03/18/2019

Don't Dismiss Older Generations So Quickly

Hey, kids, chill; your elders know a little bit

When Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 85, snapped at a group of young climate activists visiting her San Francisco office recently — “I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I know what I’m doing!” — I felt the familiar tug of wanting to pass the torch while at the same time pulling it away at the last second with a “Not so fast, missy.”

Of course, "missy."

It’s the same way I get defensive when asked by a fresh-faced activist-in-Anthropologie why my generation couldn’t pass the Equal Rights Amendment. They have no idea what it was like back then. Or what it’s like now, wanting to be magnanimous and expansive and act like every new idea has brilliant potential (yes, even the Green New Deal) and wanting to kinda pinch their cheeks to an uncomfortable degree.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The News & Observer.