Shalini Allam (Rollins College) on the Millennial Generation
March 21, 2012
Does the Millennial Generation Have Values Fundamentally Different from Its Predecessors?
As I was sitting in my living room, I overheard my mom talking to my grandma, “I’m starting to realize that here, in America, girls and boys can be friends… and just friends.” Coming from Jamaica, I thought my parents would completely understand that it was possible that girls could have couple of good friends that were boys without any interest for a deeper relationship. To my surprise, it was not just the country you came from, but the generation you came from, that determined what was considered normal.
Society has made drastic changes within the past couple generations in terms of what has become socially acceptable. Same-sex marriage, abortion, the internet, and globalization are all common topics that clearly emphasize the generation gap between the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. My English professor, assumed to be an early Baby Boomer, assigned our class the task of debating the topic of same-sex marriage. The problem we encountered was that no one had a different opinion. Every one of the Millennials was in full support of same-sex marriage. To my teacher’s surprise, our generation was cutting out what used to be hot topics. Although some topics are still being debated, the Millennials are making changes to socially accept new ideas and rights, such as same-sex marriage.
So what does this mean for our country? The United States has always been set on being of “one people”. With such controversial topics being discussed and being supported in equal numbers, political debates have flourished. The Baby Boomer generation sides with politicians that hold their same, more conservative beliefs. On the other hand, the Millennials side with the politicians focused on globalization and liberal rights. Clearly, our country is growing at the same pace that our culture is expanding. The difficulty with this change is that there is always going to be someone that does not share the same set of values as others. Due to the fundamental differences in our generation compared to our predecessors, there will never be a time that everyone will vote unanimously. At the same time, the variety of opinions is the beauty of having such a diverse culture and community.
sallam@rollins.edu
So what does this mean for our country? The United States has always been set on being of “one people”. With such controversial topics being discussed and being supported in equal numbers, political debates have flourished. The Baby Boomer generation sides with politicians that hold their same, more conservative beliefs. On the other hand, the Millennials side with the politicians focused on globalization and liberal rights. Clearly, our country is growing at the same pace that our culture is expanding. The difficulty with this change is that there is always going to be someone that does not share the same set of values as others. Due to the fundamental differences in our generation compared to our predecessors, there will never be a time that everyone will vote unanimously. At the same time, the variety of opinions is the beauty of having such a diverse culture and community.
sallam@rollins.edu
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