Only the Young Are Crazy Enough to Change the World

And we must help them do it

Photo by Gemma Chau

I’m pretty sure we’re on the brink of civil war and we’re all going to die, but let’s circle back to that. Right now, I’d like to talk about the effect this pandemic has had on the mental health of young people, who are not only carrying the brunt of our mitigation efforts to stop the spread of Covid, but are suffering unprecedented rates of anxiety and depression because of it.

It is this writer’s considered opinion that we are vampiring their youth and offering zero in return (more on that later), except the usual withering scorn one generation heaps upon another in a time-honored tradition of envy and ridicule. Oldsters envy the taut skin and carefree spirit of younger generations, whilst ridiculing their feckless stupidity, conveniently failing to recognize that we were even dumber when we were that age.

Full disclosure: I believe that Generation Z (those born between 1997-2012) will be our saving grace as a nation. Provided we still have one. They are the first truly colorblind generation in U.S. history. Their gender fluidity is astonishing—and inspiring. And they are the first generation to question the money-driven paradigm we are born into: get a degree, buy a house, have some kids, divorce, remarry, retire, go on a cruise, die.

For Gen Z, diversity is their norm. They’re shrewd consumers and digitally fluent, although that appears to come at a price. Also known as the “loneliest generation,” Gen Zers spend endless hours online, which leads to feelings of isolation and depression. Their tendency to “compare and despair” on social media isn’t doing them any favors either, although I’m reminded of the Photoshopped images I grew up seeing in magazines and on TV, and after many years and a lot of soul-searching, I can now give the stiff middle finger to Madison Avenue for brainwashing women and girls into a paralyzing amounts of inferiority. Thanks.

Yet why wouldn’t the Gen Zers be anxious? What kind of world have we left them? A country that’s tearing itself apart, a remarkable ineptitude for moving the needle on climate change, appalling police brutality against communities of color, an attempted coup on our nation’s Capitol, a cost-of-living index that is so out of control, pretty soon no one will be able to afford to leave home, equally unaffordable healthcare, the repulsive surreality of a Trump presidency and lack of justice served in that regard, fear of social contact, $32,731 per person in student loan debt, a crippling porn addiction that has so far gone unaddressed and is severely hampering young people’s ability to seek and/or maintain human relationships, open carry and mass shootings (a purely American phenomenon, by the way—these things rarely happen in Europe), a pandemic that’s continuing to rage, and overall, a world so frankly terrifying, it’s no wonder they’re having trouble coming to terms with it.

Young people, while hardly immune to the worst effects of Covid, are 370 times less likely to die from it than people 85 and older. Yet we are (necessarily) shuttering them indoors and kettling them into virtual classrooms with no emotional support or publicly funded therapy to help them sort through the resulting depression and anxiety. We haven’t even thanked them. Like we have with first responders and medical professionals, we’ve ignored their sacrifice, which may be the most considerable of all.

Do you remember what it was like to be young? I do. I refer to it as my “feeding and mating” phase. Hot guys were all I thought about—no, all I could think about. Nature wires us that way for a reason. According to Nature’s metric for success, we are only here to reproduce, raise our young, and die.

And yet, because of the pandemic, we’ve taken everyone under the age of 25 and put them under house arrest. At a time when young people should be doing all the stupid things we did when we were their age, they are forced to watch the life they dream of having on tiny screens.

Not so long ago, young people graduated high school or college and then moved to cities like San Francisco, L.A., and New York. In 1990s Manhattan, a decent studio apartment went for $650 or less. Now, the average cost of an apartment in Manhattan is $4,140. The only people who can afford those prices are arms dealers or Saudi princes who buy pieds-à-terre on Park Avenue and then leave them vacant as “investment vehicles.”

Know where young people can afford to go? Nowhere.

It’s even worse for young people of color. After two decades of rising numbers of suicides, suicides trended down in 2020, except for a whopping 30% increase in suicide deaths among Black girls and women ages 10-24, and 23% among Black boys and men in that same age group. Among Hispanic girls and women, the rate increased by an alarming 40%. Hispanic boys and men’s suicide deaths rose by 20%. Asian girls and women ages 15-25 also saw a nearly 30% increase, all of which should have us running for the fire alarm. But is this making front page news?

So, yeah. Dumpsters full of bleak despair. Now we know why.

Photo by Toa Heftiba

I recognize that in America, we suffer from a particular form of nearsightedness that looks remarkably like selfish disregard for the welfare of others. Like I said, we envy the beauty and joie di vive of youth. All those lovely years that lie ahead of them. They haven’t even been alive long enough to make the kinds of soul-crushing mistakes that derailed our own lives, have they? Our lights are dimming, and theirs are shining forth like beacons into the universe. Oh, how we begrudge their hope!

But if we can save them from their own nihilism and our own giddy disregard for the environment, all signs indicate that Generation Z will evolve into engaged, conscientious stewards of this planet.

The first and best thing we can do to thank them for their selfless service to others is to excuse all student loan debt. Young people carry 1.7 trillion dollars in student loan debt, which is held by roughly 45 million Americans, 2/3rds of which are women, and most of those women Black. Congressional leaders have proposed measures that include forgiving up to $50,000 in student loans, canceling up to $10,000 in debt, reducing interest rates on loans or the refinancing of loans, and by allowing loans to be discharged in bankruptcy.

None of that is enough. All debt must be excused, and here are the lawmakers that support it.

If you see your lawmakers on that list, and they have yet to support legislation that will relieve student loan debt, I strongly urge you to call or write to them expressing your views on the subject. Just as necessary is public access to affordable mental health services and free substance abuse rehabilitation, both of which are natural outcomes of the anxiety and depression young people must deal with. Add those to your wish list when you contact your Congressperson or Senator. The least we can do is put a safety net under this inspiring generation, and let them know that help is there if they need it.

I’m directly addressing any Gen Zers now.

Thank you.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your continuing sacrifice. Please learn from our terrible example. When you’re our age, take your admirably Progressive worldview with you into your golden years. I love each and every one of you, and I’m sorry for what I’ve done or failed to do to make this a better world. I’ve tried. With my dying breath, I will continue to fight for you.

You, darling ones, now hold the fate of civilization in your hands.

What are your thoughts on the hope of our nation? I’d like to hear. Please feel free to leave your comments below.