First of all, I don't agree with putting people into groups. All it does is oversimplify problems and create divides when trying to come to a solution. For instance, I can be pro-gun, but I still agree something needs to change to help prevent gun violence especially in schools.
I also hate how people of a certain age are grouped together. Yes, some of us were in school when we saw the twin towers come crashing down and going through that has definitely shaped who I am today, but people a few years younger than me might not even remember seeing that on TV.
This Grinds my Gears
So nothing grinds my gears more when someone posts something saying that it's my generation's fault for the way things are today or where we are headed in the future.
Even though I hate grouping people together by age, I feel it's needed since it's my generation's fault, so as we go through the numbers the below image shows what I'm using to determine what "generation" means.
I posted the age breakdown between the different generations because from everything I've read says it's not always the same breakdown for who fits into what generation. I've also pulled the breakdown of the population for the age of those living in the US.
Once again, I haven't fact-checked between multiple sources, so I'm hoping it's close enough to prove my point. If it's off let me know and I'll update my numbers.
So here is how it breaks down for those that can vote in the election if it was held this year.
Gen Z - 22 million - 10%
Millenial - 57 million - 30%
Gen X - 61 million - 27%
Boomers - 72 million - 33%
Let me get this straight my generation only has 40% of the voting power (closer to 35% considering some of the Gen Z's weren't old enough to vote in the last election) yet it's my generation's fault if Bernie Sanders gets elected.
News flash, if your generation doesn't want Bernie Sanders elected all it has to do is get out and vote and he won't be elected because you control the majority of the vote. Side note, that also doesn't include anyone who is 74 and older, so it's actually weighted heavier in "your generations" favor.
How about instead of being a keyboard warrior you show up at the polls in 2 years and make your voice heard instead of blaming it on my generation.
What My Generation is Inheriting
Thanks to your generation, my generation is going to inherit the following
Runaway debt. You want to know why my generation is creating magic internet money that is run off an open-sourced program. Because we realize thanks to history and voting for a President who decided to take the US off the gold standard, that our money will one day be worthless.
Don't believe me, well let's take a second to think through this. What does the Federal Reserve do every time the economy takes a nosedive. They decrease interest rates. Have you looked at what interest rates are lately? When we head into the next recession they are either going to take it down to 0, make it a negative interest rate, or start printing money and give it out for free causing the dollar to slowly lose its value over time.
You've allowed the war machine to continue. My kids will now have to worry about terrorists for the rest of their lives because your generation couldn't help but stick their nose into more conflicts all over the world that we didn't belong in.
Every time we get involved in these foreign issues to "get the bad guy" more civilians are killed and for every one civilian that's killed another family will grow up resenting the US. As it says in the Wikipedia article discussing George Washington's Farewell address George Washington urged,
The American people to avoid long-term friendly relations or rivalries with any nation, arguing that attachments with or animosity toward other nations will only cloud the government's judgment in its foreign policy. He argues that longstanding poor relations will only lead to unnecessary wars due to a tendency to blow minor offenses out of proportion when committed by nations viewed as enemies of the United States.
Source
You even started a domestic war and named it the "war on drugs" which has been largely ineffective and at the same time allowed major drug companies to make billions for selling legal addictive drugs and then allowed the government criminalized the people who became addicted.
All this while it's been proven time and time again, the best way to fight addiction and reduce violence is to legalize drugs. If you don't believe me just look at what prohibition caused in US history. That prooves the war on drugs is just another pointless war that is causing harm to innocent people.
Military Spending - what is even the point anymore? Do we need to develop a better billion-dollar bomb to take out some "bad guy" in a 3rd world country who is living on less than $5 a day?
Education - Yes let us give the government even more money to run our grade schools and maybe even our colleges because the US is known for what a great grade school education we have.
Smoking - Yes let us raise the age of smoking to 21, because why not turn highschool kids into criminals for something they are going to do anyway. At least all high school kids follow the rules and worry about their health, right?
Legalized Governmental Syping - Because why not let the government track everything I do. It's not like I one day might become a criminal for using Bitcoin, or having a certain religious belief right? The government has never abused its power, have they?
I Could Go On
But honestly, there is no point in blaming anyone. Every generation has done what they thought was best for themselves and the future based on the information they currently had.
To create a divide with 2 or 3 or several different sides does nothing to solve the issue. Yes, it's good for sports so that way we can cheer for our team to be the winner, but when making decisions that affect everyone it's best to look at issues from several different directions.
To be either pro or anti-gun limits your solutions. Why not look at the bigger picture to try and determine the root cause.
Can we improve how we handle and care for mental health? Is there some way we can use technology to improve gun safety? Is there something we can do to hold stores more accountable for who they sell their guns to or owners for who has access to their guns? Should we limit clip size, caliber, rate of fire on weapons that are owned by citizens?
There are many discussions we can have over guns not just for or against.
If you made it this far thanks for listening to me vent and let me know what is something that grinds your gears in the comments down below!