Search for Meaning.
Too many people still speak of a generation gap. Young adults are different. They are ‘The Self(ie) Generation.’ They only care about themselves and don’t treat their elders with respect.
This language feels particularly strident if heard in religious and ethical communities that hold in high esteem altruism, compassion, and respect for those with more life’s experience.
A growing body of data suggests it is also unfounded. Millennials deeply admire their parents and grandparents. To take a few statistics from a 2010 Pew study of Millennials,
Millennials respect their elders. A majority say that the older generation is superior to the younger generation when it comes to moral values and work ethic. Also, more than six-in-10 say that families have a responsibility to have an elderly parent come live with them if that parent wants to. By contrast, fewer than four-in-10 adults ages 60 and older agree that this is a family responsibility.
Further,
The public may see generations as different in fundamental ways, but most do not see them as being in conflict. Only 26 percent say there are strong conflicts between young people and older people today. More than two-thirds (68 percent) say that conflicts are either not very strong or nonexistent.
But we need not look at statistics to see the positive rapport between generations. Just take a look at Millennials themselves. They are visibly trying to look like their parents and grandparents…
Read the full article… published 3/12/15 on Huffington Post. Written by Rabbi Joshua Stanton, Tribe Advisor.
