The Bitter Millennial

Millenials often get a bad, but mostly deserved, rap when it comes to politics. Being one myself, but also not what you’d call a “traditional” millennial, I tend to reflect and focus on millenials who find themselves in similar shoes.

Arguably, you couldn’t pick a worse generation for politically involved individuals, mainly due to our experiences. Older generations have a distinct time period in which they find themselves, while Zoomers find themselves firmly in the Tech Age. Millenials are, unfortunately, in a gray, purgatory area. This puts us in a tug of war in regards to what grounds us. We were smack dab in the middle of the transition period – right when the rails really started to come off, right when the cracks started to form. We didn’t have Woodstock, Vietnam, disco, and the 80s. We aren’t the melancholy Gen Xers, mostly rejecting the Boomer excesses. We also didn’t grow up with high speed internet, mobile apps, and “wokeness” permeating every aspect of life.

We remember what things used to be like. We remember a stronger sense of Dixie. We also remember a stronger sense of America. Back then, the browning of America, while certainly in progress, hadn’t gotten to the point where it seemed like we lived in a country alien to our grandfathers.

I remember Florida from the 90s (versus today). It was very much a different place, it had a different feel. I can’t quite put it into words, but I remember more from memory and feel than anything else. I’ll make an argument things were certainly better back then. Not the best, perhaps not even ideal, but better than compared to today. Florida of my childhood was a much better place.

Back then, the gays were still underground, and the YMCA, while being infiltrated by leftists, was still largely wholesome. The news actually reported news. You weren’t afraid to talk to your neighbors because they were your people, they were Floridians, and shared, more or less, the same values. Communities seemed cleaner. Children would stay out to play all day, until the street lights or porch lights came on. Almost everything, even in the 90s, was closed on Sunday, except church and that parking lot was packed. When you had the radio on, real country music played and, more importantly, it was good.

We didn’t question who we were. Kids being depressed and undergoing existential crises wasn’t a thing. No one was “transitioning.” Kids weren’t political. “Sir” and “ma’am” were still widely used (yes, even in the 90s). I still remember how my old man was the only one who worked in our household. My mama took care of my brother and me – like taking us to doctor appointments, cleaning the house or taking us to school. Gas was still cheap, people seemed kinder and more authentic, and everything didn’t seem like it was made in China, yet.

Yes, I’d argue that things were better back then. While the cracks were beginning to form, they hadn’t fully peeled open yet. It seemed that the leftist infiltration of society was not yet fully complete. It wasn’t Leave it to Beaver by any stretch, those days were long gone. But, it wasn’t what we have now. We lived in the opening of the cultural decline period.

Then, the globalists and the leftists came to power, rising from the shadows like spectres that had been patiently waiting, biding their time. We watched in the 00s as things began to spiral more and more – Islamic terrorism, neverending wars abroad for ‘Merica, market bubbles, consumer debt solidifying, more government expansion, etc. Then, as the 2010s came, we were no longer kids, we were becoming, or were already, adults. Suddenly, we looked around and the Bill Clinton years looked almost like a blessing. We had invaded the world and invited the world and it caught up with us.

We were thrust into this world that was changing around us, one where we knew the world of our fathers and grandfathers was fading faster than the Old Florida accent. Those of us who clung to the past grew bitter, but we didn’t fully understand at the time. All we knew was the lauded “change is progress,” but we did not have enough knowledge or experience to know why this were changing.

When that knowledge finally did come, tangible splits between millenials formed. The first was denial, those who rejected or were oblivious to what was happening and instead chose to pretend everything was still okay. The second were those who realized they had been cheated and retreated from politics, and society, altogether. The third were successfully drawn into the leftist propaganda and brainwashing, they became many of the memes you see today. The last were us, those that remembered. And, we turned bitter and angry as we watched the world that was promised to us sold out underneath our feet and slip between our fingers.

In turn, we stood up. Some did more than others. Some brought awareness, some formed groups that would spark the early roots of political movements in this new century. Some participated in this from the onset, while others became aware later. We took with us a link to the tradition that came before us.

We may be bitter, but we’re here and we’re not going away. We’re going to retake everything.

God bless you and God bless Dixie.