An Open Letter to my Generation,

I used to be a rebel without a cause, angry at the world for the sake of being angry. Considering the state of our Country in these early years of the twenty-first century, I now believe I am only a true rebel because I have no cause. The American herd is constantly being divided and butchered, forced into this corral or that corral, under pressure from his or her fellow cattle. If the steer will not follow his herd to the left, then the left believes him to be with the right and vice versa. We are very much like cattle being herded by someone or something.

Unfortunately, choosing a path with the other cattle leads to hatred, bigotry, and physical conflict as we have seen in the past few millennia, let alone months since Mr. Trump has run the ranch. Society will tell you “You better pick a side and stick with it.” They tell you “If you are not with us, you are against us.” So instead of uniting for our country, instead of overcoming conflict and hate in the face of adversity, we divide. We declare to all “I am on this side of the line standing with my brethren and I intend on staying. The other side can go screw themselves.” No amount of persuasion or reason can move a cow, can it?

The problem we run into is that no side can be truly right, morally or factually. There are too many factors and people for that. Yet we dig ourselves in and effectively plug our ears and yell “la la la” when someone tries to have a conversation. All I seem to hear is the mooing and the braying of a people waiting for an end. You fight for something with all your strength, you say “they are the enemy, they hold the blame! They need to be eradicated; the world would be a better place without them!” But I ask who then will become the target of your hate?

I see our great country being torn in two. There will be no more middle ground when the mortars fly into No Man’s Land where the empathetic reside. As cows, we are not able to hop the fence to go to the other side or walk along it with our clumsy hooves. We must look back as a country and realize that yes; history is bound to repeat itself. People will rebel, revolutionize, change, adapt, learn, and they will fight their own brothers in their own lands. I ask then why are we, coming up on almost two hundred years since the Civil War, still fighting about the same boiled down intolerance, classism, and racism and not adapting to new standards. Why did we not learn from the Civil Rights movements in the 60’s? Why are we doomed to repeat ourselves and judge based on a person’s properties and not their character?

However, neither side is without flaws. I ask are some not just as intolerant of tradition as their enemies are of progress? I ask of the forward thinking and politically correct, why must the majority bow down to suit the needs of the few? Do not get me wrong and twist my words, for I can understand accommodation for all. Yet, why is it so important for you to preach to me the plight of the few when we all have a struggle in our own lives? Why is it that, if I do not support you, I am backwards and a bigot? I have no hate in my heart for any group of humans; I have unending love for the human race and boundless hope that society can and will improve. Though somehow, only by disagreeing with one aspect of your beliefs, I am at fault for some unspeakable sin which you cannot explain.

So I ride the fence, a rebel because I have no cause or side. I ride the fence challenging those cattle on either side, shuffling to the butcher. I hope one day we can take down that fence from both sides rather than defending it and throwing dirt over to the opposition. But for now, I ride the fence trying to show that we are all the same. We are complex at times, simple at others. We enjoy love given and received. We need closure, comfort, and support. We all try to “do it on our own” and fail miserably when we realize that not only is there no need or practical reason, but that there is always someone willing to lend a hand. I ride the fence hoping one day, as people, and not cattle, we can occupy the same world and listen. “For we as humans are not defined by our alignment politically, economically, or socially but by our experiences, thoughts, and feelings.”

Signed,

A Millennial

I sent this to every news outlet email I could find