#16 Culture | Millennials in Action

Dr. Stephen Phinney: I have debated Millennials in online forums for many years; it is the best way to get to know a new culture from the inside out.

Why are Millennials so resistant to being told what to do?

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This question is the same question sociologists are asking. Before we dive into the possible answer(s), we need to clarify one important point; not all Millennials are resistant to being told what to do, nor is the whole of Millennials putting their families, friends, or nation at risk. It is a small percentage but a number that cares deeply about guidelines and rules. But…as for the lion’s share of Millennials, their despise of authoritarianism makes them dangerous to the community, particularly their Gen Z children.

MILLENNIALS IN ACTION

Millennials claim that their disrespect is related to authoritarianism, not necessarily generalized authority.

Well-documented surveys prove that most Millennials cannot separate the two logically - most Millennials associate authoritarianism with authority figures telling them what to do without including their opinion. Rules mandated without an opportunity to engage in the mandate process equals an offense to their self-rule. Therefore, authoritarianism is a set of prescribed rules without their permission. Authority, thus, is equated with a rule-maker who includes their authorization. Statistical surveys reveal this confusion.

Typically, immovable authority figures are associated with conservativism, which uses conservative parents, churches, and governments as scapegoats, calling most bigots. The irony of this demise is that while they’re pointing their finger, they can’t see their discrimination. It is in this blind-sightedness that ferments their arrogance. Biblically speaking, you can’t tell arrogant people what to do because they believe they are above the opinions of others, which makes them unreachable.

Most Millennials consider themselves progressive/liberal. Millennials ramp up on social media sites to take a ride on the progressive trending points only to appear trendy to collect followers. Not all, but most pretend to care one minute and disappear the next, propagating a disservice to the social agenda they initially were attempting to advance. If fronted on this degenerate habit, they tout not being heard, and you disrespected their personhood. Again, biblically speaking, this proves self-deception and more arrogance. The fact is, while they demand respect, they are incapable of offering mutual respect. It is in this ideation that Millennials get labeled as the rebellious generation.

Are you ready for some cruel irony? The general population knows this fact:

Millennials tend to move back in with their parents. While they use the excuse of a poor economy, it’s rooted in their fear of failure and inadequacy. So, what’s the irony? Most Millennials disrespect their parents, but cultural research reveals a disturbing fact; they minimally despise or hate their parents. So why move back into what they hate? The answer? Deep inside, they know they can’t live without their parents or parental figures. Sociologists know the Millennial Generation drains their parents of all known resources. Once the funds are gone, so are they. For reasons still under review, the lion’s share of Millennials believes their parents owe them. Our biblical reality is, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child; but when I became a man, I did away with childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11). Case in point, they function as children. The Millennial Bubble is formed through this irony.

Millennials are the first generation to turn historical revisionism into a culture. Undoubtedly, this progressive thinking has caused the most damage to mental health, family integration, cultural overlapping, and spiritual connectivity. Many people today are not familiar with the term historical revisionism. Historical revisionism is how the historical records, the history of a society, family life, and spiritual authority (the Bible), as understood in its collective memory, continually integrates new facts and trending interpretations into existing authentic history. Those who practice this modality move the corner post of Truth.

Millennials are known today for being the dominant generation to separate facts from Truth.

Truth lost this battle, and false memory syndrome (FMS) replaced the events of Truth. The post-Truth era was born as the Millennials shifted this individualized interpretive habit into a culture. Once this era cemented into societal norms, the foundation of belief became self-interpreted truth to match their historical revisionism “facts.”

As I have interviewed Gen X parents of the Millennials over the years, the chief complaint was, “My children accuse me of events that did NOT happen.” For those new to the progressive movement of FMS, it describes a condition in which a person’s identity and relationships are affected by false memories - recollections that are factually incorrect yet firmly believed. What causes FMS? The psychobabble reason is that an individual's emotional pain overrides the historical facts by blaming others through recreated events. While the psychiatric world is trying to find a valid criterion for making such a diagnosis, they refer to this growing trend as factitious disorders, a subcategory of false memories/beliefs of abuse.

Cognitive scientists have learned that people who claim 100% certainty of their false memories are statistically 100% wrong. In most cases undertaken by professionals, the common denominator has been external brainwashing, meaning a friend, mentor, or online group influenced the thinking of the troubled soul. Zero percent of these cases obtained their view from concrete facts within their memories.

The above analysis plays into the “why” Millennials are clocked with massive debt. Part of being an adult is acknowledging when you've made a poor choice and then taking action to improve the situation. Overall, Millennials cannot separate poor choices from steps needed to improve the situation - the probable reason Millennials are known for never forgiving.

For most people, debt, and unforgiveness equal failure but not for Millennials. This is because they function under the deception that the world owes them. When others refuse to pay the ransom for the abuse they endured, they spoil themselves by going into massive debt while blaming their parents and the government’s system. Once this ideation is cemented, they shift their energy into propagating a socialistic government system.

Why is it that Millennials promote Socialism?

Socialism is the perfect system to support individuals who believe the government owes them. The basic meaning of Socialism is “a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.” The keyword in the definition is distribution. When Socialism mutates into a style of government, the system must pay the debts for the poor choices made by the community: medical, school loans, abortions; you know the gig. The logic of this shift is erroneous. Socialism is not propagated under well-thought-out research but rather how it bails out the community members for their poor choices.

So…why is the world concerned about the behavior of Millennials?

The simple answer is they repeat their patterns of behavior. It's what they do. Saying one thing and doing another is one of the most popular trends in existence, and unfortunately, it helps no one and hurts everyone. Due to the reality that Millennials primarily do and believe things that benefit themselves, when a pandemic occurs (COVID-19), they call the world liars. They interpret rules of protection for the community as rapping them of their human rights. As per their norm, a crisis deludes them.

As I write this essay, the morning news reveals that Millennials in Germany are assaulting and even killing police officers for carrying out orders of social order, a trend that other countries are experiencing. My government sources tell me that the greatest threat is the possibility of igniting a civil war as our Millennials are gaining more power. Really? My question back to them was in the “who” they believe would kindle such a war. They replied, “The Millennials can save our country, just as they could destroy it.”

The Lord was quite serious when He said that every person is subject to the governing authorities.

The present analysis reveals that the generation that claims global peace is the most violent and unforgiving people on the earth. Is this hard to believe? Watch the evening news. Conduct an elementary analysis of the generation behind global violence; it should only take 10-minutes. It doesn’t take a sociologist to figure out that the delusional thinking of this generation is endangering the people, which is delusion at its best.

Do I blame the Millennials? No. If I were to blame anyone, I would blame my generation, Gen X. It was our error for spoiling the Millennials. We created their ideology of “the world owes me.” But you see, we can’t blame any generation. Facts reveal that every generation passes their sins down to the next generation. We have a chaotic mess when you add the present generation’s sins with all those passed down through the ages. And…it is not over. This proven Truth will continue to regress into a progressive depraved society. Count on it.

Only one Truth will deliver us - Truth as a person, Jesus Christ. Authentic salvation is the only recourse to cultural salvation. The bad news is the Lord tells us that fewer and fewer people will accept authentic Truth – Jesus in the end times. Always remember that culture is spiritual.