By: David Conde
September 11, 2001 was a watershed moment for our family as we had a military son in the Washington D.C. area with a major connection to the Pentagon. 9/11 created a high point of anxiety as well a decisive moment about the value of military service in the defense of the country.
These type of decisions were being made across the country as young men and women stepped forward to join and serve under a new spirit of patriotism. It was in part a Pearl Harbor moment as 9/11 brought home the reality of a war to the very doorstep of the American people.
Although many saw the event as the work distant enemies with relatively little power, everyone came to feel the potency projected by terrorism. This kind of conflict also had a profound affect on the Millennium generation that had experienced war only in books and movies.
Curiously enough, the Al-Qaeda attack on our institutions and people occurred as the Millennium community was reaching voting age. To be sure, it had just begun to come into adulthood when they came face to face with the first existential moment of their national life. The generation had grown up thinking that their country was the most powerful nation in the world and that their role was to pro- tect others from harm rather than themselves. World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the fall of the Soviet Union and the Gulf War were distant memories held by older folks and had little to do with their own future.
The trauma of the war on terror in Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq and the ascendancy of ISIS was followed by the Great Recession another event that increased the fear and suffering of young people struggling to understand themselves. This was compounded by the disintegration of relationships between races and classes because of the changing demography of the country and the fear it is creat- ing.
The fear, especially among the radical elements of the dwindling majority, has led to finding cause with Donald Trump, a man that stoked those fears to gather enough support to capture the presidency of the United States. The fascist tendencies of President Trump and his followers showed themselves openly at the same time that Millennials became the majority in the country.
The compilation of trauma and fear represents the “baptism of fire” for a community that is now being called on the lead the country. Democracy and the guarantee of the right to vote rest more and more in the hands of the new majority.
One of the major characteristics of our new national leading group is that it tends to share values across racial, ethnic and cultural lines. Because of this, there is a sense that Millennials have a higher loyalty to their generation, as diverse as it is, than to their groups of origin.
For this reason, there is increasing confidence that the divided nature among the different communities in the country will turn around as the new majority gains enough in social and political power to govern. Without effective influence by this community on America we can expect to have a hundred years of division or even worse.
Millennials can be called the 9/11 generation because it is in that moment of great trauma that they came into their own. It is also on their shoulders as the new 21st Century majority to lead our country in finding solutions that will bring us back to our democratic roots.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of La Voz Bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
