Generation Z: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Loving the Bomb (Part 2 of 2)

In the movie, Dr. Strangelove, the tag line is How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Loving the Bomb. It was a way of saying, we don’t need to worry, nuclear destruction is inevitable. What can we do about it? Nothing. So we might as well stop obsessing about it and just enjoy the life we have. This is fatalism by another name. It is a social mindset that in essence, has given up. There is no point in trying to change the world since the fate of the world is predetermined and inevitable. We are small and the enemy is great. 

But a funny thing is emerging with Generation Z. These are those people born between 1997 and 2012.  There are many new players raising their voices against the sins and failures of the preceding generations that will be assuming leadership roles in the new era. The world they will inherit isn’t a nicely wrapped gift with a bow. In many respects, it’s a mess. 

Global climate change is here, even though too many of us lived in complete denial about the scientific data that foretold where we would find ourselves today. The only miscalculation was that it would come around 2050 (not now).

Racism is still alive and well in the United States. Whether it’s police treatment of African-Americans, the rise of anti-Asian violence, the El Paso shooting where Latinos were specifically targeted, or the disparate treatment of African-American congressmen in the Tennessee legislature, just when you think things might be getting a little better, we get a reminder that it’s not going away anytime soon. Time and again, this country demonstrates that it is not ready or capable of having even a conversation about race. Just consider the political firestorm raised around the prospect of teaching critical race theory. 

The social division over gun control pits a minority of Second Amendment purists against those who are sick of the continuous stream of mass shootings. Boomers had to consider that possibility of a nuclear attack that fortunately never came.  However, Generation Z has to consider what to do if people armed with AR-15s come through the school doors shooting up anything that moves, -and this is real.  

And let’s not forget the onslaught against women and bodily autonomy. Another 70/30 issue where a hard-core political minority has managed to effectively threaten the autonomy of all women of childbearing age and younger. 

So who in GEN Z is up for the challenges of this era? Just when you think we're sliding into a void, let's pause to take a look at the GEN Z leaders that are emerging. In their short lives, they have already made their presence felt and changed the social and political landscape. 

• Malala Yousafzai, born in 1997, is a Pakistani activist for female education and in 2014 became  the youngest Nobel Prize laureate ever to be awarded that distinction (at age 17). For speaking out against the Taliban, she was shot in the head fighting for women’s right to receive an education. Today she leads the Malala Fund, a non-profit dedicated to making sure every girl has access to 12 years of education that is free of charge, safe, and high quality. 

• David Hogg (b. 2000) and Emma Gonzalez (b. 2000) were high school students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018 when a mass shooting took place, killing 17 people. Both went on to become advocates for gun control. David has organized and led national marches for gun control in Washington D.C. Emma co-founded a group called Never Again MSD, -another gun control advocacy group. 

• Autumn Peltier (b. 2004), a name that many people might not have heard, is an advocate for clean water and the environment. Starting at age eight, Autumn has spoken to the United Nations and other world leaders encouraging them to take action to protect our planet. 

• Justin Jones (b. 1995) and Justin Pearson (b. 1995), both democratic legislators in a republican-dominated state legislature interrupted the proceedings to raise the issue of gun control. This coming about a week after 6 people were killed in a school at the hands of a gunman with an AR-15. They were expelled for their actions, but they had the courage to put everything on the line to raise the issue of gun violence in America. 

• Greta Thunberg (b. 2003) led students in protest to bring attention to climate change. She has addressed (and shamed) the United Nations and other major forums for not addressing the global climate crisis and in essence, passing it on to the next generation to deal with. 

• Nadya Okamoto (b. 1998) founded a group (PERIOD) to provide menstrual equity for economically disadvantaged females, advocating for free menstrual products in schools, shelters, and other public spaces. She also advocates for policies that promote reproductive health care, including abortion rights. PERIOD has groups in over 40 countries and has distributed menstrual products to millions of people. 

What can we take from all of this? GEN Z may not have had the World Wars, or the Great Depression,-their challenges are of a different kind, but they are serious nonetheless. Their issues are about social justice, a world where children can be safe from mass shootings in their schools, racial equity, women’s rights, clean water, and the existential threat to planet earth.

We can stand in awe and appreciation of the GEN Z leaders that are taking their place on the national and world stage. GEN Z is turning out to be much more socially conscious. They recognize the impact humanity has on the environment. They don't carry around with the racial animus of previous generations, the do's and don'ts of (racial) social interaction. They accept the diversity of humanity, -not getting snagged on LGBTQ issues and social roles that have traditionally been placed on people. 

In my judgment, this generation is on the way to becoming the greatest generation the world has ever seen!