There are a couple of articles going around talking about how Generation Y (people born in the mid-70s to the mid-90s) includes a bunch of entitled this and that and blah, blah, blah.
From first-hand experience, I can say the proper classification should be Generation Why Not? This generation notices the faults of the generation before them, see solutions and are dumbfounded by why nothing has been done to fix the problem. We believe that common sense solutions exist, but the will to enact them is lacking.
The Generation Why Not mantra is simple: if it can be done and should be done, it is morally irresponsible not to at least try.
Let me preface this ode to my generation by saying I am not implying that Generation X, the Baby Boomers and the Greatest Generation have done nothing to improve the world around them. They beat the Nazis, sent a man to the moon, implemented the GI bill and created social security. A couple of them even invented video game consoles — so they can’t be all that bad.
Over the decades, amazing advances in technology, science, morality and justice have occurred. We have decades of applied policies we know work and we knows which ones don’t. There was a lot of effort put into these social innovations and many times, people were absolutely certain the world was going to end because of something we just decided to do. Change en masse is always slightly terrifying.
Yet society survived, often times to the dismay of the opponents of the change.
Generation Why Not has more access to information and interaction then any society to date. This generation has the data to find out if a program has worked in any part of the globe, adapt it and apply it at home. With the speed of information, they can start a revolution over night and raise thousands of dollars in minutes all online to fund their causes.
Members of Generation Why Not have no use for politicians that want to maintain the status quo. They vote in presidential elections because these are elections that they feel are important, but local elections have no interest to them because, while they know how important participating in their community is, they don’t see how they can overcome the local establishment. These voter blocs are small, but like-minded people within their ward boundaries are too few. They don’t see local electeds as the way to reform — they see them as obstacles to reform.
However, Generation Why Not is at work in St. Louis where we have young entrepreneurs redefining and rebuilding communities. We have young(ish) politicians that are pushing to reduce the Board of Alderman, bring back local control of the police department, pushing participatory forms of governance and getting rid of old laws that no longer make sense. Members of the generation preceding ours are working hard to bring reform as well, the Alderwoman who wrote the language to reduce the Board of Aldermen (Prop R).
Policies like common sense gun reform, embracing renewable energy, universal healthcare, common core education standards, historic preservation, tax reform, eliminating corporate welfare and equality all make sense to this generation. Our generation has grown up in one of the most — if not the most — divisive periods of political history. The perception being politicians act with a sense of “What’s in it for me?” rather then “What’s the benefit of society?”
Now, you may call me on naiveté, but Generation Why Not would say you aren’t trying hard enough.
Martin Casas lives in St. Louis with his wife and very funny daughter. He is the former owner of Frontyard Features and currently “guy who runs the thing” at Grand Market at new outdoor marketplace in Grand Center. He is also active in his community, working on whichever issues cross his path.
