Multigenerational.
That is what we are as a country - as a world. We are made up of
varying generations. Each generation seems
to carry underlying ideals, values, opinions, and mindsets. However, it seems that between generations we
are seeing disconnects and sources of major disagreement.
As I sat in church this last Sunday, one of our pastors
preached on the difference between being a multigenerational church and an
intergenerational church. He said
multigenerational is multiple generations within the congregation. Intergenerational means simply that these
separate generations work together. As I
sat listening, I began to think of all the ways this sermon not only related to
my church, but to the world we live in.
Sure, we’re multigenerational, but could we honestly consider ourselves
intergenerational?
Personally, I don’t think we can. I want you to think of the disrespect you
hear for other generations almost everyday.
You’re driving behind someone slow and you think, “Come on grandpa, I
don’t have all day.” A few teenagers
make a questionable decision and undoubtedly someone will mutter under their
breath, “Stupid kids.” We’ve lost
respect for each other, and I believe the only way we can only regain it is if
we take a step back and look from the other’s perspective.
Most of our generation falls into, or is just on the edge of,
the Millennial generation, born between 1978-1995. For those of us in our late teens through mid
twenties, we don’t remember a time without technology. We don’t remember a time without Internet
access. Some say we were the first
generation raised by “helicopter parents”.
To borrow from the sermon I listened to, “Our generation is
messed up.” Honestly, I think we really
are. We are hurting and dealing with
some serious issues. Our “normal” is
campus shootings and terrorism. Our
normal is a constant war in the Middle East.
Our normal is cyber bullying and kids who commit suicide because of
it. Our normal is parents who tell us
we’re the greatest, most talented humans on this earth, only to find out the
“real world” doesn’t quite believe that.
Our normal is selfies, nude pictures of Kim Kardashian all over our news
feeds, and boys who text “here” instead of coming to the door.
And looking at us, the older generation is thinking “NO!
That’s not normal! That’s not healthy!” But our generation doesn’t listen. We think that we’re too good for those who
came before us. That the older
generations are just stuck in their ways and “don’t know what’s it’s
like”. Instead, we turn to articles on
Buzzfeed to tell us what “true love” is, what having a best friend looks like,
or how to have a successful marriage. We
put more value into these articles, probably written by people our own age who
also don’t have any clue what they’re doing, than we do our elders. You know, the ones who might actually have a successful marriage?
I think it’s time we sat down and learned to be quiet for a
while, to stop spouting off our opinions left and right and listen. It’s time we get off our ego-trains and
realize that in our early twenties we probably don’t know all that much about the
world. But this issue has two angles. We need the older generations to compromise as
well.
To the generations that came before us, we need you and your
wisdom. Sure, we’ve been disrespectful
to you and some of us have honestly believed that we were better and smarter
than you. And I understand if you’re
tired of our generation and our attitude.
I apologize for all of us. But after
everything we’ve done, we also need your grace.
We know that times were different when you were growing up,
and we want to learn from you. But we
need you to understand that we couldn’t control the era we were born into, or what
we grew up with. We need your
encouragement. Many in my generation are
trying to impress you, to be worthy enough to take your place someday. Right now though, we’re wading through the
muck of our generation without a lot of direction or encouragement from the
generations before us. Let us know when
we do something right. Give us a pat on
the back. Really, that’s all some of us need.
So, to my generation I think it’s time we learned to
listen. I think it’s time we started
valuing and respecting our elders. Let’s
talk to them instead of an online forum when we need advice. They’ve done a lot of living that we could
learn from. And the older generations,
extend a little grace. Encourage
us. Show us that you’re people we can safely
go to for advice. Don’t laugh at us, or
tell us how awful our generation is; listen to us too. Give us your wisdom, and tell us your
stories. Because I think if we both made
those small changes, we could change society from strictly multigenerational to
intergenerational as well.