Are Millennials Cemented as Civics/Heroes Yet?

[JasonBlack]

(03-11-2022, 05:04 AM)Eric the Green Wrote: There is no difference. Many Millennials realize that the threat of climate breakdown is a threat to the whole world and that includes our country. They understand that many issues can't be restricted by national border.

And the main problem therewith is their insistence on punishing their countrymen for excessive fossil fuel usage before viable, cost-effective alternatives are available. More on that below. 

in a word: 

Quote:I disagree. The Ukraine invasion by Putin is a direct threat to our freedom and democracy. He has directly threatened the USA by putting his nuclear forces on high alert and declaring economic war. Millennials are not saying they want to go to war. They support the actions of ALL concerned people-- to impose severe sanctions on Russia and Putin and his oligarchs and to send all kinds of aid to Ukraine. This violation of the norms of behavior by nations encourages the many other dictators in this terrible crisis of increasing tyranny around the world to do the same.

It is not a matter of guilt. Many millennials see that other countries care about their citizen's health and their treatment of workers, and that the USA does not. They are exactly right. We are the most backward developed nation in the world by far, and millennials are civically-informed enough to know this, and to take action. This is desire for our nation to succeed, not to fail.

I might be getting off topic here, moving from the realm of intentions/generation characteristics to specific policy, but even a cursory look at Russia's history compared to the US will tell you that's a terrible idea. 
1) Russia is used to authoritarian, top-down decrees on people's behavior in a way the US isn't.
2) They have never had a friendly international neighbor in over 1000 years. The Russian mindset is one of continual mistrust, paranoia and readiness to do battle. 
3) Suffering is in their blood. The Russians have turned stoicism into an artform. Even in the 21st century, "life is pain" is a very real concept to the Russian people, who are used to famines, harsh inland Winters, wars and violent outbreaks. 
4) One thing I will grant millennials: they are much more aware of the deficiencies of American infrastructure than older generations, especially our lack of efficient public transit. It is precisely for this reason that we are perhaps the country in the world most dependent on oil. We're also among the most dependent on satellite technology and internet usage, and any disruption thereof could potentially throw off an entire production line. I would like to see many more advancements in the field of alternative energy. We've made a good bit of progress so far, but until we do, we can't afford $10 gasoline the way public transit-rich Europe can. Timing and specifics are everything.
5) Russia is a strongly patriotic country where you look out for your own at all costs. America is more divided than it has ever been in the nation's history. They have the morale to get through this. We do not. 

Quote:They are that. But many of us Boomers really felt liberated and elevated by the social and spiritual movements that our generation experienced in our youth. The best of us do, at any rate. Younger generations have a distorted view of those times painted by the media and conservative propaganda. I celebrate and revere those times. Millennials who understand this are blest.

Sorry....what? Left and liberal-leaning journalists outnumber conservative journalists by a ratio of about 4 to 1 (source: professor Gad Saad). In 2022, even the corporations are leaning heavily to the left as far as media is concerned, which is something I would have thought oxymoronic even 10 years ago. Granted, much of what they're actually doing is still quite capitalistic, but the rhetoric most millennials have been exposed to over the last 14 years has been disproportionately left-leaning, not capitalistic, and least of all conservative.