[throwaway30yo]

Millenial here. I think things are better then you think.

Failing government systems? Have always existed. Unaffordable education? Never went, no idea. Online education still free. Limited Housing and Land? Flyover country, tons of cheap housing and land. Degrading Climate? Yes. But even the most pessimistic projections are unlikely to effect my life.

Its a great time to be alive. Country not at war, unemployment is low, stock market doing amazing, crime is low, tons of new fields are emerging, sex is significantly easier to find then past generations, and the internet is still pretty great.

[tinym]

Only slightly pedantic: The United States has been at war for just over 16 years now.

[Turing_Machine]

Even more pedantic: The United States has been at war with North Korea since June 27, 1950. The war has been in a ceasefire state for a long time, but there has never been a formal peace treaty.

Although a still more pedantic person might point out that there was no formal declaration of war in Korea, so technically it's not a "war" (it was called a "police action").

[dragonwriter]

An even more pedantic person might point out that while various norms (international or internal) might obligate a country to declare war before prosecuting it, the fsct of armed international hostilities is war in international law (though it may not trigger all the effects triggered by a declared war in a states internal law) even if there is no declaration.

[thaumasiotes]

That would be a good argument that we were at war in 1950, but it's not a good argument that we've been at war continuously since 1950. If the fact of armed hostilities is war, the fact of no hostilities is peace.

[nikkwong]

Kind of a red herring IMO. Anecdotes only get you so far—when we look at the vast majority of millenials, most of their prospects are not so great. And this is especially true in comparison to the prospects of earlier generations.

[pdelbarba]

Come to Colorado. Formerly the apex of flyover real estate. Now the location of million dollar 2000sqft houses. I see maps from as late as a decade ago with nothing on them where whole cities now exist.

[dontreact]

"But even the most pessimistic projections are unlikely to effect my life." I applaud the optimism, but let's not minimize the gravity of climate change: the most pessimistic projections involve a runaway release of methane gas which makes life inhospitable on all of earth.

[psyc]

I don’t think flyover country is as cheap as it used to be. I’m willing to move anywhere, but after much house searching, the only places I consider affordable now are Idaho and the deep rural south.

I’m with that other commenter who suggested Eastern Europe is much more interesting.

[adreamingsoul]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm probably just being extra hard on myself today.

[JBlue42]

Take the weekend off from the news, or longer. Find a good, non-political book and dive in.

I've found it pretty easy to get into a negative spiral when reading about all the shit going on. Our awareness of the myriad problems and the seeming political and cultural insurmountability of them don't do our minds any favors.

[adreamingsoul]

Agreed. I have several books on timber framing that I need to finish.

[JBlue42]

Nice. Nothing like concentrating on a handicraft to filter out the noise as well. Good luck and have a great weekend.