Hey Bonita,
How can millennials not feel hopelessly depressed about the state of the world and their future?
Anon
Hey Anon,
Oh, honey. First off, stand back and take stock of what you can and can’t control. The state of the world is… a lot to deal with right now, but it’s not yours alone to address. You don’t personally have to end a war or feed the hungry or get justice for the transgressed upon, but you can certainly live out your ideals and be the person you want to see in the world. That’s a very cliche statement these days, but I think it’s a powerful one for lessening the anxiety of feeling powerless in the face of everything that’s going on right now.
We’ve all learned how important voting on the local level can be for creating positive change in our communities, and I hope you’re doing so. Make sure you and your county commissioners are of similar minds, and you should feel empowered to go to public meetings and make your opinions known. Apply for a position on one of our local major policy boards so that you can volunteer time towards keeping Athens great and weird, man.
Are you a parent or guardian of young ones? Your influence on them is large and provides you a very real chance to make sure there’s one less fascist in the world. (This can backfire, though—pour one out for all the weirdo adults out here raising lil’ Proud Boys despite themselves.) Do tangible things that allow you to express your worldview and live your values in defiance of what some would rather happen to the social climate of our country.
I also recommend less screen time, and not just social media. I barely seek out the news because it’s so very often a complete and total bummer, and major events always find their way to me anyway. The sensory overload of social media is destroying our attention spans and turning scrolling into muscle memory. People desperately want your attention and to get a reaction out of you, and social media feeds are curated to inflame and depress us. We feel sad looking at someone else’s beautiful life or furious at fascist trolling, or we try watching “takedowns” of worldviews we don’t like that end up making the “us vs. them” of it all even more stark and frightening. Even “The Daily Show” is counting on your anger and discomfort for views and ratings, and after that satisfaction of being validated fades, you’re still going to feel pissed and have no solutions or ways forward. You’ll just be frustrated and angry and have nothing to do with those feelings.Look to love. There are people out there who absolutely hate your joy and count on you feeling worthless and discouraged because that means that you won’t fight back when then they try to force their ideal society on us. Your friends, partners and family have love to give to you, and they want your love in return. They want to see you happy and thriving, and I imagine you want the same for them. Do not feel guilty about being happy in an awful world or doing frivolous things for no reason other than joy. Some folks believe that you shouldn’t have an easy life when there are marginalized people out there who don’t, and that’s absolute poppycock. Penance is not necessary for allies who are privileged enough to live well, and that comfort and ease allow for us to be more active and helpful for others. Cultivate good feelings and a good life for yourself, and believe in your heart that you deserve good things. Because you do—of course you do. Living a good life does not mean you’re unaware of what’s going on or not committed to being a force of positive change. Living a good life and changing what you can are the quickest ways you can feel better about the state of the world today, and you should never give up on doing what you can to create a better world.
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