It has become fashionable to badmouth young people. (Or maybe it always has been.)
They are: “Lazy.” “Entitled.” “Self-absorbed.” “Clueless.”
This badmouthing is often followed by handwringing or doomsaying. “God, help us.” “America is in trouble.”
But that just hasn’t been my experience, and I don’t share those forecasts.
Oh sure, I’ve come across some young dolts and met a few unjustifiably smug teenagers. And the “Gen Z Stare” is off-putting (if it’s even real; I’m not sure I’ve actually experienced it).
But I come across a lot of old dolts, blowhards, and A-holes, too. Ignorance, arrogance, and incivility know no generational boundaries.
No, I am optimistic about the future.
To be fair, I have a lot of opportunity to observe motivated young people and I see them succeeding. Take this group, for instance: https://lnkd.in/gzp-Yzk2.
Or take Lauren Gallagher.
I’ve known Lauren all her life; she has known me less than half of mine. Her dad is one of my oldest friends (meaning our friendship is old; David is not super old).
So you can imagine how proud he was to tell me she was interning at SCOTUS. Better still, she offered to give me a BTS tour of the building. (“Mostly columns,” she said.)
I have long been a member of the SCOTUS bar, and attend oral arguments when possible (mostly 2A cases). But walking the back halls was really cool!
Better still was learning just how smart, motivated, and talented Lauren had become. It had been a couple years since I’d seen her. It’s amazing how quickly someone can go from kid to young professional.
My point for writing this is, of course, to congratulate Lauren on a unique and coveted experience and wish her success in the future.
But it is also to say that there are a lot of Laurens out there. I am confident that America is going to be just fine in their hands.
(BTW, that’s me at the end of the tour with Lauren. The other guy is Brett Kavanaugh. He wasn’t on the tour. I reckon he’s already familiar with the joint.)
You can see Lauren’s original post here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lauren-gallagher-8170b3348_this-summer-i-had-the-incredible-honor-of-activity-7370589898208264192-SU37.