean look at what they read on your page about virtue, character, community, meaning... these are all luxuries when you have to instrumentalize yourself to pay off student loans previous generations never had.
It's our generation that set the table for them. We have effectively screwed them over financially both through lacking an industrial policy to attract high paying jobs and student debt (seriously, look at the numbers). This is not to mention the destruction of the planet at Boomers' hands.
The concrete hunger for order, security, etc. is undermined by the economic forces that shape our lives. These forces have been unleashed through deregulation pushed through by the capitalist class. It ain't rocket science.
5
I have a suspicion that DB's column is a prep for a discourse that he plans to give or has given on the college lecture circuit.Nothing wrong with that, but it has a certain didactic quality to it. Truth is that a vast segment of the millennial generation, even those who have attended college, if pressed, could not distinguish between a liberal and a conservative. According to a recent "sondage," 10 percent think that Judge Judy in on the Supreme Court, and that Charlemagne wrote the Magna Carta because his name in Spanish is "Carlomagno."Were the 2 competing alliances in WWI Mars and Jupiter? Some might be inclined to agree. Truth is that millennials are not bookish, could not pass a diction test, and could care less. They have been brought up on technology, and in this field r quick studies. That is their "atout."To credit them with any degree of political sophistication is to give them too much credit. My hunch is that millennials who vote will be those mobilized by a particular issue or cause, such as amnesty,gay and women's rights.Their votes will go overwhelmingly to Clinton if she is the nominee.But I have a hunch that DB is pleasing two publics here: His TIMES's readers, and a college audience.
1
The overriding principal behind the statistics Brooks cites, I think, is that the younger folks have concluded that government is not the answer to much of anything, having witnessed the flop of. say. no child left behind, or the inability of government to deal with gun violence. And further, they may have concluded that it doesn't make a difference which party or even which person is in charge, having watched Obama largely get nothing done. Millennials may have also figured out that most government actions are to benefit the corporate campaign donors, and that it may be best to stand on your own two feet.
1
My two millennial children are very aware of what's going on and engaged in the political process. They recognize that the only candidate who has meaningful plans to upset the status quo - which is obviously needed with respect to income inequality, climate change, and the nature of governance itself - is Bernie. They are of the opinion that there's a far deeper movement supporting Bernie than polls show or the mainstream media reports. I hope they're right.
3
I think young people regardless of which generation they were in are not as engaged in politically identity. My Millennial daughters tell me that they are voting for Bernie Sanders. They are not excited about the election. They expressed a loss of faith in anyone getting anything done with the current congress and have little hope their lives will be affected by the presidential election. My oldest wishes Obama could run again. Congress is affecting people's enthusiasm more so than political identity.
4
The internet is changing social habits greatly. I feel more millennials rely less on face to face socialization and more on online "socialization". People can find online groups specifically geared to their exacting interests, negating the need to find actual human faces for the same information and companionship, politics included. Will millennials ever vote in greater numbers? Yes, if voting for a politician can be more akin to a Facebook like, or a Reddit upvote. Still have to go in person to actually pull a lever, or mail in a ballot? Reddit down vote to that.
2
Dear Mr. Brooks,
I appreciate your curiosity about my generation. I don't claim to be representative of this generation-- I'm married with two children, my husband is an Iraq War vet, I mostly stay at home with the kids, I sometimes go to church-- and at the same time I know I am a part of it. I'm fluently digital, I'm service-oriented, I'm optimistic and skeptical. I admit I feel entitled to a piece of the pie that reflects my contribution to society.
My distrust of large institutions was wrought by experience, it's certainly not an inherent trait. I'm proud to be a critical thinker, and I also dream of institutions with integrity that fulfill their promises and support society. Thank goodness and John McCain for the Post-911 GI Bill. It's changed our lives enormously for the better and gives me hope for future good governance.
Like many people in my generation, I don't use a landline, rendering me unlikely to be polled.
I will be using my laptop and cell phone to make phone calls to Iowa for the Bernie Sanders campaign this weekend. Change may be coming faster than you imagine.
Thanks.
I appreciate your curiosity about my generation. I don't claim to be representative of this generation-- I'm married with two children, my husband is an Iraq War vet, I mostly stay at home with the kids, I sometimes go to church-- and at the same time I know I am a part of it. I'm fluently digital, I'm service-oriented, I'm optimistic and skeptical. I admit I feel entitled to a piece of the pie that reflects my contribution to society.
My distrust of large institutions was wrought by experience, it's certainly not an inherent trait. I'm proud to be a critical thinker, and I also dream of institutions with integrity that fulfill their promises and support society. Thank goodness and John McCain for the Post-911 GI Bill. It's changed our lives enormously for the better and gives me hope for future good governance.
Like many people in my generation, I don't use a landline, rendering me unlikely to be polled.
I will be using my laptop and cell phone to make phone calls to Iowa for the Bernie Sanders campaign this weekend. Change may be coming faster than you imagine.
Thanks.
8
Also, millennials have been raised with the internet. Their social networks have been crafted and forged from behind a computer. No wonder there is little social trust. Relationships can be deleted, people bullied, envy watered, reality smothered, sex becomes an image. And these social networks have followed them everywhere on their smart phones--a constant connection to mini-letdowns, a mean comment, lack of inclusion; a constant connection to no eye contact, cold emojis, digital hugs; a constant connection to the wife or husband one does not have, the children others have, the community one is not a part of. When a generation lacks social trust, a mountain of depression and anxiety are soon to follow.
Some Millennials combat this by staying put, meeting up, creating friend-families. But, I think deep down these feel tenuous, not permanent, fleeting grabs at "family".
Some Millennials combat this by staying put, meeting up, creating friend-families. But, I think deep down these feel tenuous, not permanent, fleeting grabs at "family".
4
If 35% of millennials identify themselves as conservatives, they MAY think of this label as being a true conservative from the past instead of the radical group that has taken over the Republican party and the right. Conservatives and liberals can and, in the past, have come together to work for the good of the country, to find areas of agreement and compromise. However, not the far right who doesn't believe in these ideals.
"37 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds identify as liberal and 35 percent identify as conservative.
"37 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds identify as liberal and 35 percent identify as conservative.
Representing that percentages of this & that opinion held by percentages of loosely defined demographic groups are the facts that define our political culture is just false. And flippant statements about why millenials don't or won't vote underlines the unaccountable world of a generation informed by varying degrees of social/digital "facts." No matter, voting is the lifeblood of our democracy & we should be finding ways to encourage this social engagement rather than explaining it away because I can't afford to travel??
My son is a millennial and many of these descriptions fit: he would call himself neither "liberal" nor "conservative"; he doesn't identify with an organized religion; he's 27 and unmarried. But, perhaps, it's the old labels that confuse Mr. Brooks.
My son and his friends see all the problems in the world and are willing to take them on. They believe in solutions. They tune out pandering, hand-wringing and useless babble. They think Republicans are nuts. Perhaps it's unjustified but they do believe big data holds solutions.
My son and his friends are not "religious" but they passionately seek meaning. When you have Christians spouting intolerance with every breath for gays, Muslims, unmarried parents and anyone who's not like them, why would the church be where millennials go for meaning? Instead, they mediate, they go to yoga, they go to alternative spiritual enrichment classes, they hold discussion groups.
And maybe they're not married but they're not nearly as promiscuous as my generation was. My son and his friends are very monogamous and stay in relationships for years, some which eventually culminate in marriage. They do want children but they've had to delay that decision until they have jobs that can support a family, something too many of them don't have.
Maybe you should talk to some of 65 percent who don't identify as conservative. You'd find them thoughtful, interesting, can-do people who are trying to create a phoenix out of the ashes of our destruction.
My son and his friends see all the problems in the world and are willing to take them on. They believe in solutions. They tune out pandering, hand-wringing and useless babble. They think Republicans are nuts. Perhaps it's unjustified but they do believe big data holds solutions.
My son and his friends are not "religious" but they passionately seek meaning. When you have Christians spouting intolerance with every breath for gays, Muslims, unmarried parents and anyone who's not like them, why would the church be where millennials go for meaning? Instead, they mediate, they go to yoga, they go to alternative spiritual enrichment classes, they hold discussion groups.
And maybe they're not married but they're not nearly as promiscuous as my generation was. My son and his friends are very monogamous and stay in relationships for years, some which eventually culminate in marriage. They do want children but they've had to delay that decision until they have jobs that can support a family, something too many of them don't have.
Maybe you should talk to some of 65 percent who don't identify as conservative. You'd find them thoughtful, interesting, can-do people who are trying to create a phoenix out of the ashes of our destruction.
17
This column notes the behavior of millennials without passing reference to the causes. Yes, we change jobs less frequently, but that's not due to an innate love of our careers, but due to the abysmal job market present in our nation. We travel, drive, and move less because - surprise- those are expensive things and most of us are barely staying afloat. The same goes for buying houses or starting families.
We have lived under the warped, crooked policies of the Reagan revolution for the past thirty five years. We have seen politicians- mostly Republicans- do everything in their power to dismantle and sell off our nation to the highest bidder, hollowing out our infrastructure and middle class, while leaving us to fight over the scraps. At the same time, these same politicians kick us while we're down and laugh in our faces. We've seen the cost of living and of education explode while jobs were outsourced, and the best opportunities reserved for the 1%. There's your low social trust.
The blazing homophobia and sexism of American religious institutions explains our low participation there. Oh, and Social Security isn’t broke. That’s just more pro-privatization nonsense.
I think Mr. Brooks will be surprised in 2016, and as far as us being a force in the future, certainly. But if he and others expect that to turn into a redux of the Reagan revolution, and an embrace of the incompetent, toxic sludge of the GOP, well, don’t hold your breath.
We have lived under the warped, crooked policies of the Reagan revolution for the past thirty five years. We have seen politicians- mostly Republicans- do everything in their power to dismantle and sell off our nation to the highest bidder, hollowing out our infrastructure and middle class, while leaving us to fight over the scraps. At the same time, these same politicians kick us while we're down and laugh in our faces. We've seen the cost of living and of education explode while jobs were outsourced, and the best opportunities reserved for the 1%. There's your low social trust.
The blazing homophobia and sexism of American religious institutions explains our low participation there. Oh, and Social Security isn’t broke. That’s just more pro-privatization nonsense.
I think Mr. Brooks will be surprised in 2016, and as far as us being a force in the future, certainly. But if he and others expect that to turn into a redux of the Reagan revolution, and an embrace of the incompetent, toxic sludge of the GOP, well, don’t hold your breath.
23
I am 60 years old...and I agree with you 10,000%
2
This data shows that millennials "want systemic change but there is no compelling form of collective action available." This one sentence points to a key characteristic of this generation. They see the GOP and the Dem's as twiiddley dum and twitddley dee. Neither offer much change for our economic structure and both parties have sold themselves to the corporate elite.
But David is wrong in his assessment that they think of retirement in terms of personal investments is wrong. Most millennials don't think of retirement at all and only despair about social security because they feel the GOP will gut it before they reach retirement age. They are so consumed with their student loans and trying to pay rent that they simply don't think much about the future at all.
The appeal of the Sanders campaign is that he speaks to the economic reality that they are living. The GOP field all pander to their corporate and billionaire backers and Clinton has never been a progressive. My guess is that if Ralph Nader were running again as a third party candidate they would flock to him by the tens of thousands.
But David is wrong in his assessment that they think of retirement in terms of personal investments is wrong. Most millennials don't think of retirement at all and only despair about social security because they feel the GOP will gut it before they reach retirement age. They are so consumed with their student loans and trying to pay rent that they simply don't think much about the future at all.
The appeal of the Sanders campaign is that he speaks to the economic reality that they are living. The GOP field all pander to their corporate and billionaire backers and Clinton has never been a progressive. My guess is that if Ralph Nader were running again as a third party candidate they would flock to him by the tens of thousands.
1
Let's see. The world (however it is defined) that the millennials inherit from the boomers: overextended budgets at all levels, thoughtlessly exploited natural resources, wickedly expensive education that they themselves have to finance, etc. You get the idea. They are immobilized by the belief that they can do nothing to make the world a better place because individual and collective actions (through voting or collective action) are useless. They are overwhelmed by parents, teachers and other authority figures who insist that in order to fashion a life, they have to follow a game plan of some sort--hence, their passions and interests are sacrificed to their survival. They lost part of their childhood to day-care and now part of their young adulthood to hopelessness, frustration. and student debt.
I work with millennials and I see them asking the right questions. One of these days they will figure out that they can make the world a better place-through some kind of politics or collection action or other strategy. I look forward to seeing how they do it!!
I work with millennials and I see them asking the right questions. One of these days they will figure out that they can make the world a better place-through some kind of politics or collection action or other strategy. I look forward to seeing how they do it!!
2
Thank you for these statistics. I have faith in the younger generations to work
for a more equitable world. Hope of all hopes is they have learned what not to do.
This could be wrong, but they just may come out in droves to vote this year.
The millennials in this family and their friends do vote.
I am 65 and feel as the millennials do in regard to the state of the world and its social, economic, political and religious contracts that are not only outdated, many are backwards and continue environmental degradation and abuse at the expense of humanity for the sociopathic lust of money and power.
A story that is as old as mankind itself.
We are all living through the changes of evolution on many levels, structures of all kinds are decimating. New structures will be created. The Earth has been changing since its inception and the people of the earth have had to be fluid.
Mother Earth will have the final say .
Can we stop our egoistic ways long enough to listen to her warnings with great attention?
Let's work to save Mother Earth.
If we can't breathe the air or drink the water........
Practice environmental stewardship.
for a more equitable world. Hope of all hopes is they have learned what not to do.
This could be wrong, but they just may come out in droves to vote this year.
The millennials in this family and their friends do vote.
I am 65 and feel as the millennials do in regard to the state of the world and its social, economic, political and religious contracts that are not only outdated, many are backwards and continue environmental degradation and abuse at the expense of humanity for the sociopathic lust of money and power.
A story that is as old as mankind itself.
We are all living through the changes of evolution on many levels, structures of all kinds are decimating. New structures will be created. The Earth has been changing since its inception and the people of the earth have had to be fluid.
Mother Earth will have the final say .
Can we stop our egoistic ways long enough to listen to her warnings with great attention?
Let's work to save Mother Earth.
If we can't breathe the air or drink the water........
Practice environmental stewardship.
2
"Their attitudes toward Social Security perfectly reflect this stance. Most millennials expect to see no Social Security benefits by the time they retire."
That is sad, since it demonstrates that they have swallowed right-wing lies about Social Security hook, line, and sinker.
Social Security is fine for the foreseeable. I could be fine indefinitely with a few minor tweaks (such as raising or removing its upper cap). Millennials should not give up on Social Security but vote for candidates who promise to fix, rather than ruin, I mean "radically reform," it.
That is sad, since it demonstrates that they have swallowed right-wing lies about Social Security hook, line, and sinker.
Social Security is fine for the foreseeable. I could be fine indefinitely with a few minor tweaks (such as raising or removing its upper cap). Millennials should not give up on Social Security but vote for candidates who promise to fix, rather than ruin, I mean "radically reform," it.
1
There is one parsimonious explanation for the data you report. Millennials are much poorer than their parents meaning they can't afford cars, to change jobs, or to marry and are carrying huge amounts of student debt. And, as the support of Bernie Sanders indicates they really are angry about it for they are educated enough to know that "the game is rigged" as both Senators Sanders and Elizabeth Warren claim. Secretary Clinton is seen as a creature of the very Wall Street power elite that they see as the source of the problem. That's why I, a progressive Democrat, and my two millennial sons do not support Mrs. Clinton unless she moves ever further left perhaps by having Sen. Warren as a running mate. That would provide the energy to turn them out in 2016.
2
Millennial attitudes towards Social Security are grounded in a foreboding sense of inevitable disenfranchisement. Experience as prologue, earlier generations have taken the bounty of historical circumstance for themselves and left a raw and disordered nation for Millennials. "Entitled" is often the disparaging remark used to characterize the generation's attitude. The term is generally thrown as the commentator happily banks their Social Security check. And yet, Millennials still willingly pay into a system they have no reasonable expectation will return their effort and investment. Furthermore, their actions directly support generations that enjoyed greater prosperity and left them to economic turmoil and insecurity.
There is a difference between self-reliance through necessity and self-reliance as political preference. The reason Bernie Sanders is popular among Millennials is Millennials want a strong social safety net. They are more liberal, secular, and socially involved than this study suggests. Hence, the record-breaking volunteer hours logged. The problem is they came of age to find their social security net looking like a tattered battle flag. I believe disillusionment and apathy are relatively natural short-term responses.
I agree though; a generational cultural shift is coming but I wouldn't characterize it as an explosion. That suggests violent temporal brevity. I would say one tide is coming while another is going out.
There is a difference between self-reliance through necessity and self-reliance as political preference. The reason Bernie Sanders is popular among Millennials is Millennials want a strong social safety net. They are more liberal, secular, and socially involved than this study suggests. Hence, the record-breaking volunteer hours logged. The problem is they came of age to find their social security net looking like a tattered battle flag. I believe disillusionment and apathy are relatively natural short-term responses.
I agree though; a generational cultural shift is coming but I wouldn't characterize it as an explosion. That suggests violent temporal brevity. I would say one tide is coming while another is going out.
1
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
--- William Butler Yeats
These kids are scared and have every right to be. They are looking for security and see precious little of that around. The country isn't winning its wars anymore. The economy looks to be permanently shaky. Health care and housing costs are already astronomical and going higher. Many millennials are
staggering under the weight of college loan bills they'll likely never be free from. The country is caught up in class. racial, gender and political wars that appear to be permanent. None of these kids appear to be saving a dime. They are submerged in an entertainment culture that is cheap and vulgar and growing more so by the day. The technological compensations now available to them -- Facebook and Twitter, new devices and apps appearing every day -- are nothing to build a life on, and they know it.
The politics of the times -- radical Republicans offering guns, but no vision of a unified country, radical Democrats offering nothing but government and more government -- are nothing to base a future on. The churches and synagogues are going empty.
They are being replaced by marijuana parlors.
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
--- William Butler Yeats
These kids are scared and have every right to be. They are looking for security and see precious little of that around. The country isn't winning its wars anymore. The economy looks to be permanently shaky. Health care and housing costs are already astronomical and going higher. Many millennials are
staggering under the weight of college loan bills they'll likely never be free from. The country is caught up in class. racial, gender and political wars that appear to be permanent. None of these kids appear to be saving a dime. They are submerged in an entertainment culture that is cheap and vulgar and growing more so by the day. The technological compensations now available to them -- Facebook and Twitter, new devices and apps appearing every day -- are nothing to build a life on, and they know it.
The politics of the times -- radical Republicans offering guns, but no vision of a unified country, radical Democrats offering nothing but government and more government -- are nothing to base a future on. The churches and synagogues are going empty.
They are being replaced by marijuana parlors.
2
Some people hear "self-reliance" and assume it refers to a person's determination to care for himself independently and satisfy basic needs without begging for help. Images of the pioneer farmer come to mind. But that's not what Emerson was talking about, and I'm pretty sure Brooks has read Emerson. In that context, self-reliance is all about shedding conformity and following one's own ideas.
Self-reliance is only possible when one understands and analyzes those ideas to which he or she refuses to conform. Are millennials detached from organized religion because they reject the doctrine and culture or simply because they've never really spent much time in church. Rejecting the church is not the same as overlooking it. Likewise, do they lack faith in Social Security because they have analyzed the system and history and see no hope in it, or are they simply conforming to the political rhetoric they've been fed by the shovelful for the past 20-30 years?
I would also ask whether self-reliance is possible at all if one's social life revolves around social media. (I think not.)
Self-reliance is only possible when one understands and analyzes those ideas to which he or she refuses to conform. Are millennials detached from organized religion because they reject the doctrine and culture or simply because they've never really spent much time in church. Rejecting the church is not the same as overlooking it. Likewise, do they lack faith in Social Security because they have analyzed the system and history and see no hope in it, or are they simply conforming to the political rhetoric they've been fed by the shovelful for the past 20-30 years?
I would also ask whether self-reliance is possible at all if one's social life revolves around social media. (I think not.)
1
I'm 27. I live in Texas, which is most likely not going to stay a conservative state indefinitely and ultimately end up destroying the Republican party in the next 20-30 years (barring some massive changes in GOP leadership). This is just a guess - I've been wrong before - but I think it's a solid one.
I've read through dozens of the comments on this article and I have to say that I appreciate the constructive insight many of the NYT's readership have offered. Nevertheless, I didn't see a comment emphasizing the effect that apathy is having on my generation. While it's impressive that roughly 30-35% of people under 30 voted in the 2012 presidential election (I think that figure is accurate) that is still not very promising. Think about it: 1 out of 2 people under 30 did not care to vote.
Granted, this doesn't negate the fact that as people grow older they tend to exercise their right to vote more often and in more elections, but it is still a disquieting figure. In the 1960's and 1970's, according to the census bureau - somewhere around 10-15% more young people voted than have voted recently. True - this figure may seem inflated given that there were less young people in the country at the time, but the percentages are taken over several thousand individuals surveyed and not hundreds of thousands.
Mr. Brooks is certainly not dogging the general perspective the facts support.
I've read through dozens of the comments on this article and I have to say that I appreciate the constructive insight many of the NYT's readership have offered. Nevertheless, I didn't see a comment emphasizing the effect that apathy is having on my generation. While it's impressive that roughly 30-35% of people under 30 voted in the 2012 presidential election (I think that figure is accurate) that is still not very promising. Think about it: 1 out of 2 people under 30 did not care to vote.
Granted, this doesn't negate the fact that as people grow older they tend to exercise their right to vote more often and in more elections, but it is still a disquieting figure. In the 1960's and 1970's, according to the census bureau - somewhere around 10-15% more young people voted than have voted recently. True - this figure may seem inflated given that there were less young people in the country at the time, but the percentages are taken over several thousand individuals surveyed and not hundreds of thousands.
Mr. Brooks is certainly not dogging the general perspective the facts support.
1
The differences between Boomers and Millennials may be very significant. There are studies showing a clear decrease in violent crime over the past 40 years. And some researchers have pointed to unleaded gasoline as a major reason. We may never know for sure, but it is quite possible that Millennials differ physiologically from their parents because they have been brought up in a cleaner environment. This may just be a correlation for these studies and not causative, but there are forces beyond social pressures in our world and it is quite possible that these generational differences are actually very deep. When the Millennials finally take the reins from their parents, we may see decisions that more closely resemble decisions made before during the post war years. I personally hope it involves more planning for the future and empathy. What I as a Millennial see now are pointless wars and economic animosity demonstrating an inability to empathize along with willful ignorance of global warming denial and myopic slashing of basic science research funding. It appears to be governed by either greed or negative emotion. Maybe the Millennials won't show up this election but I have hope that eventually they will reverse some of the decisions that have led us toward our current state of desperate individualism the Boomers have imposed on us all.
1
"You just can't be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life."
Guess who has done the detaching, Brooks? Trust is strong among millennials themselves.They're more committed to an urban lifestyle than boomers. Many "hippies" were attracted toward an idyllic country life, albeit near to the cultural affinities of the city. Gloria Steinem warned the counter-cultural women of the hippy era, wisely, to avoid becoming a figure like Christina in the Andrew Wyeth painting. Some dreams were dashed, futures were enhanced for many.
The result is that the social lives of millennials is more circumspect than that of the previous boomers, but more firmly grounded. Many although unmarried are paired off & are thwarted by sky high living costs instituted by the greed mongers. Opportunities are fewer than in earlier decades, but pursued with intensity. Fear, Brooks, the millennials are more likely to become revolutionaries than their parents. Divest now, Brooks, to avoid cultural shock & a threadbare legacy.
Guess who has done the detaching, Brooks? Trust is strong among millennials themselves.They're more committed to an urban lifestyle than boomers. Many "hippies" were attracted toward an idyllic country life, albeit near to the cultural affinities of the city. Gloria Steinem warned the counter-cultural women of the hippy era, wisely, to avoid becoming a figure like Christina in the Andrew Wyeth painting. Some dreams were dashed, futures were enhanced for many.
The result is that the social lives of millennials is more circumspect than that of the previous boomers, but more firmly grounded. Many although unmarried are paired off & are thwarted by sky high living costs instituted by the greed mongers. Opportunities are fewer than in earlier decades, but pursued with intensity. Fear, Brooks, the millennials are more likely to become revolutionaries than their parents. Divest now, Brooks, to avoid cultural shock & a threadbare legacy.
1
These things aren't as mysterious as the columnist suggests. Millenials change jobs less frequently because they can FIND jobs less frequently. They drive less frequently because more are living in cities or at home with their parents. They use mass transit less frequently (even if they don't own cars) for the same reasons they don't own cars: insufficient disposable income to offset the additional expense and inconvenience of driving, insuring, and parking a personal vehicle. (Insufficient disposable income also dictates that they will be less culturally, as well as socially, mobile, implying more time at or close to a physical or psychological "home base.")
I agree that something's going to change. But -- no surprise, except, perhaps to David -- we're not on the verge of an impending "generational war" where millenials throw aging parents off social security and Medicare (and under the bus). Rather, my hope is that we'll see people coming together to expand and improve the best of our social programs for the common good. That may require more movement toward a Bernie Sanders-style socialist "revolution," but millenials have little to lose in moving beyond the status quo.
Two things millennials shouldn't tolerate: (1) further shredding of the social safety net and (2) codification into law and legal precedent the fascistic tendencies and trends of the current Republican Party. Realistically, occasionally some of us are going to need each other's help. Be ready!
I agree that something's going to change. But -- no surprise, except, perhaps to David -- we're not on the verge of an impending "generational war" where millenials throw aging parents off social security and Medicare (and under the bus). Rather, my hope is that we'll see people coming together to expand and improve the best of our social programs for the common good. That may require more movement toward a Bernie Sanders-style socialist "revolution," but millenials have little to lose in moving beyond the status quo.
Two things millennials shouldn't tolerate: (1) further shredding of the social safety net and (2) codification into law and legal precedent the fascistic tendencies and trends of the current Republican Party. Realistically, occasionally some of us are going to need each other's help. Be ready!
4
I think that you have come the closest to understanding us than just about anyone that I have ever read talk about voters under 40, and yet your understanding fogs up a bit at the end.
For most of us, the burden of astonishing student loan debt combined with the various economic and labor force strains within the past decade has left scars not likely to be forgotten about in middle age. While older generations have been supportive, I often find that they are completely out of touch with the lack of financial opportunities available to us. I am 35 years old, well employed, and looking at a choice for the next ten years that of either children, retirement savings, or purchasing a house. With self-discipline, I may be able to straddle two options, but unlikely to get all three. And I have known this for at least ten years.
Why would you expect that a generation wishing to be free of financial burdens, untethered with technological innovations, and unconstrained in self-expression would ever hope to attach themselves to a "solid supporting structure" when that structure is a debt-driven economy?
There is not one candidate that I want to vote for now. I was a Democrat until about 5 years ago, but I am party-less now because I do not feel there is a established party that represents me. I do feel quite gray when thinking about November.
For most of us, the burden of astonishing student loan debt combined with the various economic and labor force strains within the past decade has left scars not likely to be forgotten about in middle age. While older generations have been supportive, I often find that they are completely out of touch with the lack of financial opportunities available to us. I am 35 years old, well employed, and looking at a choice for the next ten years that of either children, retirement savings, or purchasing a house. With self-discipline, I may be able to straddle two options, but unlikely to get all three. And I have known this for at least ten years.
Why would you expect that a generation wishing to be free of financial burdens, untethered with technological innovations, and unconstrained in self-expression would ever hope to attach themselves to a "solid supporting structure" when that structure is a debt-driven economy?
There is not one candidate that I want to vote for now. I was a Democrat until about 5 years ago, but I am party-less now because I do not feel there is a established party that represents me. I do feel quite gray when thinking about November.
2
Well, I'll give it a shot and why not, with a 20ish daughter and knowing some of her friends. Just take the opposite of what Brooks says. The millenials don't expect permanent jobs, permanent residences, permanent relationships and they are as likely to change themselves as to have change imposed on them. They're in no hurry to "settle down". They have had much more life experience - travel, foreign countries, meeting and interacting with diverse groups of people - than previous generations, but have less in the way of formal knowledge or interest in obtaining such knowledge, despite college degrees. They are much less prejudiced than the previous generations, and don't have the divisive political views of their parents. Their political views are not well formed but they know what they're looking for - personal freedom, an end to prejudice, a decent life for people, wars only when strictly necessary. They assume basic government services and support will be provided at a reasonably efficient level.
2
I submit that the liberal and conservative identities of millennials are triggered more by their self-inflicted social retardation than any of the cultural indicators listed by Mr. Brooks. And their social retardation is predicated upon our culture's growing inability to communicate. I refer to the incessant fervor with social media outlets such as twitter, facebook, youtube etc.
I'd be surprised if half the young adults in this country are able to spell 'government' much less interact in a formalized demeanor to explain their political views coherently. Slang, awful grammar, expletives, and immaturity pervade the linguistics of our youth and millennials. Witness how they communicate via emojis, acronyms, and abbreviations. And what should we expect from a generation where "knowledge" (political or otherwise) is lazily obtained online from the aforementioned online resources where anyone can say anything, in whatever context suits them.
Millennial rejection of social structures like organized religion, marriage, having children is no surprise; all of those things require the ability to communicate, and the ability to not only accept but love opinions, perspectives, and feelings that differ from your own. Accordingly, their electing to not relocate and change jobs may have more to do with their inability to do so than does their desire for 'stability' pursuant to the recession. In short, much can be learned by putting down their phones and leaving their safe spaces.
I'd be surprised if half the young adults in this country are able to spell 'government' much less interact in a formalized demeanor to explain their political views coherently. Slang, awful grammar, expletives, and immaturity pervade the linguistics of our youth and millennials. Witness how they communicate via emojis, acronyms, and abbreviations. And what should we expect from a generation where "knowledge" (political or otherwise) is lazily obtained online from the aforementioned online resources where anyone can say anything, in whatever context suits them.
Millennial rejection of social structures like organized religion, marriage, having children is no surprise; all of those things require the ability to communicate, and the ability to not only accept but love opinions, perspectives, and feelings that differ from your own. Accordingly, their electing to not relocate and change jobs may have more to do with their inability to do so than does their desire for 'stability' pursuant to the recession. In short, much can be learned by putting down their phones and leaving their safe spaces.
Despite the fact that he is reputed to teach in the tweedy Ivy Tower, Brooks clearly has no knowledge of millennials. My wife and I raised 2
"Self-reliant" is a sick joke to those who have watched millennials raised by intrusive helicopter parents, who do their kids' work, right through college.
Like the Times' journalists, that generation has zero sense of skepticism. They see something on facebook or elsewhere on the net, and they bite right into the hook, line and sinker. Hence their belief that they won't get a dime from Social Security, not that any SS contributions are made for those unpaid internships Brooks and Flat Earth Tom Friedman are always advising millennials to jump at. Simply lifting the cap on wages subject to SS withholding makes the program solvent indefinitely. That cap only favors those making more than $118K per year, by the way.
My daughters have no college debt. They both chose scholarships, one at a small, unfashioable NJ private college, the other at a Public Honors College, rather than ask their parents to pay full bust out retail at more highly regarded private colleges that they got into. It enabled the older to take a couple of years to decide her career path, living at home and earning peanuts teaching swim-gym. She's now a special ed teacher with a masters degree. The younger is working for room & a minute stipend for the Quaker Volunteer Service. But there's something terribly amiss when in less than 5 months, 2 of the 6 volunteers quit.
"Self-reliant" is a sick joke to those who have watched millennials raised by intrusive helicopter parents, who do their kids' work, right through college.
Like the Times' journalists, that generation has zero sense of skepticism. They see something on facebook or elsewhere on the net, and they bite right into the hook, line and sinker. Hence their belief that they won't get a dime from Social Security, not that any SS contributions are made for those unpaid internships Brooks and Flat Earth Tom Friedman are always advising millennials to jump at. Simply lifting the cap on wages subject to SS withholding makes the program solvent indefinitely. That cap only favors those making more than $118K per year, by the way.
My daughters have no college debt. They both chose scholarships, one at a small, unfashioable NJ private college, the other at a Public Honors College, rather than ask their parents to pay full bust out retail at more highly regarded private colleges that they got into. It enabled the older to take a couple of years to decide her career path, living at home and earning peanuts teaching swim-gym. She's now a special ed teacher with a masters degree. The younger is working for room & a minute stipend for the Quaker Volunteer Service. But there's something terribly amiss when in less than 5 months, 2 of the 6 volunteers quit.
2
I keep telling the numbskull Democrats that millennials & independent progressives will work for a Sanders nomination but will let Hillary twist in the wind. Yet the institutional party seems determined to coronate Ms Clinton regardless of cost.
Many think Democrats could have a wave election should Bernie get the nomination while Hillary would be a heavy lift for a narrow vote. Hillary does not excite the base or independents. Beltway pundits & Villagers in media seem to ignore this or are clueless.
The millennial generation is the product of the most divorced generation in US history & have grown up in a world where many institutions at the bedrock of society have been plagued by scandal, corruption, ineffectiveness or have become outdated by disruptive changes. They are highly skeptical- they are more interested in consistency & doing rather than platitudes and promises.
Bernie's track record of accomplishing things by amendments and negotiation with seemingly incompatible politicians have yielded an impressive record in our highly dysfunctional House & Senate.
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record...
The reactionary right that holds the Republican Party in it's grip is the last gasp of generations slipping form political power. The generations on the rise have been left a mess to clean up, few resources to deal call upon and an intransigent group of elders who stand in their way.
Many think Democrats could have a wave election should Bernie get the nomination while Hillary would be a heavy lift for a narrow vote. Hillary does not excite the base or independents. Beltway pundits & Villagers in media seem to ignore this or are clueless.
The millennial generation is the product of the most divorced generation in US history & have grown up in a world where many institutions at the bedrock of society have been plagued by scandal, corruption, ineffectiveness or have become outdated by disruptive changes. They are highly skeptical- they are more interested in consistency & doing rather than platitudes and promises.
Bernie's track record of accomplishing things by amendments and negotiation with seemingly incompatible politicians have yielded an impressive record in our highly dysfunctional House & Senate.
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-gets-it-done-sanders-record...
The reactionary right that holds the Republican Party in it's grip is the last gasp of generations slipping form political power. The generations on the rise have been left a mess to clean up, few resources to deal call upon and an intransigent group of elders who stand in their way.
3
Yes, this missed the mark. Brooks confounds a lot of issues and cause and effect conclusions. He assigns differences in current attitudes between age groups and assigns the difference to generational change. Mainly it's not. It change due to age. The boomers at age 25 would look far more like today's millennials than like their current selves.
Brooks makes the absurd conclusion that millennials have less sex, because they have fewer sexual partners. Is that really a logical connection.
Brooks says millennials aren't really that liberal, then says they have no particular link to the Democratic Party unless an Obama or Sanders is running. Well, Sanders is by far the most liberal Democratic candidate, at least since McGovern. To be loyal toward Bernie is to be an economic liberal. All the surveys I've seen say millennials are very liberal on social issues.
I agree with Brooks that millennials have no particular loyalty to the Democratic Party as an institution. They are not excited by Hillary Clinton, primarily because she isn't liberal, except on some women's issues. They see her as a pro-war neocon, a defender of banks and the plutocracy, the enabler of her husband's crimes against women, and an unethical money-seeker, whose values do not coincide in any meaningful way with their values.
Brooks makes the absurd conclusion that millennials have less sex, because they have fewer sexual partners. Is that really a logical connection.
Brooks says millennials aren't really that liberal, then says they have no particular link to the Democratic Party unless an Obama or Sanders is running. Well, Sanders is by far the most liberal Democratic candidate, at least since McGovern. To be loyal toward Bernie is to be an economic liberal. All the surveys I've seen say millennials are very liberal on social issues.
I agree with Brooks that millennials have no particular loyalty to the Democratic Party as an institution. They are not excited by Hillary Clinton, primarily because she isn't liberal, except on some women's issues. They see her as a pro-war neocon, a defender of banks and the plutocracy, the enabler of her husband's crimes against women, and an unethical money-seeker, whose values do not coincide in any meaningful way with their values.
3
It seems that conservatives such as Mr. Brooks are betting on millenials being too ignorant to see that they are being fleeced. "40 percent expect to stay with their current employer for at least nine years." There is no guarantee that the company will be around in 9 years, but in any case the company will replace them with the cheapest labor available globally or with artificial intelligence as soon as it becomes available.
That and the "gig economy" in which Silicon Vally and Wall Street team up to foist companies' operating expenses onto workers by calling employees "contractors" ensure that most millenials won't be able to save for retirement and will be as dependent on Social Security as ever. They aren't planning to get married and have kids because they can't afford to, financially.
Brooks thinks that "concrete hunger for order, security and stability" will lead millenials to vote Republican even though the Republican party, in its zeal to placate the insatiable greed of its oligarch masters, has been creating disorder, insecurity and instability in their lives. I think that's going to be a tough sell.
That and the "gig economy" in which Silicon Vally and Wall Street team up to foist companies' operating expenses onto workers by calling employees "contractors" ensure that most millenials won't be able to save for retirement and will be as dependent on Social Security as ever. They aren't planning to get married and have kids because they can't afford to, financially.
Brooks thinks that "concrete hunger for order, security and stability" will lead millenials to vote Republican even though the Republican party, in its zeal to placate the insatiable greed of its oligarch masters, has been creating disorder, insecurity and instability in their lives. I think that's going to be a tough sell.
8
I live in Boston and interact with a lot of college students and young people getting started in life. Almost every young person I speak with (under 30) is supporting Bernie. They tell me they are tired of hearing about Hillary (period). They share insight into the financial crisis and how wall st and washinton try to control rather than let a free market be free. They want to travel and travel. None of them plan on having a mortgage. A good chunk of them feel that the money they spent on college did not return the education they expected. They are aware that the major increase in tuition was designed to keep them paying student loans forever. They are aware this was orchestrated by Congress and the institutions. Millenials will not be "mute" in this election. I am being told they will vote. I am being told they will not be organized and categorized or affiliated with any particular group. I am told that the fear that is broadcasted by the right wing on hot topics like abortion, race, guns is all hot air and they see through the cloud and disagree with the messages. Mr. Brooks have you actually talked with a 20-30 year old recently? Maybe you should. These young people come from all over the country and from different economic and politcal backgrounds and they want to stay in an Urban environment. Most of them reject any right wing scare tactics. They are voting for Bernie en masse.
9
Ditto..same among non Boston millennials as well, even those whose parents likely vote republican..
1
As a boomer, what I find depressing is that with the election of Reagan, who campaigned on a platform of pride, greed and anti-government rhetoric, the Republican party began dismantling a social system that had enriched the middle class and was making steady progress on equal rights. They still promote trickle down economics, calling the very wealthy the job creators. This economic "theory" has been discredited by 35 years of evidence that wealth trickles (and in fact floods) up in an unregulated capitalistic economy. To protect the privilege of the 0.1% the Republican party disputes the validity of evidence they don't like, and they disrupt the functions of government. The millennials were raised by economically stressed parents, they have witnessed an almost continuous string of failed wars, many are saddled with debt, they lived through an entirely avoidable economic collapse, they are underemployed, and they witness an almost paralyzed government. Why would they trust our institutions?
13
I find the logic of this piece flawed. The assumption is that, because millennials do not display a "progressive counter culture" and because they value order and stability in their personal lives", they are inclined toward some sort of political conservatism. In the sixties leftward leanings were associated with countercultural styles but the association was not inherent to the logic of progressivism. Previous generations of democrats were not associated with countercultural styles of life. The link is an unexamined assumption. I see no conflict between a craving for order and stability and progressive politics. I see more threats to stability (economics) and even safety (the gun thing) on the right in the present configuration of US politics.
9
It is counterintuitive, to say the least, to refer to a generation in which record numbers are remaining in their parents' home into their late twenties, or relying on their parients to pay the rent, as "self-reliant." Nor is their any blame in this. It is a situation forced on the nation by the collapse of the middle class. The ship of unionism, regulated markets and progressive taxation which made America great for tens of millions, instead of a few thousands, has been sunk but good by 35 years of conservative policies and the lies that promote them. Brooks has told his share of whoppers.
12
As a mental health professional, I have a far less sunny view: The statistics you cite to point to symptoms of Narcissistic, Paranoid and Schizoid personality disorders. We already know from research that Narcissistic Personality Disorder is on the increase. Mistrust, lack of intimacy, lack of risk-taking--the human species, at least in the US, is in decline. As boomers we should be thankful that we will be dead in 50 years and that we lived through the great era of American prosperity and creativity. The peak has been reached and it's all downhill from here.
25
Anne, thankfully we are not China. We can freely initiate our kids in elementary school in exercises of mindfulness and equip them with life long tools for coping.
Massachusetts has the best public school system in the country. Read here why.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/05/mass-schools-focus-well-bein...
Massachusetts has the best public school system in the country. Read here why.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/05/mass-schools-focus-well-bein...
1
I'm sure that your fellow mental health professionals are just bursting with pride at this post. Let me make sure I got it straight - "I got mine, Jack, so that those that follow can go to hell in a hand-basket?" Just the level of empathy I would hope for from my "mental health professional."
2
A lot of data here, Mr. brooks! What about the 78% of millenials still living in their parent's basement?
1
78% of a generation more populous than the Boomer generation are still living with their parents? Got a source, please?
Millennials portrait as described in the article: they have had so much college debt they cannot afford to get married, have kids, move, travel, or change jobs. The media is totally biased towards liberalism/socialism. These people want socialism, gigantic government (so they do not have to think) and the massive taxes that go along with it. So let them pay fort it.
"It could be they are more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington."
Would those lives with the richer experiences bet those with no jobs, no retirement savings, no effective government, and a crumbling infrastructure?....Oh, and no sex to boot. The boomers, the sons and daughters of the "Greatest Generation", have left quite a legacy.
Would those lives with the richer experiences bet those with no jobs, no retirement savings, no effective government, and a crumbling infrastructure?....Oh, and no sex to boot. The boomers, the sons and daughters of the "Greatest Generation", have left quite a legacy.
Left out is the fact that the Millennials came of age in the worst economy since the Great Depression. Add the wage stagnation and the continuing growth of extreme income inequality to the soup, it shouldn't be surprising that the Ms lean left.
They see the intolerance, meanness and not-so-subtle bigotry of a not-so-small chunk of the GOP "base" and a few of its leading candidates and so look to a Bernie Sanders. If most of the Boomer parents did one thing right, it is that they raised their kids to look past a person's race, ethnicity, sex or orientation.
Millennials aren't anti-capitalist so much as they reject the rightist version of capitalism that is more a crony oligarchy that would sacrifice American workers and the environment for profit maximization and the annual 10-12% raise to the CEO while the cubicle dwellers and warehouse staff get nada.
The Millennials probably also want to make America great again but not on the terms of the demagogues and economic royalists who would take us back to about 1953 or worse.
They see the intolerance, meanness and not-so-subtle bigotry of a not-so-small chunk of the GOP "base" and a few of its leading candidates and so look to a Bernie Sanders. If most of the Boomer parents did one thing right, it is that they raised their kids to look past a person's race, ethnicity, sex or orientation.
Millennials aren't anti-capitalist so much as they reject the rightist version of capitalism that is more a crony oligarchy that would sacrifice American workers and the environment for profit maximization and the annual 10-12% raise to the CEO while the cubicle dwellers and warehouse staff get nada.
The Millennials probably also want to make America great again but not on the terms of the demagogues and economic royalists who would take us back to about 1953 or worse.
6
"It could be they are more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington."
I can't imagine how debilitating it must be to be a conservative, having to view the world as such a grossly simplified dichotomy. You have my sympathy for your ailment, Mr. Brooks.
I can't imagine how debilitating it must be to be a conservative, having to view the world as such a grossly simplified dichotomy. You have my sympathy for your ailment, Mr. Brooks.
6
Millennials may lean to the left now because Mom & Dad are paying for everything. When they grow up and realize that it is them paying the countries bills they will realize they're mistake.
1
Mom & Dad are paying for everything? For some maybe, but not for most. Those young men and women are working hard in an economy that rewards already established wealth rather than work. As a result, they spend less, drive less and live frugally like the generation of the 1930s. They are smart enough to know that the sorry old saw that "lower taxes for the well off create more jobs" is hogwash. And, they're tired of the coded and not-so-coded bigotry and sexism coming from self-described conservatives.
1
jacrane, you didnt mention that when they become GOP versions of the Stepford wives they will, as good Republicans, talk about responsibility and being conservative, then put the charges on the country's credit card. Worked for George Bush.
The millennials I have talked to, all understand fully what is happening to our planet. "Jonathan Amos Science BBC News Correspondent writes, "Humans have made an indelible mark on Planet Earth in a very short period of time.
There is little doubt now that we have entered a new geological age, believes an International Scientific Panel. The team, which has been tasked with defining the so-called Anthropocene, says humanity's impacts on Earth will be visible in sediments and rocks millions of years into the future. The researchers are working towards a formal classification of the new epoch. An open question is the formal start date, which some panel members think could be the 1950s. This decade marks the beginning of the "Great Acceleration", when the human population and its consumption patterns suddenly speeded up. It coincides with the spread of ubiquitous "techno materials", such as aluminium, concrete and plastic. It also covers the years when thermonuclear weapons tests dispersed radioactive elements across the globe. Their long-lived activity will still be apparent to anyone who cares to look for it hundreds of millennia from now."
These millennials know FULLY well they are left holding the bag.
There is little doubt now that we have entered a new geological age, believes an International Scientific Panel. The team, which has been tasked with defining the so-called Anthropocene, says humanity's impacts on Earth will be visible in sediments and rocks millions of years into the future. The researchers are working towards a formal classification of the new epoch. An open question is the formal start date, which some panel members think could be the 1950s. This decade marks the beginning of the "Great Acceleration", when the human population and its consumption patterns suddenly speeded up. It coincides with the spread of ubiquitous "techno materials", such as aluminium, concrete and plastic. It also covers the years when thermonuclear weapons tests dispersed radioactive elements across the globe. Their long-lived activity will still be apparent to anyone who cares to look for it hundreds of millennia from now."
These millennials know FULLY well they are left holding the bag.
3
Things change all the time: this is merely a snapshot in time. To use the current data as a trend is not reliable. War, for example, changes attitudes.
The current GOP options suggests war. The current Democrat option is less likely to engage in war, but will certainly use selected confrontations with the "for hire" warriors they currently have.
The popularity of Bernie Sanders is something to think about -- social concerns is growing. At best, this may be the last chance for war monger politicians.
The current GOP options suggests war. The current Democrat option is less likely to engage in war, but will certainly use selected confrontations with the "for hire" warriors they currently have.
The popularity of Bernie Sanders is something to think about -- social concerns is growing. At best, this may be the last chance for war monger politicians.
1
Whatever future politics may be, the economic prospects will be dismal without Social Security: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/09/04/it-only-takes-10400-to-be-rich... . So lets hope this generational assessment is incorrect. That "self reliance" has a dark downside, as Mr. Brooks knows and implies, and with respect to those people relying "algorithm based" investments strategies, looking at the site's online data those are among the wealthiest of that generation and do not represent the median (mean is skewed upward by a few very wealthy young people). These considerations ought not to be hyper-partisan. Social Security has only been in existence 80 years, i.e. beginning during the Great Depression--with good reason.
The significant difference in perception of whether or not "the U.S. Is the greatest country", is clearly due to the fact that the Millennials reject the homophobia and racism that were the bigoted baggage of many baby boomers. The hideous human carnage of the senseless and destabilizing Iraq war, initiated by those in the immediate post WWII generation, increased their cynicism toward their country.
1
Racism: this is the 80,000 ton elephant that Brooks left out in his skewed analysis of what nauseates young people about the old system. I don't know what the playing field looks like from the skyboxes of white privilege, but in the trenches of an underbudgeted, center-city public university, where anxiety runs rampant, students experience on their own skin the hatred hurled at them by the bigoted useful idiots maneuvered by the uber-rich "Owners of the Country" (George Carlin.)
They are targeted for the color of their skin, their religion, their gender, their economic status, their immigrant looks. No wonder they do not trust anyone: they know they are surrounded by very powerful enemies and they don't believe the present system - the electoral system - can deliver them from evil.
They are targeted for the color of their skin, their religion, their gender, their economic status, their immigrant looks. No wonder they do not trust anyone: they know they are surrounded by very powerful enemies and they don't believe the present system - the electoral system - can deliver them from evil.
56
Really? How come they don't mix anymore than any other generation? We see them out and about, My kids have always had black friends through HS and college and beyond, but no more than I did.
We're pretty stuck in the pattern of thinking of Baby Boomers as the dominant group in the USA. In 30 years, that will have changed drastically. Anyone who was born after 1970 will age into a society where the old are a rapidly declining segment of the population. That will change things a lot in ways that are hard to imagine.
Millennials are conservatives only in the Libertarian sense of the word. They will never be substantial voting bloc for the GOP, because the GOP is a combination of a fundamentalist religious organization and corporate lobbying firm masquerading as a political party. Unlike Mr. Brooks, millennials know this and understand that modern America is one giant scam.
6
David Brooks is living in fantasy land again.
As millennials struggle with employment and income, I can't see them voting for any candidate who doesn't believe in a living minimum wage, or even just a minimum wage.
There are no GOP candidates that support a living minimum wage. Most want to eliminate the current minimum wage.
There are no GOP candidates that support increasing any benefits that a low earning millennial would need rely on.
A vote for a GOP candidate would be against a millennial's own self interest.
Just like it would be for any American.
As millennials struggle with employment and income, I can't see them voting for any candidate who doesn't believe in a living minimum wage, or even just a minimum wage.
There are no GOP candidates that support a living minimum wage. Most want to eliminate the current minimum wage.
There are no GOP candidates that support increasing any benefits that a low earning millennial would need rely on.
A vote for a GOP candidate would be against a millennial's own self interest.
Just like it would be for any American.
7
The typical Millennial is apolitical. They don't care.
They don't read newspapers, and they watch comedy shows to get their news.
They walk around all day with thumbs on the smart phone, hypnotized and transfixed. Their political vies are 10 miles wide, and one inch deep. There is no story behind the story.
If I read it on Facebook, it must be true!
Nice try Brooks, swing and a miss.
They don't read newspapers, and they watch comedy shows to get their news.
They walk around all day with thumbs on the smart phone, hypnotized and transfixed. Their political vies are 10 miles wide, and one inch deep. There is no story behind the story.
If I read it on Facebook, it must be true!
Nice try Brooks, swing and a miss.
1
Partly true...but then we have start ups filled with millennials, here in the Boston area. Curious, intelligent, hard working, hungry, want to learn, thirsty...and they are not all "Asian" kids...surprise surprise, no they are mostly from liberal arts colleges where they did not clearly know what they wanted to do with their lives, but they graduated, knowing how to read, how to write, how to be analytical, how to apply your knowledge and how to cope if everything fell from under your butt.
2
Many Millennials are in for a rude awakening. When a generation divorces itself from the nation's political ethos, as time passes and they grow older and hopefully more wise, they will begin to see the correlation between the effects that political activism can have on their lives, or they will succumb to it.
Sure, sitting on the sidelines is an option. Some choose not to vote. That is their right. To knowingly make such a choice is a valid one. I would prefer that on all ballots "None Of The Above" be a choice. If that wins a do-over is enacted until they get it right, if they can get it right.
For now, Millennials still sit in the catbird seat, home with the folks, getting on with more important things in their lives than the dull monotonous drone politics presents to them. They, as we did, will learn that the sooner one becomes involved in the political process is far more important than how many people have "friend-ed " them. It will be a greater benefit to them in the long run.
The consequences of non-participation is a tricky one. Unless one is to the manor born, not being involved in politics connotes an apathy which for now may seem inconsequential, but down the road will have enormous effects on their lives. Like reading, activism can be a wonderful habit to embrace when young. Once engaged it will hard to break. It will last a lifetime. It takes a village and there is no cutoff in population. The more the merrier.
DD
Manhattan
Sure, sitting on the sidelines is an option. Some choose not to vote. That is their right. To knowingly make such a choice is a valid one. I would prefer that on all ballots "None Of The Above" be a choice. If that wins a do-over is enacted until they get it right, if they can get it right.
For now, Millennials still sit in the catbird seat, home with the folks, getting on with more important things in their lives than the dull monotonous drone politics presents to them. They, as we did, will learn that the sooner one becomes involved in the political process is far more important than how many people have "friend-ed " them. It will be a greater benefit to them in the long run.
The consequences of non-participation is a tricky one. Unless one is to the manor born, not being involved in politics connotes an apathy which for now may seem inconsequential, but down the road will have enormous effects on their lives. Like reading, activism can be a wonderful habit to embrace when young. Once engaged it will hard to break. It will last a lifetime. It takes a village and there is no cutoff in population. The more the merrier.
DD
Manhattan
1
Boomers, regardless of political affiliation, have wrecked this country. They have squandered the wealth and goodwill of this country and will continue to bleed it well into old age. I'm not a millennial, but I have faith they'll change the course of the country in a positive way.
Millennials have been screwed by all the chaos the Republican Party has foisted upon the nation. I feel for them. I grew up at a time when both political parties encompassed a range of views, but all could pretty much agree on a narrative for the country and its future. The millennial well has been poisoned and they're all struggling to find a drop to drink.
5
These nonsense statistics about how people "expect to see no benefits from Social Security" have to stop. We've been hearing that for forty or more years.
People check that box on surveys because it seems like a cynical, wise thing to say, and they hear other people say it.
Millennials will pay into the system and as they age, you'd better believe they'll expect--demand--their money from the system, just like everybody else.
People check that box on surveys because it seems like a cynical, wise thing to say, and they hear other people say it.
Millennials will pay into the system and as they age, you'd better believe they'll expect--demand--their money from the system, just like everybody else.
6
I stopped reading the column at the first sentence and went straight to the comments section so I could breathe
8
Always.
3
"Young Republicans are much more moderate than older Republicans. Among millennials who lean Republican, only 31 percent have consistently conservative views. About 51 percent have a mixture of liberal and conservative views."
"Just 32 percent of millennials say America is the greatest country on earth, compared with 50 percent of boomers. Millennials are very suspicious of organized religion."
What is not to like in that picture? We finally have a chance of catching up with the other, more advanced, Western democracies.
"Just 32 percent of millennials say America is the greatest country on earth, compared with 50 percent of boomers. Millennials are very suspicious of organized religion."
What is not to like in that picture? We finally have a chance of catching up with the other, more advanced, Western democracies.
5
"Among likely caucus goers under 45, Sanders was crushing Clinton 56 to 34 percent. Among the older voters, Clinton was leading 59 to 24", writes Brooks.
Are the 45 and older voters rejecting Sanders because they don't like him or his politics or because they don't think he can win the presidency?
Us older folks remember McGovern, who won only 17 electoral votes, compared to Nixon's 520. Very much like Sanders, McGovern was adored by the under 45 folks, who didn't bother to vote in the general election.
Are the 45 and older voters rejecting Sanders because they don't like him or his politics or because they don't think he can win the presidency?
Us older folks remember McGovern, who won only 17 electoral votes, compared to Nixon's 520. Very much like Sanders, McGovern was adored by the under 45 folks, who didn't bother to vote in the general election.
76
Who is Brooks kidding? The "self-reliant" generation that must return to their parents' after graduating from college? The same generation that is sick and tired of the shenanigans wrought by the "Reagan revolution" and its lies so well adopted by politicians of both stripes on the grounds that it was "good politics," never mind any economic reality? No sir, millenials are fed up with the self-absorbed boomers and they're anything but self-reliant.
3
I'm heartened that Sanders is in the front runner with the younger generation. I suspect he'll have the nomination, no matter how much money Clinton's rich friends throw at this election.
Polls are designed to take diverse human beings with a multitude of motivations and try to make them into numerical statistics. It's fun to read but probably has a fraction to do with real people.
A lot of people I know have lowered their expectations of their country and mostly, their government. I sense a prevailing cynicism and even a disgust with the inequities of the world today, and also a sense of hopelessness, as if the whole system is so unwieldy and so unjust that to exist within it requires a certain invisibility. Computer games and other sorts of absorbing media and electronic distractions are taking the place of friendships and all the pain and joy of real life interactions. Why?? I sense it's because there's a threshold of tolerance for emotional pain, and that - I believe - is in part a direct result of an economy that dealt a serious blow to the future, and the injustices that were established when the rich saw no ramifications for betraying their own nation. But there's also a huge shift in the role of the sexes, and conventions that have been dismantled, leaving expected roles in a state of confusion which further erodes personal trust. Those changes may be for the better in the long run, but in the short run, they give rise to insecurities, hence escapism.
Polls are designed to take diverse human beings with a multitude of motivations and try to make them into numerical statistics. It's fun to read but probably has a fraction to do with real people.
A lot of people I know have lowered their expectations of their country and mostly, their government. I sense a prevailing cynicism and even a disgust with the inequities of the world today, and also a sense of hopelessness, as if the whole system is so unwieldy and so unjust that to exist within it requires a certain invisibility. Computer games and other sorts of absorbing media and electronic distractions are taking the place of friendships and all the pain and joy of real life interactions. Why?? I sense it's because there's a threshold of tolerance for emotional pain, and that - I believe - is in part a direct result of an economy that dealt a serious blow to the future, and the injustices that were established when the rich saw no ramifications for betraying their own nation. But there's also a huge shift in the role of the sexes, and conventions that have been dismantled, leaving expected roles in a state of confusion which further erodes personal trust. Those changes may be for the better in the long run, but in the short run, they give rise to insecurities, hence escapism.
Brooksian logic:
1) Millennials are "detached from solid supporting structures."
2) Those structures from which they are detached led to "financial crisis, family instability and political dysfunction."
3) Ergo, millennials will be unable to "lead a happy middle-aged life."
Huh?
1) Millennials are "detached from solid supporting structures."
2) Those structures from which they are detached led to "financial crisis, family instability and political dysfunction."
3) Ergo, millennials will be unable to "lead a happy middle-aged life."
Huh?
6
Another survey was done showing that 68% of millennials lie in on-line surveys. Whether they were lying on that survey is uncertain. Little of this should be believed. 49% of them said they didn't have sex in a year? Ah, no. Or, as a former president put it -- "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."
1
My son is a millennial. I can tell you, their tough-to-pin-down ideology isn't ideology. It's revulsion at the institutions and their leaders that have largely failed at governing and instead have willfully engaged in wrongful action and calculated inaction to benefit special interests, not the people.
Let's tick down a short list:
Repeal of Glass-Steagall
War in Iraq
Supporting Too Big To Fail Financial Institutions
Lack of prosecutions for the Great Recession
Pandering to discredited anti-stimulus voodoo and tickle-down theorists and inflation fear-mongers
Erosion of workers' rights
Explosive increase in college tuition
Aggressive policing
Obamacare debacle - we didn't need a hugely complex and expensive system built on political and industry pandering, we needed national healthcare/single payer like other developed nations.
Broken social services
Broken tax system favoring those who already have more money than they know what to do with
Broken campaign finance - No, corporations are not people, and no, we should not allow a shadow network of super wealthy donors to have so much influence
Greed - see all items above
Lack of human empathy/sympathy - look around you
Lack of interest among elected and career government official in actually governing.
They say frogs will stay in a pot of water as it's heated, unaware they are slowly boiling to death.
We've all been in the pot too long. Millennials have just jumped in and know how it will end.
Let's tick down a short list:
Repeal of Glass-Steagall
War in Iraq
Supporting Too Big To Fail Financial Institutions
Lack of prosecutions for the Great Recession
Pandering to discredited anti-stimulus voodoo and tickle-down theorists and inflation fear-mongers
Erosion of workers' rights
Explosive increase in college tuition
Aggressive policing
Obamacare debacle - we didn't need a hugely complex and expensive system built on political and industry pandering, we needed national healthcare/single payer like other developed nations.
Broken social services
Broken tax system favoring those who already have more money than they know what to do with
Broken campaign finance - No, corporations are not people, and no, we should not allow a shadow network of super wealthy donors to have so much influence
Greed - see all items above
Lack of human empathy/sympathy - look around you
Lack of interest among elected and career government official in actually governing.
They say frogs will stay in a pot of water as it's heated, unaware they are slowly boiling to death.
We've all been in the pot too long. Millennials have just jumped in and know how it will end.
14
Those institutions were destroyed by The Republican Party, and they will pay the price with their well deserved extinction.
2
What millennials are is smart. They're the first generation born into the information age and they use it well. They don't rely on textbooks which are outdated by the time they read them. They are information and technology savvy and know how to build great social networks. They are too smart to vote republican because their life if guided by facts not fiction.
Their future is bright. The GOPs is not.
Their future is bright. The GOPs is not.
6
Sounds good, but a lot of information on the internet is incorrect.
1
Don't you wish? I guess we'll have to wait and see. This column isn't going to change anyone's mind, as usual.
2
Did Brooks really describe Democrats and liberal philosophy as "progressive counterculture"? Yes, just slide that bias right in there David. Counterculture? Seriously? No, caring for your fellow man and working to limit the raging inequality in our society is not and should not be described as "counterculture" sheesh.....
17
Mr. Brooks, there is nothing strange about Millennials. Have you checked the attitudes of the populations of Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Australia, New Zealand and Cananda lately? They fit right in. Also: "You just can’t be as detached from solid supporting structures as millennials now are and lead a happy middle-aged life." Would you kindly enumerate the objective and evidential reasons to make that statement? Thanks.
4
Choice between Bernie and Hillary is a no–brainer, for any left leaning person. I will vote with millennials here, as a matter of principle.
However, the choice between Hillary and *any* Republican candidate is an even larger no–brainer. I hope millennials will vote with me here, as a matter of common sense...
However, the choice between Hillary and *any* Republican candidate is an even larger no–brainer. I hope millennials will vote with me here, as a matter of common sense...
180
They must DT. You and I have lived through the severe beating McGovern took under similar circumstances. And we know how that turned out. Of course the country survived, but at times it was quite bleak and questionable.
1
Our youth are Republicans if they only knew it. Right!
“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven.”
Ecclesiastes & “Turn!, Turn!, Turn!” by Pete Seeger (1962)
Ecclesiastes & “Turn!, Turn!, Turn!” by Pete Seeger (1962)
1
It might be a smaller point, but how does Brooks conclude that millennials are so much less trusting than boomers? I'm a boomer, smack-dab in the middle of the cohort, and I assure you, I never would have and still won't participate in any of the social networking enterprises such as AirBnB and Uber. Give me a licensed professional, please, not just any John or Jane Doe who decides it's time to make a few bucks. I would NEVER let a stranger rent my home or my car. My motto is don't lend anything that you are not prepared to lose.
56
David Brooks must have been one of the more fortunate of the latter part of the baby boomers. Most of the people I know around my age have also experienced extreme economic insecurity, the feeling that they will not be able to collect social security, retire, or do any number of things that they may have planned to do. They are burdened with debt from their own college educations, the lack of savings due to unemployment, medical needs, etc. Those of us who came of age in the late 70s onward have seen no lack of unaffordable housing, poor job prospects, expensive medical care, and a failing social safety net.
All most of us have heard, even though we were born very late in the baby boom, is how wonderful America is. Here's what we've experienced: job loss, extended unemployment, medical bankruptcy, age discrimination, race discrimination, sexual discrimination, trickle down economics, loss of our nest eggs for retirement when other emergencies occurred, and so on. We've kept our end of the bargain with America. America has failed all of us because we elected politicians who serve their campaign donors and big business more than they serve us. Our taxes pay their salaries yet they ignore us except when they need to win votes.
Then again David, you are insulated from all of that because you are a shill for the GOP. You blow their horn every chance you get. But you have no idea what life has been like for those born after 1955.
All most of us have heard, even though we were born very late in the baby boom, is how wonderful America is. Here's what we've experienced: job loss, extended unemployment, medical bankruptcy, age discrimination, race discrimination, sexual discrimination, trickle down economics, loss of our nest eggs for retirement when other emergencies occurred, and so on. We've kept our end of the bargain with America. America has failed all of us because we elected politicians who serve their campaign donors and big business more than they serve us. Our taxes pay their salaries yet they ignore us except when they need to win votes.
Then again David, you are insulated from all of that because you are a shill for the GOP. You blow their horn every chance you get. But you have no idea what life has been like for those born after 1955.
107
I think Mr Brooks missed the mark.
The fundamental view of millennial folks (I'm the eldest of them, nearly 35) is that the institutions of our society have failed us. This is a generation that has largely done what they were told they were supposed to do: They stayed in school, and got good grades. They avoided drugs and unintended pregnancy (and even sexual promiscuity). They are for the most part opposed to racism and sexism and homophobia. They went to college in record numbers. But none of that translated into economic security: underemployment and unemployment is the norm, not the exception, among college graduates under age 35.
Most of the behavior you observe reflects that economic insecurity: They will hang onto their jobs because they know how hard it is to get one. They travel less because they can't afford to. They don't think that the US is the greatest country in the world because in their experience it isn't. They don't get married or have kids because marriage and children are risky and expensive. They avoid church because the preachers are telling young people that their troubles are because of their moral failings, when they know full well that's hokum.
It's not a matter of pro-institution or anti-institution: It's wanting, desperately, institutions that work for us rather than against us. The popularity of Bernie Sanders in that age group is because he is advocating forcefully for making the federal government work for us.
The fundamental view of millennial folks (I'm the eldest of them, nearly 35) is that the institutions of our society have failed us. This is a generation that has largely done what they were told they were supposed to do: They stayed in school, and got good grades. They avoided drugs and unintended pregnancy (and even sexual promiscuity). They are for the most part opposed to racism and sexism and homophobia. They went to college in record numbers. But none of that translated into economic security: underemployment and unemployment is the norm, not the exception, among college graduates under age 35.
Most of the behavior you observe reflects that economic insecurity: They will hang onto their jobs because they know how hard it is to get one. They travel less because they can't afford to. They don't think that the US is the greatest country in the world because in their experience it isn't. They don't get married or have kids because marriage and children are risky and expensive. They avoid church because the preachers are telling young people that their troubles are because of their moral failings, when they know full well that's hokum.
It's not a matter of pro-institution or anti-institution: It's wanting, desperately, institutions that work for us rather than against us. The popularity of Bernie Sanders in that age group is because he is advocating forcefully for making the federal government work for us.
315
you are so correct.
3
It is not the institutions of democracy that have failed us; it is who is inhabiting those institutions.
As the influence of the South in the nation rose, more illiberal tendencies became dominant.
A recalcitrant, illiberal South deflected the government from real concerns like rising wages and economic growth and replaced them with phony concerns like religious fundamentalism and opposition to gay marriage and altogether made a fetish out of sexual issues, like those fundamentalists in Syria enslaving and prostituting women in the name of Islam
As the influence of the South in the nation rose, more illiberal tendencies became dominant.
A recalcitrant, illiberal South deflected the government from real concerns like rising wages and economic growth and replaced them with phony concerns like religious fundamentalism and opposition to gay marriage and altogether made a fetish out of sexual issues, like those fundamentalists in Syria enslaving and prostituting women in the name of Islam
3
Wonderful comment! As the parent of someone a bit older tha you, he too feels let down by the government and fears there will be little to no support there whe he retires. We, his parents, feel a strong need to be frugal in our retirement, just in case he needs our support, should he fall ill or for any reason become disabled, as well as to pass on what we can, to assist him in his old age. He works hard, has been independent since age 18, but he deserves social security and Medicare (the latter is a great expense for its beneficiaries despite being there!).
Again, thanks for your wonderful comment!
Again, thanks for your wonderful comment!
2
At last, someone writes about millennials without mentioning Lena Dunham!
44
"K.D.P," So I will mention Ms. Lena Dunham! Her HBO show said it all during Season #1, Episode #1. And I found her program absolutely vulgar. Now I read that it will end in 2017. Thank God!
1
Who's Lena Dunham?
1
What this piece under plays is the significance of the great support millennials are giving both the Democratic Party and Bernie Sanders. A recent national poll by the Harvard Institute of Politics shows that millennials 18 - 29 want a Democrat in the White House far more than a Republican - 56 per cent to 35 per cent. Sanders wins the support of more millennial Democrats than Clinton - 41 to 35 per cent (and among college students, Sanders' margin is, as Trump would say, huge - 53 to 19 (link below.)
Why might this be? According to this poll, almost half of millennials say that the "American dream is dead." While they may aspire to have that job that (as this piece describes it) lasts nine years, they know that in an era of layoffs every quarter and short-term gigs, this is far out of reach. They know that their chances of owning a home, pursuing a stable career and sending their own children to college without taking on massive debt are far smaller than what their parents had.
The millennial vote in the primaries will be critical. I hope they stream to the polls in crowds to vote for Sanders. I know both of my beloved millennials will.
http://www.iop.harvard.edu/sites/default/files_new/pictures/151208_Harva...
Why might this be? According to this poll, almost half of millennials say that the "American dream is dead." While they may aspire to have that job that (as this piece describes it) lasts nine years, they know that in an era of layoffs every quarter and short-term gigs, this is far out of reach. They know that their chances of owning a home, pursuing a stable career and sending their own children to college without taking on massive debt are far smaller than what their parents had.
The millennial vote in the primaries will be critical. I hope they stream to the polls in crowds to vote for Sanders. I know both of my beloved millennials will.
http://www.iop.harvard.edu/sites/default/files_new/pictures/151208_Harva...
16
"They want systemic change but there is no compelling form of collective action available. Their only alternative, which is their genius, is to try to fix their lives themselves, through technology and new forms of social interaction, rather than mass movements."
What they may think is partly a result of what they are taught.--by people like Brooks, who know so little.
Society won't become more "social" and less individualistic unless and until the corporation changes.
We need to put fiduciary law on a non-contractual basis, and then the corporation will be a place where people can work, not just a place that senior management can exploit.
What they may think is partly a result of what they are taught.--by people like Brooks, who know so little.
Society won't become more "social" and less individualistic unless and until the corporation changes.
We need to put fiduciary law on a non-contractual basis, and then the corporation will be a place where people can work, not just a place that senior management can exploit.
5
It is amazing to look at a number of the indicators that Mr. Brooks takes as signs that Millennials "hunger" for order and security - desire to stay at a job, delaying purchases of cars, not expecting children, etc - and not mention one of the defining characteristics of the generation: the college educated among them are beginning their work lives with crushing college debt. 40 years of policies have put more and more of college financing into loans instead of into grants and tuition support. No kidding Millennials are not buying up new cars - they graduate college with the cost of a well equipped mid-sized family sedan already due. Those who go on to additional professional education end up having to pay off several luxury automobiles. Of course they are delaying purchases and want predictable incomes. Boomers and Generation X told them they needed to go to college to have any chance at a better life - but we failed to tell them college has been restructured into a 30 year mortgage without a guarantee that you can pay it back.
It is no wonder that they gravitate towards Senator Sanders. Secretary Clinton, for all of her other accomplishments and qualifications, is deeply involved in the wing of the Democratic Party that pushed it sharply to the right and acquiesced rather than opposed the financial industry's take over of our economy.
If you want to understand this generation you have to explain how the previous generations broke the social contract.
It is no wonder that they gravitate towards Senator Sanders. Secretary Clinton, for all of her other accomplishments and qualifications, is deeply involved in the wing of the Democratic Party that pushed it sharply to the right and acquiesced rather than opposed the financial industry's take over of our economy.
If you want to understand this generation you have to explain how the previous generations broke the social contract.
23
This column is a near perfect example of a pseudointellectual's reliance on culled statistics to "prove" a preexisting supposition. The resulting "conclusion" is without substance and essentially meaningless. However, it did elicit several excellent comments that are actually substantive and meaningful. If that was your intent, Mr. Brooks, well played.
15
Younger voters are always drawn to idealists. Just look at Rand/Ron Paul among young conservatives
1
Politics, religion, the economy, perhaps it is relative in the end, as to whether one is happy in middle-life, or not. Postcards exchanged: a staunch American grey-beard, a seasoned Republican, a trace of bafflement in his voice, while we both agree to disagree, and yet agree that we worry for others, his grandchildren. He does not understand why his oldest son is not concerned about politics, about the future of his Country, and the young people I meet, either are hanging out on the political street burning posters of Obama, or my elderly American Iraqi friend is getting heated calls from young volunteers of the Democratic National Convention. 'Hang up' I tell her 'and do not engage with these heavy breathers'.
True, I have yet to listen to a political debate, while a quiet fever in my blood simmers. To my Irish Catholic friend who is offering me shelter 'do not post anything political on FB. We need you in America for your knowledge of water resources. No need to mention you shook hands with Jeb Bush'.
To my African friend, you always leave a murmur in my heart, for your family values, your faith, your caring about others. To some powerful tough Republican friends I admire in many ways, but I feel shabby these days because I have allowed these presidential candidates to make me feel like a failure.
I smiled because there is something farcical of reading the essays of Orwell in the comfort of a large warm house, while my vote is cast for Clinton. No change.
True, I have yet to listen to a political debate, while a quiet fever in my blood simmers. To my Irish Catholic friend who is offering me shelter 'do not post anything political on FB. We need you in America for your knowledge of water resources. No need to mention you shook hands with Jeb Bush'.
To my African friend, you always leave a murmur in my heart, for your family values, your faith, your caring about others. To some powerful tough Republican friends I admire in many ways, but I feel shabby these days because I have allowed these presidential candidates to make me feel like a failure.
I smiled because there is something farcical of reading the essays of Orwell in the comfort of a large warm house, while my vote is cast for Clinton. No change.
1
Gen X CANNOT be from 1965-1980, as GENEration X, as well as EVERY other GENEration, has to do with GENEtics; from the second of birth to the youngest age of acceptable adulthood, which under u.s law, pre-adult is 18 (while full-fledged adulthood is 21) to choose, on their own, sanz-parental permission, to continue their GENEtic line-Have children.
Gen X begins at 0000hrs (12am) Jan 1st, 1965, and ENDS when that baby reaches 18 years of age on December 31st at 2359hrs (11:59pm), 1983. Millennials, or Millies, no matter how much markets and stats wish to manipulate their numbers to throw Gen X employed onto the Millie unemployment heap to "balance" things out, are those with birthdates starting Jan 1st, 0000hrs (12am), 1984 (which is why Orwell chose '84 as the title of his novel; the GENEration that, by adulthood, would bring about Big Brother, based on 18 year spans created by Brokow from G.i to Silent to 'Boomers) to December 31st, 2359hrs (11:59pm) 2002, ironically in the most Big Brother era of the post 9-11 era until people moved on by 2008/09.
So get your Gens right. And for all you reading, don't buy into it. If your birthdaye is from 1981-1983, you ARE a Gen X'r.
Gen X begins at 0000hrs (12am) Jan 1st, 1965, and ENDS when that baby reaches 18 years of age on December 31st at 2359hrs (11:59pm), 1983. Millennials, or Millies, no matter how much markets and stats wish to manipulate their numbers to throw Gen X employed onto the Millie unemployment heap to "balance" things out, are those with birthdates starting Jan 1st, 0000hrs (12am), 1984 (which is why Orwell chose '84 as the title of his novel; the GENEration that, by adulthood, would bring about Big Brother, based on 18 year spans created by Brokow from G.i to Silent to 'Boomers) to December 31st, 2359hrs (11:59pm) 2002, ironically in the most Big Brother era of the post 9-11 era until people moved on by 2008/09.
So get your Gens right. And for all you reading, don't buy into it. If your birthdaye is from 1981-1983, you ARE a Gen X'r.
Mr Brooks, could it be that millennials change jobs less frequently because they're afraid of job security so they stay in the job that has been stable, even though it may "suck', out of fear that they might be unemployed. You know, "last one in, first one out"? Do they not own cars because they can't afford them? A cheap new car in MA starts at close to $20K. I speak from experience since our daughter just went car shopping last week and the cheapest KIA on the lot was over $17K. Couple that cost with the outrageous cost of auto insurance and this puts new cars out of reach of many young adults since the aggregate cost for both is around $700 a month. Add exorbitant rent to this and it's understandable why most young adults live at home. There is no employer loyalty, we are all expendable and just viewed as a financial burden and not a company asset. Our COL goes up yearly but our wages are stagnant. Right to work states are even worse with government sanctioned wage stagnation and repression since they have literally taken any power unions might have held from the workers.
As for US "exceptionalism" millennials aren't fooled. FB and access to international news help them see that our country is in a downward spiral. Many would move if they could, including our 5 adult children.They are not afraid of "socialism" seeing how it works for the benefit of citizens in European countries, Japan etc. They know which political party is their future and this scares Brooks to death!
As for US "exceptionalism" millennials aren't fooled. FB and access to international news help them see that our country is in a downward spiral. Many would move if they could, including our 5 adult children.They are not afraid of "socialism" seeing how it works for the benefit of citizens in European countries, Japan etc. They know which political party is their future and this scares Brooks to death!
55
Why can't your 5 adult children move to one of the many socialist paradises throughout the world? Central American children are on the move. Middle Eastern children are on the move. African children are on the move. Is your America so unexceptional that your 5 kids are paralyzed in the wastelands of New England? What a pity.
1
It is unfortunate that so many have accepted the premise that Social Security is going to completely run out of money. This program has a constant source of income from workers and employers. It is possible that benefits might have to be reduced, but not to nothing. We all know which party represents employers and reflects their desire not to have to pay these taxes. With the disappearance of employer pensions, workers often have nothing but Social Security as a continuing form of income. Anyone attempting to live on the interest of their bank accounts is not doing well these days. Also, by the time Millennials retire, we Boomers will be gone and place less strain on the system.
28
What is your point, Mr. Brooks?
13
This article suffers from two dangerously naive notions.
First, Millennials are not developing a social conscience, and making a conscious choice about moving left. They are not developing a political philosophy; they are responding to "free." To generalize, their life has thus far been a free ride (helicopter parents, low-rent enabling teachers, soft college majors, subsidized or free lifestyle courtesy parents). Bernie's promise of free education, loan forgiveness and other huzzas by hosing the rich - is catnip. When a generation's first question is: "what have you done for me lately?" - there is no way for them to build trust with anyone (how could they get a satisfactory answer to let their guard down?).
Second, Millennials are not a political force - not a muted political force. They are disengaged, disunited (everyone was told they could be artists, TV reporters, or ballerinas; they are special because mommy and Mrs. Fields in seventh grade English told them so). They don't read literature; they proudly skim it when required. Their most meaningful relationship is with their mobile device. Did you not see the tantrum of the occupy movement? There was not one anti-war protest, no real support for the BLM movement. Naval gazing, self-indulgent children living in their parents' basement hardly make for a political constituency.
Deconstructing Millennials for drawing insights into the electorate is therefore a highly iffy endeavor.
Kalidan
First, Millennials are not developing a social conscience, and making a conscious choice about moving left. They are not developing a political philosophy; they are responding to "free." To generalize, their life has thus far been a free ride (helicopter parents, low-rent enabling teachers, soft college majors, subsidized or free lifestyle courtesy parents). Bernie's promise of free education, loan forgiveness and other huzzas by hosing the rich - is catnip. When a generation's first question is: "what have you done for me lately?" - there is no way for them to build trust with anyone (how could they get a satisfactory answer to let their guard down?).
Second, Millennials are not a political force - not a muted political force. They are disengaged, disunited (everyone was told they could be artists, TV reporters, or ballerinas; they are special because mommy and Mrs. Fields in seventh grade English told them so). They don't read literature; they proudly skim it when required. Their most meaningful relationship is with their mobile device. Did you not see the tantrum of the occupy movement? There was not one anti-war protest, no real support for the BLM movement. Naval gazing, self-indulgent children living in their parents' basement hardly make for a political constituency.
Deconstructing Millennials for drawing insights into the electorate is therefore a highly iffy endeavor.
Kalidan
10
Kalidan, do you actually know any millennials? I have four children in that age group and about 20 employees and not one of them conforms to your rather cynical profile. By in large, they are hard working, loyal and responsible. Their attachment to smartphones is a bit disconcerting at times but as baby boomer I know that my cohort was far more disturbing to our elders than these young people should be to us. I'm actually quite hopeful that they are going to be able to handle the myriad problems bequeathed them by us and our forebears. (PS: the correct spelling is "navel")
4
It is not being leftward, in wanting a fair shake!
38
Income transfer, that's rich!! I hate to burst your bubble but there are 100's of thousands of democrats who aren't sitting at home waiting for their government handout!! The blue states are the wealthiest and the "donor" states. The red states are the "welfare" states taking in far more federal money than they pay out! And which political party was giving out free Thanksgiving turkeys as a bribe? Hint, it wasn't Democrats!
And onto religion. When will you stop trying to ram it down our throats?Who are you and your contrived "religion" to control my life? The countries that offer the best standard of living are the most secular. They offer better education opportunities, a higher well being quotient and access to medical care. Mandated sick leave, mandated vacations, access to either "free" or affordable daycare, invest in education and their citizens welfare instead of corporate welfare and unending war. I have 5 millennial children, none are religious. None are sitting at home waiting for their government hand-out. All are politically savvy and they ALL vote, and have since they turned 18. I worked on Elizabeth Warren's campaign. The youth involvement was astounding and encouraging. These kids are extremely politically savvy and not disconnected. They see their future and it's not looking too pleasant, especially if the R's gain control. Few deny climate change, many are appalled by Trump and are not deceived by Cruz, Rubio, Bush. Brook's greatest fear: that they'll vote!
And onto religion. When will you stop trying to ram it down our throats?Who are you and your contrived "religion" to control my life? The countries that offer the best standard of living are the most secular. They offer better education opportunities, a higher well being quotient and access to medical care. Mandated sick leave, mandated vacations, access to either "free" or affordable daycare, invest in education and their citizens welfare instead of corporate welfare and unending war. I have 5 millennial children, none are religious. None are sitting at home waiting for their government hand-out. All are politically savvy and they ALL vote, and have since they turned 18. I worked on Elizabeth Warren's campaign. The youth involvement was astounding and encouraging. These kids are extremely politically savvy and not disconnected. They see their future and it's not looking too pleasant, especially if the R's gain control. Few deny climate change, many are appalled by Trump and are not deceived by Cruz, Rubio, Bush. Brook's greatest fear: that they'll vote!
151
Thanks for pointing out this silly statement, hidden at the end of the second to last paragraph: "through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington." I about fell off my chair: the only income transfer we have seen since the 1980s (with the exception of the Clinton years, which were a brief time of financial security for lots of us) is from US to the tippy-top. It is to the obscene level now, and it was aided and abetted by elected politicians.
3
Democrats should propose an amendment to the Constitution that no state receives more in federal money then it pays to the federal government in taxes and fees, except in dire emergencies and by a 2/3 a vote of Congress. Then let's see what Mr. Brooks and his so called "self reliant" Republicans say to that.
3
Are the Millennials in red "welfare" states the paragons of political virtue like the Millennials in true blue Massachusetts? Or are they just slouched on the couch in the folks' basement, plugged into their digital fixes, waiting for their handouts to arrive from the "donor" blue states? Do you think these red neck millennials will vote for Sanders?
Once again I find Mr. Brooks sorta "wishin and hopin" when he makes bets with his pen that he really can't cash. Only 3 words in his current Opinion Article seems to hit the nail on the head. Our society is, and should be, seeking Order, Security and Stability in the Policies of those who are running for office, - be it City, State or Country.
Of course when it comes to Taxes, and War it is the duty of our representatives in Washington to not only address these issues, but to be clear headed enough to recognize that Inequality is rampant due to their ongoing reach for power and money while disregarding the common man, - being young, boomer or otherwise. When we see that only 300,000 of our population have far more incomes exceeding any gains the vast majority of hard working middle, and lower income folks through the Tax Policies of the Republican Majoritiy in the House who are basically controlled by the Lobbyists representing the largest Corporations in the Country. They are also seeking for the 26th time to end the National Care Act to protect the large Health Care Insurance Companies in the U.S.. They propose Vouchers to replace the current Medicare System that contributes to better health outcomes for the elderly in our society,- they make stupid arguments in attempting to deny the proven scientific case for Climate Change to protect the Energy Industry. I could wax on and on, - BUT - it is clear that Sanders' rise in polling, will bring a Democrat to Office in 2016.
Of course when it comes to Taxes, and War it is the duty of our representatives in Washington to not only address these issues, but to be clear headed enough to recognize that Inequality is rampant due to their ongoing reach for power and money while disregarding the common man, - being young, boomer or otherwise. When we see that only 300,000 of our population have far more incomes exceeding any gains the vast majority of hard working middle, and lower income folks through the Tax Policies of the Republican Majoritiy in the House who are basically controlled by the Lobbyists representing the largest Corporations in the Country. They are also seeking for the 26th time to end the National Care Act to protect the large Health Care Insurance Companies in the U.S.. They propose Vouchers to replace the current Medicare System that contributes to better health outcomes for the elderly in our society,- they make stupid arguments in attempting to deny the proven scientific case for Climate Change to protect the Energy Industry. I could wax on and on, - BUT - it is clear that Sanders' rise in polling, will bring a Democrat to Office in 2016.
28
Never happen but one wishes PEW could conduct a poll what these professors pump in these kids head. Takes a while when they get in the real world to get their head clear, then choose Bernie, or more of the Clintons. Clintons are predictable as we know what to expect.
1
Conservatives like Brooks want to pit the right against the left when most of us, left-right or young-old, want about 90% of the same thing.
The only real difference is same sex marriage. And people look back at that one day the way we look back at segregation 50 years ago.
In the meantime, the 1% keep getting richer and our schools keep getting worse.
The only real difference is same sex marriage. And people look back at that one day the way we look back at segregation 50 years ago.
In the meantime, the 1% keep getting richer and our schools keep getting worse.
57
Having a keyboard at hand does not embue one with any particular insight. Brooks proves this once again...
As one commenter said - we've not had a self-reliant generation in 10,000 years - or ever. Would it be the Mayflower generation (no they sailed on ships others built for them), or perhaps the generation that settled the West (no they homesteaded on land handed to them by the government), or perhaps the "greatest generation" (no, they stayed out of the war while 51 months of blood spilled in Europe and Asia). MIllenials - their so called self-reliance consists of voluntarily shackling themselves to a network powered and managed by others...
As one commenter said - we've not had a self-reliant generation in 10,000 years - or ever. Would it be the Mayflower generation (no they sailed on ships others built for them), or perhaps the generation that settled the West (no they homesteaded on land handed to them by the government), or perhaps the "greatest generation" (no, they stayed out of the war while 51 months of blood spilled in Europe and Asia). MIllenials - their so called self-reliance consists of voluntarily shackling themselves to a network powered and managed by others...
23
Really? Have you no sense of history, David?
Take a look back at 1992, and which demographic supported Clinton (Bill) or
Jerry Brown.
Thought so.
The young have always been willing to hang their support on the more progressive.
Take a look back at 1992, and which demographic supported Clinton (Bill) or
Jerry Brown.
Thought so.
The young have always been willing to hang their support on the more progressive.
23
Many of us still support Jerry Brown. We're happy to have him as our governor, but would be willing to share him with the rest of the U.S. Sadly, he's a decade too old to run for president.
1
Quoting statistics is all good and fine, but it never seems to occur to anyone to actually *ask* millenials. We have opinions about politics and the state of this country.
Random demographic polls are useless for answering the questions posed in this article. You need qualitative data; long form questionnaires or in-person interviews that allow us to speak for ourselves.
*sigh*
Where's Studs Terkel when you need him?
Random demographic polls are useless for answering the questions posed in this article. You need qualitative data; long form questionnaires or in-person interviews that allow us to speak for ourselves.
*sigh*
Where's Studs Terkel when you need him?
87
"Where's Studs Terkel when you need him?"
The millennial's Studs Terkel is probably somebody you've never heard of, because despite their great skill at reporting and interviewing the only job they can get is mopping floors.
That's part of the millennial's indictment of the institutions around them: The unemployment and underemployment means that the talents of the most educated generation in human history are mostly going to waste.
The millennial's Studs Terkel is probably somebody you've never heard of, because despite their great skill at reporting and interviewing the only job they can get is mopping floors.
That's part of the millennial's indictment of the institutions around them: The unemployment and underemployment means that the talents of the most educated generation in human history are mostly going to waste.
8
There IS hope for America in our younger generation. Sounds like they are PROGRESSIVE - not liberal or conservative.
15
With little left to share and bank upon by way of transmitting values and resources by the earlier generation, the new generation has obviously been forced to rely and fend for itself. But that doesn't mean the millenials lack drive and ingenuity, or feel socially disconnected, or shun social security. Given the opportunity and choice they too would like to have a minimum cover of social and economic security in times of uncertainties, like joblessness and economic stagnation.
6
To a large degree, I'd say this is an accurate assessment Mr. Brooks. At 33 years old, I would say that I'm largely disconnected from most social structures. I lean to the right, not the left, but I did vote for Obama (the first time around). This time I plan to vote Republican because my worldview is one that makes me increasingly distrusting of government. After losing my first job out of college in Boston, I left school and had the good fortune of getting a Masters Degree at a fairly prestigious European university. I struggled for more than a year to get a job and now currently work for myself as a consultant in real estate development. Working for myself, I've come to learn just how atrocious and high taxes are. The healthcare law from Obama, caused me to lose my insurance, doctor and raised my rates. It only made my very modest income that much more difficult to get by and run my consulting gig, which I do not consider viable in the long-term. I have no retirement savings to speak of, which concerns me greatly, and I have no viable plan to correct that. My personal view on Social security is that the Baby Boomer Gen milked this country dry and now I'm paying the price. I'm on Facebook and Twitter, but I essentially don't use them ever. Largely, I'd say my generation is a libertarian one. I blame corporate interests, politicians and government for decimating this country's identity and cohesion and any realistic hope for a chance to better my own living.
56
If you have a "very modest income" what "atrocious ... high taxes" are you paying?
Is it your FICA payments you are complaining about? It's true that 3/4s of Americans pay more in FICA than they do in income taxes, FICA is a regressive tax.
Nothing you have said provides any rational argument for voting "Republican," and none of the Republicans are advocating any plan that will improve your situation.
If you are simply voicing resentment, be careful what you ask for. "Burn it down" is not something you really want.
Bernie Sanders represents your interests much more than any of the Republicans.
Is it your FICA payments you are complaining about? It's true that 3/4s of Americans pay more in FICA than they do in income taxes, FICA is a regressive tax.
Nothing you have said provides any rational argument for voting "Republican," and none of the Republicans are advocating any plan that will improve your situation.
If you are simply voicing resentment, be careful what you ask for. "Burn it down" is not something you really want.
Bernie Sanders represents your interests much more than any of the Republicans.
13
Just curious, how did the Affordable Care Act cause you to lose your insurance? Was the plan you were under not comprehensive enough to meet the new ACA guidelines? How do you think voting Republican will make your life and the country better?
11
I think Hillary is your only option, given how you've described your views. Democrats are the new republicans, my friend. Obama tracks Ike nearly perfectly, whereas the republicans to a (wo)man are to the right of berlusconi... The only approximation of a democrat is Sanders, and given the quality of slander by Fox et al, he stands no chance.
5
Brooks sophistically writes on one hand:
"...could be they are more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington." as an explanation why young people may not vote.
yet a sentence earlier Brooks states:
"...unless Barack Obama (or Bernie Sanders) is on the ticket, they don’t strongly attach to the party and it is not clear that they will vote",
which means this suspicious lot will only vote if Bernie Sanders runs for president who is the most certain candidate to reverse economic polarization and be effective in the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington.
Which one is it:
"My own guess is that millennials will be a muted political force, at least in 2016"?
or it really:
My only hope is that millennials will be a muted political force in 2016?
"...could be they are more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington." as an explanation why young people may not vote.
yet a sentence earlier Brooks states:
"...unless Barack Obama (or Bernie Sanders) is on the ticket, they don’t strongly attach to the party and it is not clear that they will vote",
which means this suspicious lot will only vote if Bernie Sanders runs for president who is the most certain candidate to reverse economic polarization and be effective in the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington.
Which one is it:
"My own guess is that millennials will be a muted political force, at least in 2016"?
or it really:
My only hope is that millennials will be a muted political force in 2016?
12
I think one telling factor is the number of single young people, especially young women, who buy houses. Nearly unheard of when this Boomer was growing up.
1
Isn't this why we're blowing up a new bubble?
If you have an income, houses are relatively cheap now, and other investments are not doing well. But houses are a very dangerous investment, most Americans lock up too much of their disposable income into one.
Your thoughts today strangely dovetail with the question that was picked to ask John Kasich when he visited the NYT Editorial Staff. That question came from a millennial. Like you, I do not see a significant movement yet but it really makes me optimistic that the millennials are really thoughtful ( not necessarily liberal or conservative - these are baby boomer terms!).
1
More pop sociology from Mr. Brooks. Vague notions and assumptions which prove little.
3
I am opposed to classifying 20 years of births - of conflating a generation that contains my 17 year old son, Mark Zuckerberg and more than likely, at least some of the men who killed Osama bin Laden. It is a group that has a lot of variation, and like most generations, actually defies generalizations.
But if we are going there....
The millennials I know had the rug pulled out from under them. My nieces and nephew found themselves ear deep in college debt, back from the years when colleges were not required to make sure that students saw and understood what for the most part parents had signed them up for. Then they graduated into the worst job market since 1932.
I know some who resent having to pay for social security and medicare because they believe it will be taken from them. On the flip side, they don't really want to go the full Chinese model and be responsible for aging parents when they finally can afford a house and a kid, because they finally discharged all that debt.
The move left is more a correction - a recognition that they don't approve of how far right the nation moved. They don't approve of the social/religious politics. And they don't approve of policies which they don't quite understand, but see are not resulting in jobs and security and a future for them.
Politically, this means that we have a generation that is looking for politicians who will move the country back into leaving a stable life for the masses. Either party could work on that.
But if we are going there....
The millennials I know had the rug pulled out from under them. My nieces and nephew found themselves ear deep in college debt, back from the years when colleges were not required to make sure that students saw and understood what for the most part parents had signed them up for. Then they graduated into the worst job market since 1932.
I know some who resent having to pay for social security and medicare because they believe it will be taken from them. On the flip side, they don't really want to go the full Chinese model and be responsible for aging parents when they finally can afford a house and a kid, because they finally discharged all that debt.
The move left is more a correction - a recognition that they don't approve of how far right the nation moved. They don't approve of the social/religious politics. And they don't approve of policies which they don't quite understand, but see are not resulting in jobs and security and a future for them.
Politically, this means that we have a generation that is looking for politicians who will move the country back into leaving a stable life for the masses. Either party could work on that.
12
The millennials are preoccupied with survival. Once they discover that the margin is the new median and that their lives have been blighted by the wealth purloined by the .1%, might they Occupy on a national scale and use their technological prowess to forge a powerful consensus for pragmatic change? Toughened by undue suffering and melded by common experience, perhaps they will find the deep community they crave, one that embraces reality and empirical truth over the old religious and ideological shibboleths, which may have been tolerated in more prosperous times, but which are exposed as preposterous fantasy and as the proximate cause of their current economic, social and spiritual malaise.
5
"Most millennials expect to see no Social Security benefits by the time they retire."
Setting aside millennials have been hearing that canard from a certain stripe of politician their entire lives, some people have been saying the same since Ida May Fuller received the very first Social Security check on January 31, 1940. And yet, every month since, the checks have gone out.
So fear not, millennials. Social Security will be there for you too. Remove the ridiculous and regressive cap on Social Security earnings, and Social Security will be around forever.
Setting aside millennials have been hearing that canard from a certain stripe of politician their entire lives, some people have been saying the same since Ida May Fuller received the very first Social Security check on January 31, 1940. And yet, every month since, the checks have gone out.
So fear not, millennials. Social Security will be there for you too. Remove the ridiculous and regressive cap on Social Security earnings, and Social Security will be around forever.
34
I'm a Boomer, age 60 so I haven't gotten a check yet. But I do remember, in my 20's, hearing that SS would not be there for me. My husband is now receiving his - and I expect to receive mine. And the only way my kids won't get theirs, when their time comes, is if Republicans end up ruling the roost.
A truly horrendous thought.
A truly horrendous thought.
3
Brooks writes "...not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington."
Both my parents passed away recently and I just inherited millions tax-free, including a significant stock portfolio built up over decades which received a completely stepped-up basis valuation, so I can liquidate it all completely tax-free if I want. Is that the sort of income transfer Brooks is thinking of? I doubt it very much. Millennial would LOVE to see real income transfer programs coming out washington, such as the following, which is why they love Bernie:
- a living minimum wage that would increase aggregate demand,
- affordable college tuition, rather than government support for private on-line colleges that leave you jobless and indebted,
- practical Social Security modernization, i.e. raising the cap on wages, so it will be there for them
- national health care at similar per capita costs as other developed nations, not the current system of upward wealth transfer to the medical-industrial complex
- serious public investment in useful infrastructure / human capital, rather than just “No New Taxes”, like we used to do.
- real regulation of Wall Street and financial services, so we don’t live in a world of fraud which blows the economy up every 10 – 15 years, and supports Main Street.
- reform of the estate tax rules, so the wealthy can’t perpetuate an oligarchy of elite families, but create new opportunities based on personal merit
I could go on. Read Joseph Stieglitz.
Both my parents passed away recently and I just inherited millions tax-free, including a significant stock portfolio built up over decades which received a completely stepped-up basis valuation, so I can liquidate it all completely tax-free if I want. Is that the sort of income transfer Brooks is thinking of? I doubt it very much. Millennial would LOVE to see real income transfer programs coming out washington, such as the following, which is why they love Bernie:
- a living minimum wage that would increase aggregate demand,
- affordable college tuition, rather than government support for private on-line colleges that leave you jobless and indebted,
- practical Social Security modernization, i.e. raising the cap on wages, so it will be there for them
- national health care at similar per capita costs as other developed nations, not the current system of upward wealth transfer to the medical-industrial complex
- serious public investment in useful infrastructure / human capital, rather than just “No New Taxes”, like we used to do.
- real regulation of Wall Street and financial services, so we don’t live in a world of fraud which blows the economy up every 10 – 15 years, and supports Main Street.
- reform of the estate tax rules, so the wealthy can’t perpetuate an oligarchy of elite families, but create new opportunities based on personal merit
I could go on. Read Joseph Stieglitz.
41
More generational nonsense, more "baby boomer" blaming, more hiding from reality for a conservative columnist.
Generational conflicts are media fictions and I'm surprised Mr. Brooks would indulge in this.
People are born every day, not in twenty year batches. As a "boomer" I can't recall attending any nationwide meetings to conspire with other "boomers" to circle the wagons and deny the future of "gen xyzz' or "millenials".
Perhaps it is all the fault of the "Greatest Generation" for having all that sex after WWII. In other words, nonsense.
Generational conflicts are media fictions and I'm surprised Mr. Brooks would indulge in this.
People are born every day, not in twenty year batches. As a "boomer" I can't recall attending any nationwide meetings to conspire with other "boomers" to circle the wagons and deny the future of "gen xyzz' or "millenials".
Perhaps it is all the fault of the "Greatest Generation" for having all that sex after WWII. In other words, nonsense.
12
I read this piece at 6. It gets dark at 6 and the sun isn't up at 6. SO which was it, night or day? Who cares the clock is right twice. As with D Brooks and his most recent survey of literature and polls on one of amorphous age group fixations. Once again D Brooks falls victim to the mush of representative sampling and large sample size creating the a perception of accuracy. Just one finding, of course the millennial would be drawn to a Bernie Sanders. He is the one honest politician in the mix. So those who are idealistically motivated would be drawn to him. I will let the commentators pick this one apart. Let us just say, the stopped clock is always right twice, especially in the winter.
2
Technically, although I am a boomer (slid in sideways) I have always identified more with Generation X, so, it doesn't surprise me a bit to find I am more in line with their thinking than those older than myself. I'm telling you, those older siblings have a way of doing a number on the babies. And, so, it's only natural I prefer Bernie!
4
This description of millennials by Brooks reads like what one would expect of children without any real upraising of integrity, just people preyed upon and driven this way that, left with nothing but suspicion and their own wits. Sounds like the perfect American upbringing. After all, designing and selling a product is easy so a child raised should not be that difficult...
The only stable thing I see in American life and certain prediction I can make is with respect to the field of dentistry. Call it the unoriginal white teeth theory of America. I believe Americans have been so obsessed about white teeth and perfect dentistry because essentially Americans are a nation of cheap hustlers winging a buck by any means possible. The most important thing in a nation of people using their mouths to sell this or that party idea or corporate product is perfect teeth.
The stability of life in America is founded on having a perfect set of choppers. The Republican party likes to add to that that meaty faced, strong, authoritative look while the democratic party is content with a leaner faced look which often makes the teeth seem more prominent, but teeth and more teeth is the future of America--teeth and lies. Teeth and tissue paper America.
I think I'll bite into a book now. My last few books: The shootist by Glendon Swarthout; Catch a falling star by Brunner; Timescape by Gregory Benford. Now reading Clarke's the city and the stars.
Teeth the only good thing about America.
The only stable thing I see in American life and certain prediction I can make is with respect to the field of dentistry. Call it the unoriginal white teeth theory of America. I believe Americans have been so obsessed about white teeth and perfect dentistry because essentially Americans are a nation of cheap hustlers winging a buck by any means possible. The most important thing in a nation of people using their mouths to sell this or that party idea or corporate product is perfect teeth.
The stability of life in America is founded on having a perfect set of choppers. The Republican party likes to add to that that meaty faced, strong, authoritative look while the democratic party is content with a leaner faced look which often makes the teeth seem more prominent, but teeth and more teeth is the future of America--teeth and lies. Teeth and tissue paper America.
I think I'll bite into a book now. My last few books: The shootist by Glendon Swarthout; Catch a falling star by Brunner; Timescape by Gregory Benford. Now reading Clarke's the city and the stars.
Teeth the only good thing about America.
2
One change I hope to see is that millennials do not buy the notion that the GOP is a conservative party and instead see it as the institution for plutocracy that it is. I hope they see that the GOP notion of freedom is freedom for the rich to dominate the rest. Freedom in contracts to forbid consumer remedies via the legal system, freedom of districts to disenfranchise, freedom to evade taxes, freedom to kill unarmed black children and lionize white armed takeovers of government lands. The average joe has not been represented in congress for so long, even Bernie himself thinks he's a socialist. When I grew up there was a morality called "an honest day's work for an honest day's pay". Anyone living under that paradigm could walk with head held high and enough to raise a family. The GOP has succeeded to make that a fool's errand. Millennials get it.
14
Millennials have a great deal in common with the generation conservatives call The Greatest Generation, the generation that faced the Great Depression as young adults or became adults during the Great Depression. Millennials are the young adults and teenagers who came of age during the Great Recession. Both generations have suffered through persistent low wages, unemployment and underemployment. Both generations postponed their futures and shouldered greater burdens than the Baby Boom generation that came of age during more prosperous years.
During the years between WWII and Vietnam, the Greatest Generation supported the Democratic Party and the ideals of equality, real economic opportunity and regulation that supported workers and improved working conditions. Millennials support Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party. Unlike the Baby Boomers, Millennials support workers and improved working conditions. Unlike Baby Boomers, Millennials realize that collective action is needed to create equality and real economic opportunity.
David, my money is on the Millennials. I'm betting that they have grit to reverse the economic debacles and the march toward oligarchy led by the Baby Boomers. I'll do my best to help them elect Bernie in November.
During the years between WWII and Vietnam, the Greatest Generation supported the Democratic Party and the ideals of equality, real economic opportunity and regulation that supported workers and improved working conditions. Millennials support Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party. Unlike the Baby Boomers, Millennials support workers and improved working conditions. Unlike Baby Boomers, Millennials realize that collective action is needed to create equality and real economic opportunity.
David, my money is on the Millennials. I'm betting that they have grit to reverse the economic debacles and the march toward oligarchy led by the Baby Boomers. I'll do my best to help them elect Bernie in November.
18
I just don't believe it is possible to characterize an entire generation. I'm a boomer who came of age in the 1970's during the era of stagflation. I didn't purchase a home till nearly 30, nor did I own a car. As the years passed, I adapted to economic and social conditions as well as the changing potentialities that occur with aging. Liberal vs. conservative have always been labels that are too vague for anyone to completely fall within. Ideology of any stripe can limit the resilience of an individual.
6
It's what Dr ML King said. Socialism is for the wealthiest. Rugged individualism for the rest. The party you cheerlead for sees to that. Perhaps Sec'y Clinton is for better or for worse more realistic about those facts, and as importantly as we've seen over the last 8 years (and in detail the last 8 months), your TPGOP party
Mr. Brooks, this analysis, if it can be called that, is everything that is wrong with American journalism. "Millennials" are... and then a spate of social science surveys. Do you speak any foreign languages? Have you ever lived aboard for more than a year at a time? Come see the world a bit! Live outside the American bubble, and then you'll have something to say about the American scene. This pseudo-scientific social survey rubbish is so glib, so facile, it's as thoughtless to read as it is to write. Come think, come live, and then write something meaningful for your audience!
2
Millennials exposure to the political process has been almost entirely negative. They have seen the ranting, the shutdowns, the for-show voting, the brinksmanship, and they see no good come out of it--the nation's problems are not being addressed. Many like Bernie because he's at least talking about doing some of the things that impact their lives. They have little trust in traditional social structures because they see those shot through with moral relativism--no one stands for anything anymore--ethics and values are situational. I agree with Mr. Brooks that eventually they will form households, set down roots, build longer term careers, and may grow more fixed in their patterns and their alliances. But right now, they are the realists. They look out at the spectrum of fraternities and sororities, and don't see much worth joining.
9
In a column full of surmises, David guesses, "It could be [millennials] are more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington." My guess is David isn't talking about the massive "income transfer" from the middle class to the wealthy via the wealthy class' special tax code. Over the last 30 years productivity is way up, but the income gains have not gone to the middle class worker, they've gone to the wealthy CEO. Congress is responsible for this massive income transfer.
As to David's guess that millennials will sit out the 2016 election, my guess is he is flat out wrong. Bernie Sanders has awakened America, including the millennials, to the disparity in wealth and income, and the rigged tax code in this country. This awakening is just the beginning.
As to David's guess that millennials will sit out the 2016 election, my guess is he is flat out wrong. Bernie Sanders has awakened America, including the millennials, to the disparity in wealth and income, and the rigged tax code in this country. This awakening is just the beginning.
19
What is this column saying? It is really nothing more than Brooks' rambling, purportedly using some lame set of statistics, but really just an excuse to give his impression of what is (should be?) going on among young adults. These young adults are the most poorly educated of our recent past (No Child Left Behind, underfunded schools, hovering parents), uninterested in the world mostly because they know so little about it, attracted by the most elementary social ideas -- many of which are certainly positive = tolerance, fairness, and justice, though distorted by the vocabulary of our times (everything is terrorism, government is corrupt and ineffective, etc.) promoted by popular media sites, which they don't tune in to, but which enters the public domain from which they cannot hide. Libertarianism attracts them as a simple solution to everything = leave me alone. Yet clear critiques of real problems as articulated by Sanders captures their attention, at least for a moment. But although some are bright and actively involved in their communities, most are happy to find small refuges in their private world of social media and mumble that everything bombarding them is not relevant to their lives, and they stick their heads in the sand -- for instance, thinking that they will be with the same employer for 9 years or more is probably not a reality, but they just do not want to know that.
So what has Brooks told us? Nothing really.
So what has Brooks told us? Nothing really.
10
Mr. Brooks, this analysis, if it can be called that, is everything that is wrong with American journalism. "Millennials" are... and then a spate of social science surveys. Do you speak any foreign languages? Have you ever lived abroad for more than a year at a time? Come see the world a bit! Live outside the American bubble, and then you'll have something to say about the American scene. This pseudo-scientific social survey rubbish is so glib, so facile, it's as thoughtless to read as it is to write. Come think, come live, and then write something meaningful for your audience!
21
Hillary Clinton will never win the Presidency without millennials support and she will never receive their enthusiastic support because they see right through her. Obama only won because of them. Unlike my Boomer generation, which is resigned to more of the same and the "lesser of two evils," millennials actually believe in change. They were burned by Obama's message of "Hope & Change," but they have renewed excitement with Bernie Sanders' message and campaign. We should listen--maybe we can learn something.
Sadly, Boomers are once again supporting the same old policies that have led to the greatest income/wealth inequality since the depression. The mainstream Democratic party offers little more than, "How can you vote for the crazy Republicans? Unlike Boomers, Millennials aren't into identity politics and they clearly understand that campaign promises vanish after the election as the candidates bow to the moneyed interests.
Boomers have supported enough awful policies to last a lifetime. It is time for us to move aside and let the millennials have their chance.
Just remember--a vote for Clinton is a vote for Wall Street and the status quo. Is that the legacy we want to leave our children and grandchildren?
Sadly, Boomers are once again supporting the same old policies that have led to the greatest income/wealth inequality since the depression. The mainstream Democratic party offers little more than, "How can you vote for the crazy Republicans? Unlike Boomers, Millennials aren't into identity politics and they clearly understand that campaign promises vanish after the election as the candidates bow to the moneyed interests.
Boomers have supported enough awful policies to last a lifetime. It is time for us to move aside and let the millennials have their chance.
Just remember--a vote for Clinton is a vote for Wall Street and the status quo. Is that the legacy we want to leave our children and grandchildren?
10
I read this earlier this morning, and as I read it, I kept wondering whether David Brooks was drawing on other sources than the polls to form his interpretations or whether the inferences that I didn't follow were the result of his having a different theory of mind or a different way of thinking from my own. And, of course, I had to wonder whether part of the point of the column was to try to make the argument for decimating Social Security in the future more sympathetic by putting it into the mouths of stoic millennials. I don't know, I preferred trying to read the ambiguous tea leaves of our evidence from the ancient world and trying to connect the dots and understand those societies -- reading polls strikes me as an equivalent for trying to understand modern society, and I guess I wonder whether there aren't other methods for analyzing contemporary society that don't have the pitfalls of surveys and polls and that don't require interpretative methods that may be distorted by personal bias. I read the column and my reaction was that this is somebody else's game, more power to them if it's helpful to other people.
19
What a wonderfully analytical mind you possess Diana. Indeed, polls are not dissimilar to medical tests and statistics, out of a codified context, they are only reliable as a point in time floating with no reference. Once again, Mr. Brooks, while an entertaining writer and occasionally brilliant thinker, is a Republican (not conservative) apologist.
Your objective, to discover an objective criteria sufficient to analyse subjective thought/trends... is but a reflection of the age old battle between the so-called soft sciences and science. I fear that you will only find the answers you seek in an epistemological study that is already threadbare and tattered from so many like minds. Best wishes for your ventures.
Your objective, to discover an objective criteria sufficient to analyse subjective thought/trends... is but a reflection of the age old battle between the so-called soft sciences and science. I fear that you will only find the answers you seek in an epistemological study that is already threadbare and tattered from so many like minds. Best wishes for your ventures.
The Progressive tilt of the younger generation is why GOP'ers have engaged in such gerrymandering and are in a pall mall rush to cram as much Ayn Rand supply side voodoo as conceivable down the nation's throat - GOP'ers are counting on the statistic that oldsters vote more often than youngsters, and see the window closing on their share of the electorate, with each passing day :(
We want youngsters to vote every time the polls are open, and are dedicated to obstructing GOP'ers who are trying to erase all Progressive policies in favor of a New Gilded Age of feudalism before youngsters become oldsters who statistically vote most often :)
We want youngsters to vote every time the polls are open, and are dedicated to obstructing GOP'ers who are trying to erase all Progressive policies in favor of a New Gilded Age of feudalism before youngsters become oldsters who statistically vote most often :)
74
I believe that registering for the vote should be part of the High School exit protocol. We certainly "mandated" it for our son.
2
This sounds more like the triumph of hope over expectation. Millenials are a substantial part of the Democratic coalition of women, ethnic minorities and affluent educated white. And apparently Brooks is amazed to discover that the young are much more liberal and radical than their elders. That anyone who claims to be political commentator a historical truism indicates he's either completely unqualified for his job or being disingenuous. Either way they're not likely to vote Republican and thus Brooks pins his faith on their failure to turn out in support of the person who he knows will be the Democratic candidate in November. Given the visibility of the issues (environment, women's rights, economic equality, immigration, et al) this doesn't seem very likely but it's any port in storm for conservative like Brooks.
38
Millennials lean 'liberal' because they have never heard real conservative ideas clearly put forward. They are ripe for plucking by a true constitutional conservative who is ready to explain why democracy, freedom, and limited government would provide a suitable governmental framework for a country that is as large and diverse as the US.
32
I'm 80 years old, and I've never heard that explanation either. I don't expect to hear one in my lifetime.
23
Jonathan, you had about another thousand characters to describe such a "constitutional conservative," and perhaps to name some in the public or academic spheres. I presume the absence of doung so reflects an absence of their presence in real life (IRL, to those milennials, BTW). There are plenty who pay lip service to the notion without backing it up with political action. Sort of like the repeal Obamacare Tourette's in Congre$$ without proposing any alternative. How many of those milennials 26 or younger are still on their parents' health insurance plans. I'm sure that they overwhelmingly favor THAT going away, right, Jonathan?
8
What you mean like Trump, Rubio, Cruz, or that crazy Doctor?
Maybe next time eh?
Maybe next time eh?
5
The GOP embraced oxymoronic supply side economics in 1980.
If you have a free market system that uses capitalism, its almost impossible to have a true supply shortage, and therefore no need for supply bias government policies.
The reason is, supply shortages cause prices to go up. Higher prices mean higher margins. Higher margins mean higher return on investment. Higher returns on investment attracts more investment creating more supply. The system has a built in automatic feed back that rewards investors for creating supply to meet demand.
Nevertheless the GOP imposed upon us an era of supply side bias policies. This lead to the collapse of the working class in the Reagan-Bush era and a collapse of the middle class in the Bush-Obama era.
Too much supply relative to demand creates de/low-flation. It also creates investment bubbles because investors can't get good returns in the aggregate economy so they flood small sectors that have good returns creating bubbles. They also demand deregulation to get access to unorthodox investing.
The GOP supply side mantra destroyed the economy and destroyed the social contract crushing opportunity for youth entering the economy.
The young don't get married and don't have children because they don't have job opportunities to sustain such things.
This is the dystopic world the GOP has created for us.
Bernie Sanders is the ONLY candidate committed to demand side bias policies. His election will finally launch a demand side bias era.
If you have a free market system that uses capitalism, its almost impossible to have a true supply shortage, and therefore no need for supply bias government policies.
The reason is, supply shortages cause prices to go up. Higher prices mean higher margins. Higher margins mean higher return on investment. Higher returns on investment attracts more investment creating more supply. The system has a built in automatic feed back that rewards investors for creating supply to meet demand.
Nevertheless the GOP imposed upon us an era of supply side bias policies. This lead to the collapse of the working class in the Reagan-Bush era and a collapse of the middle class in the Bush-Obama era.
Too much supply relative to demand creates de/low-flation. It also creates investment bubbles because investors can't get good returns in the aggregate economy so they flood small sectors that have good returns creating bubbles. They also demand deregulation to get access to unorthodox investing.
The GOP supply side mantra destroyed the economy and destroyed the social contract crushing opportunity for youth entering the economy.
The young don't get married and don't have children because they don't have job opportunities to sustain such things.
This is the dystopic world the GOP has created for us.
Bernie Sanders is the ONLY candidate committed to demand side bias policies. His election will finally launch a demand side bias era.
167
And what are you going to do about changing the political composition of Congress? Bernie Sanders can't do anything without a Congress that will enact the legislation he proposes. The Kiddie Crusaders following Bernie Sanders conveniently ignore this.
1
@Tim Kane: Interesting point. "Supply Side" is inconsistent with the textbook narratives about "consumer sovereignty" and the like. One of many such contradictions in Brooks' world view.
1
Lord Brooks, it must be hard to see from your bubble, what with all the fog of endless economic war by the uber-rich against the non-rich clouding up your Ronnie-Ray-gun Morning In America sunglasses.
The millennial generation was born into a landscape of savage capitalism unseen in America since the late 1800s Robber Barons roamed the countryside pillaging the land, water, air, people and government for unlimited, psychopathic profits.
The 1800's Robber Barons used imported Chinese slave labor to build their railroads.
Today's Robber Baron's export every single factory job to China for slave wages and use imported HB-1 visa slave labor from India to run their 'information economy'.
When you've been economically abandoned, as America's workers and millennials have been, you've been abandoned period.
Anyone born into a right-wing America that adamantly refuses to pay a living wage and that has turned college education and basic healthcare into mortgages knows America is a dystopian nightmare, thanks to the hard propaganda-meme work of 'greed is good' and' government is bad'.
I'm sure millennials are a bit disoriented; feudalism is disorienting.
It's also a cause for outrage.
And that outrage will build and explode unless it gets recognized and constructively channeled, as the great Teddy Roosevelt did by blowing up the Robber Baron class.
We all know there's only one candidate fighting for Americans and that is Bernie Sanders.
Watch millennials Feel the Bern in 2016.
The millennial generation was born into a landscape of savage capitalism unseen in America since the late 1800s Robber Barons roamed the countryside pillaging the land, water, air, people and government for unlimited, psychopathic profits.
The 1800's Robber Barons used imported Chinese slave labor to build their railroads.
Today's Robber Baron's export every single factory job to China for slave wages and use imported HB-1 visa slave labor from India to run their 'information economy'.
When you've been economically abandoned, as America's workers and millennials have been, you've been abandoned period.
Anyone born into a right-wing America that adamantly refuses to pay a living wage and that has turned college education and basic healthcare into mortgages knows America is a dystopian nightmare, thanks to the hard propaganda-meme work of 'greed is good' and' government is bad'.
I'm sure millennials are a bit disoriented; feudalism is disorienting.
It's also a cause for outrage.
And that outrage will build and explode unless it gets recognized and constructively channeled, as the great Teddy Roosevelt did by blowing up the Robber Baron class.
We all know there's only one candidate fighting for Americans and that is Bernie Sanders.
Watch millennials Feel the Bern in 2016.
690
You have such a colorful way of saying things, Socrates. Thanks again!
2
Thank you. Right on.
2
Agree with every word, until the end ... I'm a Hillary supporter.
Brooks thinks it's his way or the highway. The younger generation will probably have less problems than the Baby Boomers did in middle age. Also, Brooks completely ignores the Silent Generation. Maybe they are too quiet.
4
Why will they probably have less problems?
Jon, I have never read Brooks this way, " his way or the highway". I find him far far more open than Krugman. True, he is a Republican or once was. But Hillary also supported the Iraq war. Why does she get a pass and he does not?
Listen to him with an open mind. You may not agree, but an open mind when listening to a moderate from "the other side" is a necessity when the country is so divided.
Listen to him with an open mind. You may not agree, but an open mind when listening to a moderate from "the other side" is a necessity when the country is so divided.
1
Millennials described seem like bohemians, digs, not much, but, good food and an expensive bottle of wine.
2
They think Social Security won't be around for them because they have heard nothing but endless anti-SS propaganda about how it is going "broke" their entire lives.
310
Exactly! Part of the strategy to undermine Social security has been the drumbeat from the opposition that Social security would not continue. Say that loudly and often and by george, some people will come to the conclusion it will disappear. Every time, I hear a younger person express this belief, I strongly argue that it will disappear unless they strongly defend the desire to protect this program.
2
They also know if their parents can't collect SS, they'll have to move out of the basement.
and the reason they've heard this is because it is true. It will be broke.
The Millenial's perspective reflects what they lived through. A 29-year old graduated from HS in 2005, right around the time schools instituted drills to protect themselves against "shooters", installed surveillance cameras, and placed "good guys with guns" behind the locked from doors of their schools. A 29 year old has never lived in a country where either party asserted that the government could solve problems and were raised in a world where they were repeatedly (and inaccurately) told that Social Security was going bankrupt. They wee raised in a world where both of heir parents worked at jobs with limited security, few if any benefits, and stagnant pay.
It is not surprising to see some of the Millenials drawn toward a totalitarian candidate like Mr. Trump who will keep them safe from "shooters" while others are drawn toward Mr. Sanders who wants to restore job security, provide universal health care, and compel the .01% to share their wealth with the employees who have been short-hanged for decades. Something is going to change... and I, for one, hope we reject the easy answers Mr. Trump is offering.
It is not surprising to see some of the Millenials drawn toward a totalitarian candidate like Mr. Trump who will keep them safe from "shooters" while others are drawn toward Mr. Sanders who wants to restore job security, provide universal health care, and compel the .01% to share their wealth with the employees who have been short-hanged for decades. Something is going to change... and I, for one, hope we reject the easy answers Mr. Trump is offering.
205
DT's audience looks older and white to me.
2
I have some good news for you: Support for Donald Trump is considerably lower among younger people. 19% of those under age 35 have positive views of him, while his strongest support is among those age 50 and up.
This doesn't surprise me: A defining characteristic of millennials is that we were the first generation in America born into a country where open bigotry was not considered socially acceptable or even laudable. That's why they are much much more socially liberal than even the Baby Boomers.
This doesn't surprise me: A defining characteristic of millennials is that we were the first generation in America born into a country where open bigotry was not considered socially acceptable or even laudable. That's why they are much much more socially liberal than even the Baby Boomers.
Thanks WF... Short Changed since around 1973.
Please see recent Pew Research on the middle sustained injuries over the decades.
Please see recent Pew Research on the middle sustained injuries over the decades.
Two things:
1. There hasn't been a "self-reliant generation" in at least 10,000 years.
2. Polonius Brooks generalizing about things he knows nothing about (in this case an entire generation of people who would shudder at the prospect of having to sit next to him on a long flight) never ceases to evoke laughter. Who knew that gall could be so bland? Has he still learned nothing from the Applebees' salad bar?
1. There hasn't been a "self-reliant generation" in at least 10,000 years.
2. Polonius Brooks generalizing about things he knows nothing about (in this case an entire generation of people who would shudder at the prospect of having to sit next to him on a long flight) never ceases to evoke laughter. Who knew that gall could be so bland? Has he still learned nothing from the Applebees' salad bar?
176
I've been to many Applebees'. I've never seen a salad bar in any of them.
Sanders tells us that the system is rigged against the average person, and will only get worse if the top 1 percent is not reined in legally and economically. That is a powerful story because the facts support what he is saying. I believe the millennials can be mobilized to vote if they understand the consequences of 4 years of Republican policies which will only further enrich the 1 percent while the bottom 80 percent continue to stagnate or worse.
401
Mr. Brooks, how many Millennials have you taught? Worked beside daily? I do not know how this influences political affiliation, but the hundreds of kids I have advised or taught tend to have poor executive function. Their moms (most often) closely parent and manage them right through graduation. They are tribal in their socializing, not heroic or sociopathic loners. I could see a longing to be cared for by the State in these traits.
33
Well the Millennials I know, in my family, nephews mostly, are definitely doing a good job of living young adult lives. Their moms are not sitting next to them coaching them. Some are Libertarians. Actually, anti-state.
Excellent comment. As I read Mr. Brooks and the comments here, I wondered who these magic Millennials were. Most that I know can't manage the most basic of functions. If their ATM card doesn't work they don't know how to get it fixed. They have to phone home. They panic when anything arises as an obstruction because someone else has always taken care of it for them.
I just don't recognize the generation being discussed here. My disclaimer is I have no millennial children. I only encounter them in world and in the workplace. What I find most remarkable is they all want everyone else to do things their way. They refuse to extend any effort to help themselves or fit into the workings of society.
Of course this isn't all Millennials but I see a vast trend. And of course I'm speaking of the US.
I just don't recognize the generation being discussed here. My disclaimer is I have no millennial children. I only encounter them in world and in the workplace. What I find most remarkable is they all want everyone else to do things their way. They refuse to extend any effort to help themselves or fit into the workings of society.
Of course this isn't all Millennials but I see a vast trend. And of course I'm speaking of the US.
1
"…manage them right through graduation." That would be the suburban moms living in nice neighborhoods. Then there is the other end of the spectrum, with kids either from broken homes whose moms are too stressed out and tired making ends meet or kids who are being raised by tired grandmas because mom is a heroin addict. Really hard to generalize millennials I think. But I did chuckle at the statistic about sexual partners. Where was I? Age 66…only 2 and married both of them (at different times).
1
What makes Mr. Brooks think that millennials will have a happy middle-aged life? If things continue as they've been going, 99% of millennials are going to have a lousy life. Frankly, I think the "giant cultural explosion" is going to be more in the nature of an economic revolution, and it isn't going to need another twenty years to materialize. It's not culture that needs to change, it's the growing chasm between the rich and everyone else.
124
I suspect he's thinking of the only millennials that Republicans really care about - the junior-achiever-on-steroids sociopaths who are vying to become the next generation of Wall Street and K Street elite and the future backbone of their political propaganda and corporate legislation writing scam.
2
David's statement about Millennials "they could improve their lives by having richer experiences and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington" strikes me as a little bizarre. Is that really an "either""or"choice? I would also wager that most Millennials, on Social Security in the future, would find their lives significantly "enriched"when that monthly stipend is deposited,
83
I am hearing a lot of talk about Ted Cruz and his birthplace and the qualifications to be president. It is 2016 and from my place on the US/Canada border and today's Op-Ed may I offer a small suggestion. Anyone who has live more than 5 years in the United States in the last 35 years should be immediately disqualified from the office.
I don't think any of our millennials even understand David Brooks liberal and conservative references but they sure as heck understand their needs and the needs of a 2016 world.
I don't think any of our millennials even understand David Brooks liberal and conservative references but they sure as heck understand their needs and the needs of a 2016 world.
8
I have to wonder just goes through David's mind as he writes. Because Sanders is more popular that Clinton, that means millennials are ready for a leftward push. That, or they see HRC as more of the same and they think there must be real change.
There seems to be an assumption that millennials world wide are a uniform mass. Why else cite a study that includes 22 different countries with vastly different social policies. I suspect people living in the UK have a very different perspective on health care, for one example than here in the US.
To realize the the US is NOT the greatest country on Earth may indicate a connection to reality, not detachment. In the same way, a move away from organized religion reflects the same sort of reality check. That sort of thing happens where people find out about prosperity gospel preachers getting 65 million dollar private jets and the Catholic church shielding child abusers.
A failure to vote may indicate a feeling that voting makes no difference rather than being "more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington." It just wouldn't be a Brooks piece without drawing a conclusion to make a political point. A conclusion that in no way is connected by the antecedent facts.
Each generation changes to adapt to the world as they find it. Why should Brooks think this cannot ]happen?
There seems to be an assumption that millennials world wide are a uniform mass. Why else cite a study that includes 22 different countries with vastly different social policies. I suspect people living in the UK have a very different perspective on health care, for one example than here in the US.
To realize the the US is NOT the greatest country on Earth may indicate a connection to reality, not detachment. In the same way, a move away from organized religion reflects the same sort of reality check. That sort of thing happens where people find out about prosperity gospel preachers getting 65 million dollar private jets and the Catholic church shielding child abusers.
A failure to vote may indicate a feeling that voting makes no difference rather than being "more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington." It just wouldn't be a Brooks piece without drawing a conclusion to make a political point. A conclusion that in no way is connected by the antecedent facts.
Each generation changes to adapt to the world as they find it. Why should Brooks think this cannot ]happen?
100
"To realize the the US is NOT the greatest country on Earth may indicate a connection to reality, not detachment."
Exactly. Where do we Americans get off on thinking we are the greatest nation on earth, or exceptional? By what measure are we exceptional beyond having the world's strongest military? Whatever benchmarks one chooses to define greatness there are some where even third-world countries surpass us.
Exactly. Where do we Americans get off on thinking we are the greatest nation on earth, or exceptional? By what measure are we exceptional beyond having the world's strongest military? Whatever benchmarks one chooses to define greatness there are some where even third-world countries surpass us.
5
Isn't any progress in this country won by previous generations who didn't want to adapt to the world as they saw it?
Millennials display an interesting trend, a peculiar conflict that previous generations didn't go through: to be young and democratic, yet feel detached, powerless, and unhappy.
Of course there's no stopping technology now, but previous social advances like the lightbulb and the pill didn't seem to make so many people grumpy and distrustful.
Millennials display an interesting trend, a peculiar conflict that previous generations didn't go through: to be young and democratic, yet feel detached, powerless, and unhappy.
Of course there's no stopping technology now, but previous social advances like the lightbulb and the pill didn't seem to make so many people grumpy and distrustful.
10
Interesting article, though the conclusion is not supported. It has been shown that personal investments do not lead to a lovely comfortable retirement, and to think millennials don't know this, while they are aware of many other things, is a bit silly. The millennials I know (and know of) are hard-working and anything but detached. They (some of them, anyway) are where Sanders get his support. They cannot save as they are on the two-person-to-support-a-family treadmill. They do look internationally, since they know full well that abroad is about the only place their kids can go to college, since now four years of US college tuition costs as much as a house. And they are very disgusted with the current self-involved GOP which is completely out of step with their lives (even those with conservative views feel this way).
94
Baby boomers, who will start to turn 70 this year, grew up when Chevrolet or Ford were everyday symbols of America's Greatest Nation on Earth status and Volkswagens were itsy cars looking distinctly pre-war, manufactured by WW2's great loser.
You can Google all that on the Internet using your iPhone, then get back to work, at home, on your PC.
The world has changed. Fact is that the economic drivers today tend to be ideas, rather than expressed in nuts and bolts, and are coming from USA. Conservative old timers will remember the tail fins of 1957 and the war in Vietnam a decade later that put the final full stop at te end of America's post-war domination. In the meantime the Millennials, alongside GenX, are left to cope with a newer piece of work by the Invisible Hand: the xfer to huge quantities of accumulated wealth into the hands of a very small handful of super-rich who think of mansions like sets of china: identical place-settings in several states so we don't have to wonder where the underwear is kept in this house vs the one where we slept last night!
Politics is a social activity, a collective expression of values and a reaction to economic betrayals not necessarily expressed in $$$s. Support for Sanders, reminiscent of the 1930s, will indeed become the heritage of the 2030s, if not before, once tail fins finally pass into the collective imaginarium and cherry-picked polls have gone the way of all other polls: up in hot air.
You can Google all that on the Internet using your iPhone, then get back to work, at home, on your PC.
The world has changed. Fact is that the economic drivers today tend to be ideas, rather than expressed in nuts and bolts, and are coming from USA. Conservative old timers will remember the tail fins of 1957 and the war in Vietnam a decade later that put the final full stop at te end of America's post-war domination. In the meantime the Millennials, alongside GenX, are left to cope with a newer piece of work by the Invisible Hand: the xfer to huge quantities of accumulated wealth into the hands of a very small handful of super-rich who think of mansions like sets of china: identical place-settings in several states so we don't have to wonder where the underwear is kept in this house vs the one where we slept last night!
Politics is a social activity, a collective expression of values and a reaction to economic betrayals not necessarily expressed in $$$s. Support for Sanders, reminiscent of the 1930s, will indeed become the heritage of the 2030s, if not before, once tail fins finally pass into the collective imaginarium and cherry-picked polls have gone the way of all other polls: up in hot air.
27
Sir David of the Brooks clan. I say reeeelax on the Millennials.
I submit a similar abstract analysis could have been done of the Boomers in the early 1960's, too. They were shiftless, worthless, didn't want to work and all they cared about was sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. I paraphrase but trust you get the drift? Look how they turned out, eh? I know...I know....I know all the negatives as expressed by the cacophony of woes and utterances about how Boomers, self-centered narcissists that they are, all of 'em have raped the planet, screwed up the succeeding generations, etc.. And to be fair there's truth in it. But there have been some stunning accomplishments along the way as well. The nation has survived.
So I suggest everyone lighten up regarding our progeny. The kids are all right. They have their travails, and I'm sure there are more ahead. But they'll be juuust fine, even viewed through your thick, near-sighted Boomer lens. By their actions today it's clear they know what to do and, when the time comes (and it rapidly approaches), they'll take the reins of power and properly lead us all into the future....same as it ever is with generational passing of torches and such...
John~
American Net'Zen
I submit a similar abstract analysis could have been done of the Boomers in the early 1960's, too. They were shiftless, worthless, didn't want to work and all they cared about was sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. I paraphrase but trust you get the drift? Look how they turned out, eh? I know...I know....I know all the negatives as expressed by the cacophony of woes and utterances about how Boomers, self-centered narcissists that they are, all of 'em have raped the planet, screwed up the succeeding generations, etc.. And to be fair there's truth in it. But there have been some stunning accomplishments along the way as well. The nation has survived.
So I suggest everyone lighten up regarding our progeny. The kids are all right. They have their travails, and I'm sure there are more ahead. But they'll be juuust fine, even viewed through your thick, near-sighted Boomer lens. By their actions today it's clear they know what to do and, when the time comes (and it rapidly approaches), they'll take the reins of power and properly lead us all into the future....same as it ever is with generational passing of torches and such...
John~
American Net'Zen
98
"same as it ever was, same as it ever was"
...David Byrne
...David Byrne
1
This is another piece of propaganda against Social Security. Of course the millennials believe they won't have it. The Republicans keep brainwashing everyone about it to make it a reality. But it won't work because the Republicans need it, too, now more than ever.
124
Mr. Brooks,
I am confused with your use of polls and statistics in this article. You seem to be comparing apples, oranges and bananas to prove a point. You use a study of 25, 000 millennials in 22 nations to prove that that group in America wants job stability? What do 21 other nations have to do with the American political scene?
You cite Fox news and a Harvard study, mish mashed together, to prove what? This group doesn't own cars and doesn't use transportation. They don't have sex as much. They don't trust religion, government, or any other large social entity. You don't explain where you got your information on their disaffection with social security, but republicans like you have been telling us that "this generation doesn't believe it's going to be there for them" since I was "that generation" and I'm over 60. You say that they are democrats in voice only, but likely won't vote?
Your conclusions are wrong, because you have made a poor assessment of the wrong data from biased sources. You are confused. What you see is a generation trapped in poverty, isolated and ready to explode. Politics in America, driven by the digital environment, is moving faster than you can think, Mr. Brooks. Barack Obama is living proof of what can be done in today's world. The millenials are not looking back. They are taking over.
I am confused with your use of polls and statistics in this article. You seem to be comparing apples, oranges and bananas to prove a point. You use a study of 25, 000 millennials in 22 nations to prove that that group in America wants job stability? What do 21 other nations have to do with the American political scene?
You cite Fox news and a Harvard study, mish mashed together, to prove what? This group doesn't own cars and doesn't use transportation. They don't have sex as much. They don't trust religion, government, or any other large social entity. You don't explain where you got your information on their disaffection with social security, but republicans like you have been telling us that "this generation doesn't believe it's going to be there for them" since I was "that generation" and I'm over 60. You say that they are democrats in voice only, but likely won't vote?
Your conclusions are wrong, because you have made a poor assessment of the wrong data from biased sources. You are confused. What you see is a generation trapped in poverty, isolated and ready to explode. Politics in America, driven by the digital environment, is moving faster than you can think, Mr. Brooks. Barack Obama is living proof of what can be done in today's world. The millenials are not looking back. They are taking over.
139
David's not confused. Like many others of his cohort, he is very very cunning with polemics and propaganda. I would urge people to stop buying into the "Trump's so stupid" genre. Nothing that stupid happens by accident.
3
A fascinating column by Mr. Brooks; to my mind perhaps too insular.
There is a larger world out there where these Millennial trends are also evident; the USA is too tightly controlled by its Corporate Nomenclature for the “giant cultural explosion” to happen there.
If one looks outside the USA one may observe “Something is going to change” and a “rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born”.
The Middle East and many other areas of the world are in turmoil, driven in no small degree by the miscalculations of USA Boomers. These latter have lived in a fool’s paradise for a long time – intoxicated by an ideology of freedom without accountability, and endless resources to buy your way out of trouble. The world is now bankrupt of the resources necessary to fuel endless growth and we move towards an era of redistribution; no longer willing to accept “live horse and you’ll get grass”.
The giant cultural explosion hinted at by Mr. Brooks is the shift currently under way to era where everything is connected by real principles of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality practiced in fact rather than by PR Companies.
There is a larger world out there where these Millennial trends are also evident; the USA is too tightly controlled by its Corporate Nomenclature for the “giant cultural explosion” to happen there.
If one looks outside the USA one may observe “Something is going to change” and a “rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born”.
The Middle East and many other areas of the world are in turmoil, driven in no small degree by the miscalculations of USA Boomers. These latter have lived in a fool’s paradise for a long time – intoxicated by an ideology of freedom without accountability, and endless resources to buy your way out of trouble. The world is now bankrupt of the resources necessary to fuel endless growth and we move towards an era of redistribution; no longer willing to accept “live horse and you’ll get grass”.
The giant cultural explosion hinted at by Mr. Brooks is the shift currently under way to era where everything is connected by real principles of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality practiced in fact rather than by PR Companies.
22
I'm the father of a millennial. I don't claim to speak for every millennial nor should David.
I can tell you that the society my generation has given millennials is not something we should take pride in.
Many millennials are struggling with student debt and a difficult jobs market.
Many millennials have witnessed economic hardship among their parents.
The last 35 years has seen an economic roller coaster, wars, and technological changes.
Bernie Sanders understands millennials' fears about the future. Bernie knows that man-made global climate change will have a major impact on millennials after our generation has passed.
If Bernie does not get the nomination, I hope enough millennials vote for Hillary.
David's party offers nothing but the same fake hatred of government and bellicose foreign policy which, if continued, would bring great harm to my daughter's generation.
I can tell you that the society my generation has given millennials is not something we should take pride in.
Many millennials are struggling with student debt and a difficult jobs market.
Many millennials have witnessed economic hardship among their parents.
The last 35 years has seen an economic roller coaster, wars, and technological changes.
Bernie Sanders understands millennials' fears about the future. Bernie knows that man-made global climate change will have a major impact on millennials after our generation has passed.
If Bernie does not get the nomination, I hope enough millennials vote for Hillary.
David's party offers nothing but the same fake hatred of government and bellicose foreign policy which, if continued, would bring great harm to my daughter's generation.
362
You speak from my heart. Thanks on behalf of parents of millennials.
1
What does Mr. Brooks expect young people to do when they see what is happening all around them? Millennials haven’t detached from “solid supporting structures,” like religion, marriage and government. These supporting structures have crumbled like the rest of our country's infrastructure.
Government has become a game of thrones. Conservatives undermine the sitting president, purposely making government dysfunctional to create chaos that they then exploit. They disdain retirement security, referring to it as a redistribution of wealth rather than a way of insuring the future. They manipulate the weak-minded into voting against their self-interests. They expect voters to hire them to fix the government that they broke.
Marriage isn’t an option for those who can’t foresee a solid, stable economic and political future ahead. Bringing children into the world requires affordable medical care, home ownership and good schools.
Religion has become a weapon used by conservatives to deny science, undermine women’s rights and demonize gay people. Religion makes the news not when it is bringing people together, but when it is destroying countries and murdering the innocent.
Brooks makes a dire prediction: there will be change in the future. This may come as a shock to conservatives, but considering the shambles in which they’ve left the social and political institutions, we can only hope he’s right.
Government has become a game of thrones. Conservatives undermine the sitting president, purposely making government dysfunctional to create chaos that they then exploit. They disdain retirement security, referring to it as a redistribution of wealth rather than a way of insuring the future. They manipulate the weak-minded into voting against their self-interests. They expect voters to hire them to fix the government that they broke.
Marriage isn’t an option for those who can’t foresee a solid, stable economic and political future ahead. Bringing children into the world requires affordable medical care, home ownership and good schools.
Religion has become a weapon used by conservatives to deny science, undermine women’s rights and demonize gay people. Religion makes the news not when it is bringing people together, but when it is destroying countries and murdering the innocent.
Brooks makes a dire prediction: there will be change in the future. This may come as a shock to conservatives, but considering the shambles in which they’ve left the social and political institutions, we can only hope he’s right.
634
You say: "Marriage isn’t an option for those who can’t foresee a solid, stable economic and political future ahead" but actually marriage is a bulwark against those uncertain times. A 2 income married couple is much more financially stable and able to weather hard times than is a single individual.
1
America badly needs a divorce from the Republican Party. When you're married to someone who's ruining your life, there's no other choice. The Republican Party has ruined the lives of Americans for 36 years. Time for a change.
No more Republicans in office. Not a single one.
No more Republicans in office. Not a single one.
19
I agree with most of this post, except that human beings got married during the Depression, during WWI and WWII, and in previous centuries even paupers got married. One doesn't need to be rich to make a commitment.
2
It seems to me a prime error in assuming that the social drivers that motivate a generational cohort remain the same with time. As a general matter, younger people always have tended to be more progressive than their older selves, yet become more conservative as they age and accumulate more to lose. So, David's belief that a grand cultural explosion is awaiting us down the road may be overplayed.
But I certainly agree that millennials could sit out the next election as they did in 2014, despite their enthusiasm for Bernie. Particularly confusing to them may be the worsening global equity market realities driven by China's troubles, which could presage serious and general economic difficulties -- having passed already through one cataclysm, how likely are they to be wildly experimental if we must soon face another?
Being young, though, they may not yet be sufficiently evil and knowing to look beyond Donald Trump's obvious demagogy to his essential lack of a developed vision for America, which could make The Donald a lot more appealing if they DO decide to vote.
But I certainly agree that millennials could sit out the next election as they did in 2014, despite their enthusiasm for Bernie. Particularly confusing to them may be the worsening global equity market realities driven by China's troubles, which could presage serious and general economic difficulties -- having passed already through one cataclysm, how likely are they to be wildly experimental if we must soon face another?
Being young, though, they may not yet be sufficiently evil and knowing to look beyond Donald Trump's obvious demagogy to his essential lack of a developed vision for America, which could make The Donald a lot more appealing if they DO decide to vote.
6
Yea, it's always about things and possessions to lose and not about the overall health and well-being of society.
So you voted for Reagan and both Bush's and how did that turn out for the planet?
Maybe you can be buried next to your things like the ancient Egyptian kings to keep you company on your journey to the next world?
So you voted for Reagan and both Bush's and how did that turn out for the planet?
Maybe you can be buried next to your things like the ancient Egyptian kings to keep you company on your journey to the next world?
42
Kevin:
Obviously, your response is directed toward millennials, as it has nothing to do with my comment. Voted for Reagan and both Bushes worked out fine: the current state of the world and the worst recovery from a major recession since World War II happened on Mr. Obama's watch, and I voted for his opponents both times. Who was smarter?
I couldn't really care less what my survivors bury me with -- probably a copy of the New York Times and a file containing 100,000 comments.
Obviously, your response is directed toward millennials, as it has nothing to do with my comment. Voted for Reagan and both Bushes worked out fine: the current state of the world and the worst recovery from a major recession since World War II happened on Mr. Obama's watch, and I voted for his opponents both times. Who was smarter?
I couldn't really care less what my survivors bury me with -- probably a copy of the New York Times and a file containing 100,000 comments.
1
Wow, Richard,
Voting for these folks has "worked out fine"? Guess you don't remember that 9/11 happened on Shrub's watch, or that the economy was losing 700,000 jobs a month as he helicoptered away.
Amazing.
(And by the way, if you are interested, do the google and see how the economy has done better under Democratic presidents than Republican ones for, oh, at least the last 70 years or so. )
Voting for these folks has "worked out fine"? Guess you don't remember that 9/11 happened on Shrub's watch, or that the economy was losing 700,000 jobs a month as he helicoptered away.
Amazing.
(And by the way, if you are interested, do the google and see how the economy has done better under Democratic presidents than Republican ones for, oh, at least the last 70 years or so. )
14
"This leads to detachment from large entities. Just 32 percent of millennials say America is the greatest country on earth..."
So being less delusional means one is "detached from large entities?" I don't follow this logic, sir.
So being less delusional means one is "detached from large entities?" I don't follow this logic, sir.
142
Maybe one reason for skepticism about government by Millennials is that they receive an annual statement from Social Security saying that their benefits will be reduced in 2037 due to a lack of funds.
The political process has not exactly been impressive since 2000, after the election of Bush by the Supreme Court. There was the utter breakdown of intelligence that led to 9/11, the $4 trillion wars based on doctored intelligence, simultaneous with massive tax cuts for the wealthy and followed by unfunded Part D Medicare and the massive unprosecuted fraud exposed by the financial meltdown in 2007, all leading to exploding national debt.
College tuition has been skyrocketing and college loan debt burdens soaring due to defunding by the states.
But disruptive technology has been the bright spot, from Uber and AirB&B to the transformation of the workplace, which they understand plays to their strengths, as they watch older generations fumble and curse.
I think Millenials will find their political voice. And they will be interested in a disruptive candidate.
The political process has not exactly been impressive since 2000, after the election of Bush by the Supreme Court. There was the utter breakdown of intelligence that led to 9/11, the $4 trillion wars based on doctored intelligence, simultaneous with massive tax cuts for the wealthy and followed by unfunded Part D Medicare and the massive unprosecuted fraud exposed by the financial meltdown in 2007, all leading to exploding national debt.
College tuition has been skyrocketing and college loan debt burdens soaring due to defunding by the states.
But disruptive technology has been the bright spot, from Uber and AirB&B to the transformation of the workplace, which they understand plays to their strengths, as they watch older generations fumble and curse.
I think Millenials will find their political voice. And they will be interested in a disruptive candidate.
33
One nitpick: Our national debt is not exploding, it's decreasing.
1
"solid supporting structures," Mr. Brooks? Ummm, like rampant income inequality? Like the Right's push-back on voting rights? Like the Right's hostility towards all women and their reproductive choices? Like mounting and crushing school loans, impossible to pay down? Like Congress's continued assault on affordable health care? Like legislative indifference to the neglect of our public spaces (infrastructure, clean water and clean air)? Like our vanished respect for a Supreme Court now entirely owned by the .00001%? Like law enforcement agencies that don't hunt down and shoot a kid 16 times? Or in the back eight times? Like the thriving middle class we now have because of the generous "job creators"? Like a society that, at one time, respected the office of the presidency before Congress took hold of the narrative by refusing to acknowledge his legitimacy? Are these those "solid supporting structures" you referenced that mean the political end times? OK. Got it. I'm so relieved to have understood. Silly me.
271
This was an excellent column. I could not agree more that millennials will not be a factor in the coming election, and that something has to give, since the plight of millennials is so apparent.
Millennials are young, by definition. They have suffered more than other generations, due to the Great Recession and the never-ending wars. No doubt the Trillions we have wasted fighting in the civil wars of Middle Eastern nations, means that there will be lower funding of millennials' Social Security.
Being young, as a generation they do not fully grasp who or what is to blame for their malaise. But as they get older, and have had time to reflect on the past few decades, they will realize that one political party has facilitated the extraction of income from the rest to the rich, and that same party is responsible for the endless and costly wars, and for putting guns into the hands of crazy people. At that point, "Something is going to change".
Millennials are young, by definition. They have suffered more than other generations, due to the Great Recession and the never-ending wars. No doubt the Trillions we have wasted fighting in the civil wars of Middle Eastern nations, means that there will be lower funding of millennials' Social Security.
Being young, as a generation they do not fully grasp who or what is to blame for their malaise. But as they get older, and have had time to reflect on the past few decades, they will realize that one political party has facilitated the extraction of income from the rest to the rich, and that same party is responsible for the endless and costly wars, and for putting guns into the hands of crazy people. At that point, "Something is going to change".
62
As a parent of millennials, I can assure you they are very wise and mature, despite their tender ages. For one thing, they are very resilient, and they don't take anything for granted. They tell us generations before us screwed things up, the environment, inequality, lack of effective education, racism....and they want to "fix" things. They are tired of the old ways. They see Bernie as the only one who gets them and whom they can trust. To them he is the grandpa figure they would love to follow, that much clarity they have. Quietly through social media, they will get out the vote.
7
"But as they get older, and have had time to reflect on the past few decades, they will realize that one political party has facilitated the extraction of income from the rest to the rich, and that same party is responsible for the endless and costly wars, and for putting guns into the hands of crazy people."
Oh, on average younger people have no use at all for the Republicans. On the other hand, they also have little use for most Democrats, who talk a great game but only half-deliver (probably because much of their campaign funding comes from the exact same people as the Republicans).
As a great example of this, the "left-wing" proposal that became Obamacare was nothing like Hillary Clinton's 1993 plan, or Howard Dean's 2004 plan, or any of the plans that Dennis Kucinich put forward, it was the plan that the Heritage Institute created to be a conservative alternative to Hillary Clinton's 1993 plan. And that was entirely on the Democrats: No Republican voted for it, so the Democrats could have rammed through any plan they wanted, but left out ideas like the "public option" (where the government could be your health insurance). Obama's staffers are on the record for saying the ACA was what they wanted. And it's much better than no ACA, but still not what's really needed.
Oh, on average younger people have no use at all for the Republicans. On the other hand, they also have little use for most Democrats, who talk a great game but only half-deliver (probably because much of their campaign funding comes from the exact same people as the Republicans).
As a great example of this, the "left-wing" proposal that became Obamacare was nothing like Hillary Clinton's 1993 plan, or Howard Dean's 2004 plan, or any of the plans that Dennis Kucinich put forward, it was the plan that the Heritage Institute created to be a conservative alternative to Hillary Clinton's 1993 plan. And that was entirely on the Democrats: No Republican voted for it, so the Democrats could have rammed through any plan they wanted, but left out ideas like the "public option" (where the government could be your health insurance). Obama's staffers are on the record for saying the ACA was what they wanted. And it's much better than no ACA, but still not what's really needed.
2
My grandson is a millennial and we talk a lot by phone and when he comes home for vacations and holidays. I really thought you were talking to him. I don't understand all he is doing, yet he is very intelligent impressing the faculty, working on a non profit off campus and for the community, planning summer work (maybe out of the country) and just left today for St. Thomas in the Virgin Isands. He did not come from that type of people. But he has it all in his pocket. He says he'll vote and is keeping track of the issues and candidates. We have our usual good times talking. He's a Democrat like me. Thanks for your article. I always respect your view even if I don't always agree. John
12
Also, millennials are going to come of age as the Earth's environment is failing from the impacts of too many humans. Their boomer parents have forsaken their future by having too many of them.
25
Most overpopulation is in Asia and under developed countries. Most killing of rapidly disappearing species occurs in Asia and Africa. And most people criticize US Boomers for not having enough kids.
5
Wow, I almost agreed with a David Brooks column. Will wonders never cease?
I'm the tail end of Boomer/start of Gen X, and my son is a millennial, so I see much of this column in my own home.
"Conservative" and "Liberal" don't mean what they used to. "Liberal" was smeared for so long that few self-identified as liberal up to a few years ago. Today's "Conservative" would have been the radical fringe in the 80's.
Kids aren't stupid. They have seen how the boomers have raped the planet, rigged the economy, engaged in perpetual war all while going back and forth between shouting, "We're #1. We can do anything anywhere!" and "We're broke! There is no money for any social programs." You'd have to be a robot not to have trust issues.
Along comes Sanders to burst the fantasy bubble of modern conservatism. Of course a kid living in his parent's basement with no job after college, huge debt and little social life (no money tends to dampen one's social life) is going to be drawn to Sanders message of inclusion and improvement for average Americans.
Where I disagree with Brooks is that the youth won't turn out. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. There are a lot of them, and since polling is often land line and very often only includes those who voted in the last 2-3 elections, they are under represented.
One final note: It is not just the millennials who like Sanders message of inclusion and improvement for average Americans. Read the NYT comments, Mr. Brooks.
I'm the tail end of Boomer/start of Gen X, and my son is a millennial, so I see much of this column in my own home.
"Conservative" and "Liberal" don't mean what they used to. "Liberal" was smeared for so long that few self-identified as liberal up to a few years ago. Today's "Conservative" would have been the radical fringe in the 80's.
Kids aren't stupid. They have seen how the boomers have raped the planet, rigged the economy, engaged in perpetual war all while going back and forth between shouting, "We're #1. We can do anything anywhere!" and "We're broke! There is no money for any social programs." You'd have to be a robot not to have trust issues.
Along comes Sanders to burst the fantasy bubble of modern conservatism. Of course a kid living in his parent's basement with no job after college, huge debt and little social life (no money tends to dampen one's social life) is going to be drawn to Sanders message of inclusion and improvement for average Americans.
Where I disagree with Brooks is that the youth won't turn out. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. There are a lot of them, and since polling is often land line and very often only includes those who voted in the last 2-3 elections, they are under represented.
One final note: It is not just the millennials who like Sanders message of inclusion and improvement for average Americans. Read the NYT comments, Mr. Brooks.
375
Sorry, but "The Boomers didn't rape the planet, rig the economy, and engage in perpetual war", The greedy 1% did. Can we please get that straight? Many of us Boomers have been fighting for ecological awareness and balance since the early 70's. The economy is rigged against everyone but the 1%. And those endless wars........I didn't vote for George W.
10
The last numbers I saw for Bernie in Iowa he was very close to Hillary. The conventional unconventional wisdom is that millennials are under represented in poles because of the lack of land lines, though polsters say they account for that.
Having said all that, I think the Sanders caucus is some how significantly under-represented. In part because of the land line thing, in part because of the enormous turn outs for him, in part because polls show that 70-80% of Americans agree with his policy positions and proposals. The steady accumulated concentration of wealth at the expense of everyone else, the reaction against the establishment, and establishment media, and the high "Trust Capital" that Bernie holds. Too many people have been kicked out of the middle class and only Bernie makes a credible case to restore them.
I think Bernie's chances of winning Iowa are better than 50-50, and New Hampshire much better than that. After that, he'll get the media coverage he's been denied. At that point momentum and media coverage will give minorities an opportunity to take another, closer look at Bernie, and they are going to come to the same conclusion everyone else does: he's credible and he means it when he says he's committed to creating a more just society.
Hillary losing this time around would be quite remarkable, because the last time Americans felt prosperous and good was when a Clinton was president. But that president also paved the way for what happened next.
Having said all that, I think the Sanders caucus is some how significantly under-represented. In part because of the land line thing, in part because of the enormous turn outs for him, in part because polls show that 70-80% of Americans agree with his policy positions and proposals. The steady accumulated concentration of wealth at the expense of everyone else, the reaction against the establishment, and establishment media, and the high "Trust Capital" that Bernie holds. Too many people have been kicked out of the middle class and only Bernie makes a credible case to restore them.
I think Bernie's chances of winning Iowa are better than 50-50, and New Hampshire much better than that. After that, he'll get the media coverage he's been denied. At that point momentum and media coverage will give minorities an opportunity to take another, closer look at Bernie, and they are going to come to the same conclusion everyone else does: he's credible and he means it when he says he's committed to creating a more just society.
Hillary losing this time around would be quite remarkable, because the last time Americans felt prosperous and good was when a Clinton was president. But that president also paved the way for what happened next.
4
Well said...I am also of the age you describe...late boomer/early Gen X, and mostly identify with the positions of my millennial sons. My sons grew up not afraid to question rules and authority and to think for themselves. They have seen the bad decisions the politicians who were voted in to office, and have turned a deaf ear to their often hateful campaigns.
Bernie Sanders has campaigned on issues that they feel strongly about, and is addressing millennials' questions about climate change, income equality, student debt, health care, the greed of big banks and corporations, and more, that resonate with millennials. I am discouraged that so many from the boomer generation (despite their '60's counterculture reputation) are only concerned with safeguarding "what is theirs" and are too old for idealism. That way of thinking has broken the American Dream.
Bernie Sanders has campaigned on issues that they feel strongly about, and is addressing millennials' questions about climate change, income equality, student debt, health care, the greed of big banks and corporations, and more, that resonate with millennials. I am discouraged that so many from the boomer generation (despite their '60's counterculture reputation) are only concerned with safeguarding "what is theirs" and are too old for idealism. That way of thinking has broken the American Dream.
4
Looks like game over for the Bush/Bush/Brooks wing.
128
"It could be they are more interested in improving their lives by having richer experiences, and not through the sort of income transfers that come out of Washington."
You just can't help yourself, can you, Brooks? Yep, the reason we lefties champion social programs is not so people can afford to feed and house their kids or receive medical treatment, it's because we're too benighted to seek out "rich experiences" and would prefer to sit on our fat butts and ride the ol' government gravy train.
You just can't help yourself, can you, Brooks? Yep, the reason we lefties champion social programs is not so people can afford to feed and house their kids or receive medical treatment, it's because we're too benighted to seek out "rich experiences" and would prefer to sit on our fat butts and ride the ol' government gravy train.
474
reply to Len: Those "richer experiences" undertaken in a homeless camp or a back pack containing all their worldly possessions? Brook's euphemistic language is truly a work of self-deception.
5
Such a distorted interpretation of this generation. In by gone days, the loyal opposition did not viciously attack our president, promogate anti-government conspiracy theories, create lunatic assaults on common sense, and pervert the public discourse with all manner of disrespectful attacks on our federal government. As a boomer, our idealism was fueled by a kind of nationalistic pride in our federal government's ability to make vast changes for the public good, to create extraordinary scientific achievement, and to build, build for the public good. Our millennials have experienced a toxic mix of anti-Obama racism and anti government hate. They've had their youthful, enthusiasm, idealism, and national pride lost to the likes of Rush and Roger's toxic political leadership of the Republican party.
505
Thank you James. Great comment. Let me add that Brooks likes to use fancy language. For example, "Their only alternative, which is their genius, is to try to fix their lives themselves, through technology and new forms of social interaction, rather than mass movements." He's simply promoting exactly the society so many "conservatives" reject: me, me, me, me, me, me.
13
Actually, if you look at what went on in the 1800's, today's politics look mild, polite, and easy going
9
"Bush is an incompetent leader. In fact, he's not a leader," Pelosi said. "He's a person who has no judgment, no experience and no knowledge of the subjects that he has to decide upon." 5/20/2004
Highly partisan view about opposition did not "viciously attack our president."
Highly partisan view about opposition did not "viciously attack our president."
7
The sad fact is that the oligarchs, plutocrats, GOP, etc don't care about their children's children in a way that isn't exclusive to everyone else's. Even supposed philanthropic elders in this culture ignore the pain and suffering of the middle class, and the woeful futures looming on the horizon.