NEWSWEEK.COM 31
SOCIETYnOne OF tHis is tO say tHe WOrld is as it sHOuld Be.
We said better, not perfect. There are new problems,
like AI and the loss of privacy; old problems that we
didn’t solve completely, like environmental degradation; and old
problems where we made progress but are now sliding backward,
like civil rights, with over-incarceration and resegregation. As
frustrating as those things are, we shouldn’t lose sight of the
progress that’s been made. Generations solve the problems they
are presented with. The generation before us took on autocracy
and dictatorships. We took on social change. Your turn.You are ready. You’re bigger than
we were, by about an inch; smarter,
by about 10 IQ points; much better
educated—far more people are com-
pleting high school and college than
ever before. You have extraordinary
technology. And though it’s hard to
quantify, you have another advan-
tage we didn’t—you’re woke. We
understood we needed to account
for things like bias and privilege, but
we didn’t really know how. You have
a much better understanding of the
world around you and how it works.
Here’s one last piece of advice. Aim
higher. Your passion for change seems
to be mostly for yourselves—health
insurance, child care, student loans,
paid family leave. Our passion was of-
ten to help others: civil rights, apart-
heid and famines in places like Bangla-
desh, Biafra and Ethiopia. Yes, it was
naïve to think that a few concerts like
Live Aid could save millions, but it was
rooted in good intentions. Our gener-
ation may have failed in the execution,
but we did not fail in ambition.
You’re right to be scared by the
enormity of the tasks before you. It
could be very bad if you don’t do
something. But you will do some-
thing. And as you do, do your best to
avoid our mistakes—but don’t lose
sight of what we did right. Good luck.
OK, millennial? OK.→Sam Hillis aNewsweekcontribu-
tor, consultant and best-selling author.
Thanks to the following for the statis-
tics used, beyond those already cited:
Statista, Census Bureau, NOAA, NBER,
National Institute of Justice, Federal
Reserve Bank of St. Louis, CDC, Na-
tional Committee on Pay Equity, U.N.,
professor Guido Alfani, the Sentencing
Project, the Disaster Center, Timeline,
Paycor, Leftronic, NomadWallet, 123
Test, Live Science and the Carnegie En-
dowment for International Peace.“It’s a good thing you’re so well prepped,
because it’sYOUR TURN NOW.”
BERNT OVE MOSS/EYEEM/GETTY