The shared ideologies many baby boomers so dearly withhold are the literal bane of my existence. Not just me, but their poisonous mentality is the bane of every generation after them - especially millennials. I do not wish to undermine or generalize all baby boomers since I admit that I've received life altering words of wisdom from teachers and mentors born shortly after World War II, and realize that many baby boomers have paved the way for a progressive America - after all, they raised me. But the upbringing many baby boomers share is parasitic to modern American society.
I get it: baby boomers were raised in a society that promoted segregation, fueled many prejudices, and suffered the economic hardships of the great depression. On top of that, the manufacturing industry was one of the most demanding - which still releases massive amounts of dirty emissions that are harmful to our environment.
In their defense, baby boomers didn't really know any better (even if millennials and the generations after are the ones to suffer the backlash of the infamous manufacturing and cotton industry). To an extremely small extent, it's not entirely their fault. Besides, the manufacturing industry (and even slavery) is, in part, what makes America so livable today.
The problem arises when baby boomers don't accept the paradigm shift of their succeeding decades. What needs to be understood by those specific individuals who share an antiquated way of thinking is that unity and globalization offer more positive benefits for social evolution than a negative one (not perfect, but a lot more beneficial). The derivative of modern science and a strong social progression is one to admire, not to battle and belittle.
The idea of global warming being a hoax, for example, is a naive and ignorant one. Living in Miami on and off for almost a decade is enough proof to know global warming is very, very real. The rising water is evident and can be easily noticed when biking or jogging the bridges to Miami Beach. Waves devour sidewalks and a simple rain shower turns into ankle high flooding. It seems that many baby boomers don’t believe in global warming, and this is harmful to our environment and the future of our society.
Also, baby boomers are some of the most racially divided group of people I've ever met. Those who gave into segregation aren't any better than the slave owners who abused the color of their skin to make a profit during the birth of our nation - even if it built the strong American economy we know today. Slavery and segregation are the very reason white privilege is still thriving in America; and baby boomers play an extremely huge role in this. That said, those born shortly after the second World War should know better than to give into racial hierarchy.
I'm not saying that millennials are better than baby boomers. In fact, I can't stand many of my peers and their self-centered social media addicted selves (guilty). But I will admit that our society is a better one. A global society along with advanced technology and a cleaner atmosphere means better and faster learning, a better understanding of different cultures, improved mass communication, and a longer life span. So why do many baby boomers deny that globalization is a good thing? Even the fear of losing a sense of national identity to globalization shouldn't blind them from the facts.
America’s “peak” was embraced by many of its citizens until the quintessential baby boomer ran for President and summoned like-minded people to take over the American environment and economy. He ran his campaign promising to make America similar to the times when baby boomers were at a mere young age or barely taking their first breath of fresh American air. Not only is this conflicting to modern American society, but we have learned too much about the environment and our society to regress toward a time that lacked extensive social and environmental experimentation.
With all due respect, baby boomers that share an antiquated mentality, please get out of our way and let us continue to progress instead of taking us back to the times when our American society was racist, hateful, and just plain dirty. Don't forget: we're the ones who have to suffer the consequences of your ignorant choices.