Dear Millennials

In spite of the state of today's world and the political and social disasters in the US, I choose to be an optimist. Yes, I know climate change is threatening our very existence and we're pretty much doing nothing about it. Yes, I know right-wing ideologues are gathering forces to take over our country (very "Winter is coming" observation, I know). Yes, I know that religious, racial, and economic class tensions are hurtling towards violent confrontations. And yet, I choose to be optimistic. Here's why:

Baby boomers are dying at a faster rate than experts predicted. That may sound like a bad thing, but if you think about it, we boomers are the cause for the chaos in the US. This is our baby. We have to take custody, whether we like it or not. Income disparity, racism, right vs. left, government too big or too small, depending on your preference, crumbling infrastructure, student debt, Social Security and Medicare insolvency, continuous war - it's all on us. We also have the power to do something about all of those problems, but we won't. We are incapable of action. And that's why I'm optimistic.

Now, here come the millennials. You are smarter than us. You are more unified in your beliefs. You are more tolerant and more responsible. Yes, you are less religious and that is also a good thing. You do have a left and a right, but the extremes have less influence on you than they do on us boomers. You will have the capacity to accomplish things when you finally take over the reins of power.

So what are you waiting for? You already outnumber us. Want to legalize marijuana? Vote! Want to provide student debt relief? Vote! Want to take a humane approach toward immigration? Vote! Want women to get equal pay for equal work? Vote! Want representative voting districts instead of gerrymandered districts? Vote! By the way, these are all things favored more by millennials than by boomers.

Now, I'd like to offer some advice. First, learn from the Tea Party. They became such a powerful voice within the Republican Party that, instead of aligning themselves with the GOP, they forced the GOP to align with them. While many of your beliefs are compatible with the Democratic Party, don't align with them - force them to align with you. And how do you accomplish this? You guessed it - vote!

Once millennials take the reins, I honestly believe the United States will rapidly become a better country. If boomers don't like it and start to complain, I have a very millennial response: STFU!