All posts in Oh SNAP!

Dear Baby Boomers,

I’ve heard you talking. You’re scared.

You hate my generation.

You look around at us, and all you see is a group of semi-literate, Ritalin addicts who can’t put down their phones long enough to participate in a face to face conversation consisting of anything more than 140 characters. We possess no work ethic, and we get all of our news from Comedy Central. Our overwhelming sense of entitlement drives you insane, and our credit scores make you shake your head in shame.

You’ve talked it over on the golf green with your overpaid, corporate executive friends. You’ve all decided that a future of Facebook addicted, text messaging hipsters whose video gaming has all but obliterated their social skills  is bleak and far from promising.

You laugh at our ideas.

You laugh at our lifestyle.

You hate our music.

You hate our clothes.

You refuse see our worth.

The future you see us creating is anything but ideal.

Now, let’s be honest. The future you’re so scared we’re going to ruin… it’s really not you’re future, is it? You won’t be around to live it, will you?

I will.

And I’m here to tell you that your hope-deprived and faithless views of the iPod generation is wrong. We are strong. We are open minded. We are creators, artists and geniuses.

We have the courage to look at the traditional 40 hour work week, the educational system, Social Security and fossil fuels and admit that we’re doing it wrong. We have the capacity to demand change and to make a difference. We aren’t afraid to negotiate and compromise to make a better world for each other.

We are adapters. We are fixers. We are inventors. We are risk takers.

I look at the old world you cling to so desperately and I see what it can become if you would just open your eyes and trust my vision of the future. Our youth does not equate to stupidity. Our inexperience does not imply a monopoly of good ideas – or right ideas for that matter – on your part.

We are the movers and shakers. We are the generation who is going to save the world you have left in ruins. Remember (if you can) your early twenties. For you to get where you are today, somebody had to give you a chance. Somebody had to see potential in this poor, disenchanted, wannabe-world-changer from the upcoming rebel generation. They saw something in you, and they gave you a shot. Without them, you wouldn’t be where you are today…

Now look at me.

I’m not going to sit around and wait for you to hand me my chance. If you don’t have the vision to see the incredible tapestry we’re weaving, then get out of the picture, or we’ll cut you out.

I am not weak. I am not stupid. And I’m going to take over your company, your industry and your world whether you like it or not. Pick a side… but pick wisely.

Sincerely yours,

Generation Next