Millennials to the Rescue

Source: Mangadesign.com

It seems to be human nature to create tribal affiliation and then assume that the culture, values, beliefs, and attitudes of that tribe prevails over other differing approaches. Which is to say, we feel threatened by that which is different.

This default way of behaving leads to the “othering” of people. It is no secret that the best way to make a group of people “sick” is to marginalize them. Public health practitioners have worked for years to shout this out to the greater world. Consider any marginalized group that has been stripped of its culture, homeland, access to health and education, and minimized by a majority historically and one will find people who have suffered and continue to suffer (Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, African-Americans, Gay people, Jewish people).

Throughout recorded human history this behavior has been seen over and over. Perhaps as a species we too often revert to the so-called "reptilian" portion of the brain that reacts with fear and aggression rather than employing the pre-frontal cortex— part of the brain that developed over time and provided humans with a sense of empathy, compassion, and sympathy.

We are however seeing change. In the United States the rulings by the Supreme Court supporting greater access to health care and equal marriage laws have been an extremely hopeful turn of events in a country so divided on many issues with often a majority imposing their worldview on others.

The so-called millennial generation is perhaps our corrective experience generation in the United States. This group has grown up with a greater acceptance of others and willingness to live and let live. They have seen their parents suffer economically and have faced difficulty launching themselves in today’s economy. In the process, many have realized that the pursuit of happiness does not necessarily lie in the pursuit of material goods.

Groups that are considered a minority can flourish if given access to proper health-care, education, economic possibilities, and the same rights as those in the majority. It takes generations for a group that has been marginalized to be able to make this shift (and perhaps for other groups, the years of marginalization have created hopelessness and helplessness which make change that much more difficult).

We can all work towards providing ourselves and others a sense of hopefulness and helpfulness through inclusion and policy change. It may seem overwhelming to dedicate any space to this in today’s demanding world, but small investments, as we have seen in recent years, lead to change we wouldn’t have dreamed could happen even a few years ago.