Can Millennials make America great again?
I’m in the exercise and diet business. That means I have a lot of contact with Millennials because wellness is their religion. That’s probably the best thing you can say about this group of 82 million.
The other day I had three appointments set up (with Millennials, of course) and all of them got canceled at the last minute.
Millennial #1 texted me because she was ill. We got on the phone and between her coughs, I figured canceling the appointment was probably a good idea.
Millennial #2 set up an appointment a week prior to discuss employment. 90 minutes before we were scheduled to meet I got an email saying she was in a bike accident and needed to reschedule.
Things do happen and that’s fine. But I didn’t hear from her after that email so I guess she doesn’t want any work after all.
Millennial #3 has a rather successful web presence teaching one of those silly abusive “burn up calories” exercise routines.
I mentioned to her that the routine could lead to early arthritis so she wanted to meet. But then, of course, she got busy and never made it… after all, it’s only her body.
I’m no stranger to such behaviors but they were particularly noticeable that day by virtue of contrast.
I was in contact with a very good Pilates teacher five states away who just happens to be my age (76).
She texted me the day before, saying that she was available between 2 to 4 pm and we planned to get on the phone.
About 45 minutes before 2 pm, I got a text from her saying that it looked like her appointment would run late so she wanted to push back our call to 2.30.
No problem… I called her at 2.30 and we had a nice chat.
I suppose it’s easy for us to communicate because we’re from the same generation — one that has seen World War II and the concentration camps, endured the Depression and lived through recessions.
I bet no Millennial alive would even think ahead and let the other person know or follow up if they miss an appointment.
Taking the gaze off their own navels simply isn’t in their repertoire.
In a show with Charlie Rose, the head of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said that America is in a slow decline.
Sadly it’s a fact.
The slowness is the most concerning aspect because we can delude ourselves that this isn’t happening.
These days people are shouting “Make America Great Again” at the top of their lungs. It’s not that we think it’s a good slogan… but there IS a grain of truth.
We have to make America great again because we aren’t great right now and we were before.
I have a friend who had a child late in life and he’s a quintessential Millennial. She says don’t blame him, or his 2 million fellow Millennials, for his Millennial-ness because we caused it.
I think she’s right — it’s the parents’ fault.
We might have sped up the decline by bringing up children in an environment where everyone gets a trophy, everything they do is a good job, and no criticism is allowed because they’d be scarred for life.
So this is where we’re at — Millennials are taking over as America goes into this decline and they’ll take us down that path until there’s no return.
But maybe there’s a silver lining…
The Millennials might just be the perfect group to live through it because they never make any judgment and they refuse to take any pressure.
So everything, good or bad, just slides off their back and all of a sudden we have no crisis.
Let’s just hope that they’ll get it together. Take a cue from two 76-year-old women who get the facts up front, make some decisions, and take on responsibilities.
That’s how we do it, before we had to make American great again.