RELATED
The greatest threat to the human race has always been our own bodies.
Our vulnerability to infectious diseases has caused the greatest calamities in recorded history, from the Black Plague to the astounding threat still posed by the common flu. But behind each health catastrophe is a story of blind greed or hubris, with humans spreading diseases due to rampant consumption, ecological destruction, or just plain ol' bureaucracy. Such is the case with the coronavirus, which, despite emerging in humans only recently, has made historic disruptions to everyday life. The World Health Organization recently declared the virus a pandemic, in addition to being a global emergency.
Luckily, we have movies to turn to in times like these to educate us on how to survive (and prevent) a global pandemic. So what can we learn from virus outbreak movies?
1. Contagion
Contagion is an especially relevant thriller that follows the global spread of a deadly virus, along with researchers' attempts to contain and cure the disease. As the plot progresses across several lines of perspective, we witness the mass social disorder caused by the pandemic.
But the real twist comes at the end, when we see the virus' source [SPOILER]: A bulldozer plows through a Chinese jungle, which disturbs a bat that infects a pig, which is then handled by a chef who doesn't wash his hands before shaking hands with Gwyneth Paltrow, who is Patient 0. So the lesson here is that the virus is entirely humans' fault for engaging in deforestation, and also wash your f*cking hands.
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Culture News
Kanye West's Presidential Run Is Great News for Donald Trump
"Better late than never" may not apply in this case...
07.06.2020
On Saturday, in a strange celebration of Independence Day, rapper, producer, and sneaker mogul Kanye West announced his intention to run for president in 2020.
As in, this year. Right now.
The announcement quickly prompeted messages of support from Kanye's wife, prison reform advocate Kim Kardashian West, as well as from billionaire weirdo/Grimes baby daddy Elon Musk.
Of course, this news comes well past the filing deadline for independent candidates in several major states—which means that unless a political party randomly decides to nominate him, Kanye's name won't appear on those ballots. As deadlines in other states approach—with little apparent effort to gather the petition signatures required—Kanye is officially joining the long, proud history of vanity presidential campaigns. Unfortunately, that's a lot more dangerous than it sounds.
We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am runni… https://t.co/MySzN3vjIB— ye (@ye)1593909493.0
<p>With zero chance of actually winning, vanity candidates often spend fortunes promoting themselves to the public—enjoying the prestige and attention the process garners for them. This would all be fine—vanity candidates can make an election cycle far more entertaining—if not for the fact that these campaigns sometimes end up determining who actually wins.</p><p></p><p>Take, for example, the first time Donald Trump ran for president, back in the year 2000. Following two successive elections in which the center-right Reform party siphoned millions of votes from Republican candidates like George H. W. Bush—likely securing Bill Clinton's victory in 1992—Donald Trump's longtime friend and advisor Roger Stone reportedly set out to ensure that wouldn't happen again.<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><h4>Roger Stone's Election Interference</h4><p>Stone's most infamous interference in that election would involve <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-gop-dirty-trickster-has-second-thoughts" target="_blank">the so-called Brooks Brothers Riot—</a>which disrupted the pivotal Florida recount process—but his sabotage tactics started much earlier and centered on the Reform Party primaries.</p><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/10/15597328/get-me-roger-stone-netflix-review" target="_blank">According to the documentary <em>Get Me Roger Stone</em></a>, Stone began by encouraging Pat Buchanan—who had come in second in the 1996 Republican primary—to run instead for the Reform party's nomination in the 2000 election. Not long after, Donald Trump announced he was running for that same nomination...with Roger Stone backing him.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cdc8d338156637864855885595a26a4a"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5IPyv4KgTAA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Get Me Roger Stone | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IPyv4KgTAA" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Trump, well-known then as a brash, ultra-wealthy celebrity who <a href="https://time.com/5597843/central-park-five-trump-history/" target="_blank">occasionally shared his outlandish political views</a>, seemed to have little intention of actually running for President. Instead he spent most of his energy in that campaign attacking Pat Buchanan as a "Hitler lover" and decrying former KKK leader David Duke's endorsement of Buchanan (16 years before <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2016/03/trumps-david-duke-amnesia/" target="_blank">Trump received the same endorsement and seemingly forgot who David Duke was</a>).<br></p><p><strong>Before he dropped out—claiming the party was "self-destructing"—Trump's attacks helped create a sense of chaos within the Reform party, sending voters flocking back to the Republican party</strong>. By November, that self-destruction resulted in Buchanan earning less than 450,000 votes—barely 5% what Ross Perot had garnered four years earlier.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Thanks in large part to Roger Stone and Donald Trump, the only meaningful third party candidate that year was Ralph Nader of the Green Party, whose left-wing candidacy earned nearly three million votes and has been widely credited with "stealing" the election from Al Gore.</p><p>So much has changed since then—including Roger Stone being convicted for obstructing a congressional investigation, for which <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/29/judge-rejects-roger-stone-request-to-delay-prison-term-345080" target="_blank">Stone will finally be going to prison next week</a>—but many of the tactics remain the same. This year we may once again see a brash, ultra-wealthy celebrity who <a href="https://www.popdust.com/kanye-calls-slavery-a-choice-2565254035.html" target="_self">occasionally shares his outlandish political views</a> enter the contest, throw some attacks, instill a sense of chaos, and secure a victory for the Republican candidate.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Kanye's presidential announcement comes a month after <a href="https://www.popdust.com/kanye-maga-manipulate-trump-2646164954.html" target="_self">his $2 million donation to the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor</a>, which prompted fans to speculate that the icon's outspoken support of Donald Trump had all been a hoax.</p><p>If, on the other hand, those MAGA sentiments were genuine—in 2018 <a href="https://deadline.com/2018/10/kanye-west-donald-trump-father-figure-maga-hat-superman-cape-saturday-night-live-kim-kardashian-video-1202480931/" target="_blank">Kanye even compared the signature red hat to Superman's cape</a>—he could hardly do more to support Donald Trump than running for president himself.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQzODIxMi9vcmlnaW4uZ2lmIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0Nzk1NjI0NX0.PzQGTFxPWrXLL0rZuU2r2P-0C42yzbWXEp87EAiJA_Y/img.gif?width=980" id="3a680" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9f44964384e9ba4e94ee517a22fb5e0b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Trump Kanye">
</p><h4>Kanye Can't Win, But He Can Help Trump</h4><p><a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/kanye-west-says-hes-running-for-president-but-he-hasnt-actually-filed-any-paperwork/?utm_medium=social&mbid=social_twitter&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=twitter&utm_brand=p4k" target="_blank">Even if Kanye doesn't end up on the ballot in a single state</a>, he can still run as a write-in candidate and take the opportunity of added media attention to throw some attacks at the other candidates. And if he does so, his doomed candidacy can only serve to help Donald Trump and hurt Joe Biden—because only Joe Biden is vulnerable to those attack.</p><p><span></span><a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/28/18965923/joe-biden-school-desegregation-busing-democratic-primary" target="_blank">Considering Joe Biden's record of opposition to desegregation bussing</a> and his authorship of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/20/18677998/joe-biden-1994-crime-bill-law-mass-incarceration" target="_blank">1994 crime that led to a dramatic increase in America's mass incarceration</a>, Biden is certainly open to the same kind of attack that <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/11/03/131052717/bush-says-kanye-west-s-attack-was-low-point-of-his-presidency" target="_blank">Kanye threw at George Bush in 2005</a> (ie. "Joe Biden doesn't care about black people"). And considering Biden's friendship with the late Senator and former KKK member Robert Byrd, he is also susceptible to the kind of attack that Donald Trump threw at Pat Buchanan in 2000.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Even leaving aside the possibility that Kanye earns a substantial number of votes for himself—though if 2020 is anything like 2016, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/hillary-clinton-margin-loss-votes" target="_blank">a tiny percentage could change the outcome in key states</a>—a self-funded campaign could still shift the conversation. And it's hard to imagine how that shift could help anyone but Donald Trump—who is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/04/biden-polling-lose-to-trump-348607" target="_blank">currently trailing Joe Biden by a substantial margin in most polls</a>.</p><p><strong>With "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/25/kanye-west-donald-trump-dragon-energy" target="_blank">dragon energy</a>" and a net worth in excess of a billion dollars, Kanye has the resources to make sure he's heard—regardless of what he wants to say.</strong> And even if he chooses to disavow Donald Trump and attack him even harder than he attacks Joe Biden, the most likely effect would still be to depress turnout among Biden voters—because Trump voters only care what Kanye has to say as long as he's pro-Trump, and they genuinely don't care that Trump is a racist.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>It remains to be seen how seriously Kanye West will take his campaign. He has yet to file any paperwork, and—if we're lucky—the whole thing may turn out to be a publicity stunt to promote a forthcoming album or a new line of shoes. But as silly as it seems to launch a presidential campaign with less than four months to go before election day, Kanye West's vanity campaign still has real potential to sway history in favor of Donald Trump's reelection. And that should worry all of us.</p>
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CULTURE
What Ageism Means in the Era of "OK, Boomer"
If you cling to outdated ideas, you are choosing to be left behind.
01.09.2020
A relative recently reached out to express concern that I was sharing ageist sentiments on the Internet.
She didn't have to specify which content had bothered her. I knew she was talking about my attacks on "boomers."
<p>It's become a common thread online for members of the baby boomer generation to<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90426654/is-ok-boomer-an-ageist-slur-these-18-hilarious-takes-say-definitely-not" target="_blank"> accuse young people who use the phrase "OK Boomer" of being ageist</a>, and I think it's worth addressing the concern in a bit more detail.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjQ5NzQ1MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzE5NzY0MH0.N9-C54X6HXhsuSouoqCW9RUx4UcbxkwVkHXdk08mjcY/img.jpg?width=980" id="a6d58" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3bd6319a3cd1d9969e72c861ec57c7d4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Ageism">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">ADL</small></p><p>Just to start, it's important to acknowledge that ageism—discriminating against an individual based on their age—is a serious problem that affects both young and old, <a href="https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/signs-of-ageism-in-the-workplace" target="_blank">particularly when it comes to the workplace</a>. Millennial and Gen z employees are often seen as naïve, unskilled, and exploitable, while baby boomers are perceived as slow, expensive, and expendable—unappealing hires and the first on the chopping block for lay-offs. It's an awful thing, and it's exactly the kind of inhuman, mercenary corporatism that is central to the emerging critique of "boomers" and the culture they've created.<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>As <a href="https://www.popdust.com/guide-for-talking-to-boomers-2641187797.html" target="_self">others have pointed out</a>, "OK Boomer" should not really be thought of as an attack on any individual—let alone the vulnerable individuals who are materially harmed by ageism. While many no doubt use it recklessly, it can best be understood as an attack on entrenched power structures and the mindsets that prop them up: in particular, the political mindset that was molded by events stretching roughly from the "Summer of Love" through September 11th, 2001.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p></p><center><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjQ5NzQ0OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTcxODc0OH0.1OEpg6ceaXMuswmZ7bnxXBmoL4pY8EAe5U7r9SfY8os/img.jpg?width=980" id="407b8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4b36cac46338b3823a33607530e736a5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Baby Boomer Culture">
</p><p>The boomer mindset formed largely in opposition to the supposed values of the Soviet Union and embraced individualism and self-actualization above the material conditions of a shared society. It was also, of course, formed in opposition to "The Greatest Generation," and it made some real strides in dissolving the rigid conformity and open racism that came to define their parents' era. The free-love movement, the anti-war movement, and much of the civil rights movement were products of baby boomers entering the cultural conversation, and they pushed society to change in a positive direction.<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Unfortunately, while they could plainly see the problems of the world they were changing, they were unable to predict the problems of the world they were building. The embrace of individualism, which was so fundamental to their perspective, helped to acknowledge the <em>nominal</em> rights and freedoms of all people—regardless of race, sex, or (eventually) sexuality—but it was also a valuable tool in the effort to systematically<a href="https://psmag.com/economics/what-caused-the-decline-of-unions-in-america" target="_blank"> undermine organized labor</a> and<a href="https://www.the-american-interest.com/2017/12/04/cold-war-welfare-state/" target="_blank"> the welfare state</a>. Because when the individual is the key to understanding everything, personal responsibility is the only true duty of any citizen.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjQ5NzQ1My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5OTgxMjU2N30.sZLBKKuvv5Zn6_5hb83oUZjiF6cZqk2CBUd1HOG1PYg/img.jpg?width=980" id="d5fbd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="78852db917cf1dbdda411f6d9106e2c5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Trickle-down economics">
</p><p>There is no reason, from this perspective, to concern ourselves with the ways in which systems that do not explicitly damage individual autonomy might impact broad cultural groups differently. It asserts that America has a meritocracy; so if a group is claiming unfair treatment, it's likely because the individuals in that group actually want access to some special treatment. Most importantly, taxes and regulations should always be cut, and business interests should be favored above all—because that's how you achieve endless economic growth, and "Big Government" just gets in the way of people helping themselves.<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>It's an ideology that proved itself successful in the economic growth of the Reagan '80s, along with "American Exceptionalism" and free-trade imperialism. And while many baby boomers might even be sympathetic to left-of-center politics, they've seen too many campaigns—Mondale, McGovern, Howard Dean—collide and collapse against the immovable monolith of these foundational Cold-War values. When the Democrats finally took back power in the '90s, it was because Bill Clinton knew how to reach across the aisle and<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/democrats-have-been-seeking-compromise-since-clinton-it-hasnt-worked/2019/05/27/4912b9ea-7d83-11e9-b1f3-b233fe5811ef_story.html" target="_blank"> give Republicans 80% of what they wanted</a>. And the reason Hillary didn't win in 2016—according to this line of thinking—was that she listened <em>too much</em> to marginalized groups vying for special treatment…and because she's a woman.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjQ5NzQ1NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5Njc5OTU0M30.QzkJa971bFX7xS0Dvv7O0YW8nmYW9DAJKr1WUCxgiSQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="10072" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="78c98134085673e84a750f75401bfa0b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Ronald Reagan">
</p><p>You have to play it safe, they say. You can push for little changes, but you can't try to change everything all at once. That's <em>not how the world works</em>. It's an understandable position to take, given the historical context that formed it, but it's built on one shaky premise that is patently absurd to anyone born after 1985: that the world works.<br></p><p>For the generation that controls<a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/heres-how-big-the-boomer-millennial-wealth-gap-is-51575586317" target="_blank"> more than half the wealth in the nation</a>—compared to Millennials' 3%—it must be easy to imagine that the world works. For the generation who saw their ideas turn into economic growth that<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/05/23/americans-arent-ready-weather-sustained-downturn-new-report-shows/" target="_blank"> actually benefited the middle class</a> and assured that their lives would be better than their parents', it must be easy to imagine that progress is inevitable. For the generation that won't have to face<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report" target="_blank"> disastrous environmental consequences</a> as a result of the global industrialization that fueled all that growth, it must be easy to imagine that there is not an urgent need to make<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/14/crisis-talk-green-new-deal-naomi-klein" target="_blank"> structural changes to our entire civilization</a>…</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p></p><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-src="DROP_PERMALINK_HERE" data-widget-id="AR_10"></div><p></p><h4>A Plea for Humility</h4><p>In Kurt Vonnegut's <em>Bluebeard</em>, the protagonist spends all his time painting a desolate scene from the aftermath of World War II entitled <em>Now It's the Women's Turn.</em> The message of "OK, Boomer" is much the same. Your time has passed. You held onto power for long enough, and now the rest of us have to take charge to deal with the mess that's been left for us. Regardless of your confidence in the world you've built and the ideas that formed it, the time has come for some humility and some deference to the future.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjQ5NzQ1Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjIzNTU2MH0.Rsg2FuCirqxYdkZHeO7xIQW6bxaxNa5w3J8yMR03S_Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="9aa86" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6ea1a74e57f66599aaf1c146c82e64ea" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Kurt Vonnegut">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
Getty Images
</small>
</p><p>So don't tell us how the world works when we can clearly see that it doesn't. We've heard what you have to say—we've been hearing it our entire lives—and we just don't care anymore. The social paradigms that formed the boundaries of political possibility in your era no longer apply. Your notions of "centrism"—tough on crime, soft on corporations—have pushed our country far to the right of the developed world and left us with<a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/7/13/8913297/mass-incarceration-maps-charts" target="_blank"> unconscionable levels of mass incarceration</a> and a truly<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/pedrodacosta/2019/05/29/americas-humungous-wealth-gap-is-widening-further/#58ab861042ee" target="_blank"> shameful wealth gap</a>.<br></p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>Thankfully, you are outnumbered. Your children's generation is<a href="https://money.cnn.com/interactive/economy/diversity-millennials-boomers/" target="_blank"> not only larger than yours</a> it's more diverse; more socially, scientifically, and environmentally conscious; and<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90218064/for-young-people-socialism-is-now-more-popular-than-capitalism" target="_blank"> more open to collectivist ideals</a>. Hope, on the other hand—along with the mental health that requires it—is in short supply. If we continued to let your generation guide the political and cultural conversation, the last of that hope might just drain away.</p><p>So when you try to play the old hits for the thousandth time, it's safer just to tune you out. There are finally more of us than there are of you, and we deserve a chance to build our own movements, our own ideas, and our own society. In that process, it's necessary to discard the outdated ideas that brought us here—the toxic individualism, the adulation of wealth, and the "centrist" compromises that consolidate power while immiserating working people.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjQ5NzQ1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NzU0Mzk5MH0.0VZ_TPj2Y0ZWvj1CAOyEZbidtb96h8YHv2RIabaBc1U/img.jpg?width=980" id="fdad6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7de1285a22e3cef6b88f5991de0979aa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Sanders Warren">
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</script></center><p></p><p>And there are some baby boomers—two presidential candidates, for instance—who are willing to help in that process. If you can get on board with Black Lives Matter, the Green New Deal, and trans rights, then you are welcome to join the dialogue. But if you are unwilling to see a lot of the ideas you grew up with be discarded, then the conversation will have to leave you behind. Ok, boomer?<br></p><h2></h2><p>In time, the changes we make will no doubt reveal their own set of flaws, but only our children will be qualified to diagnose them. They will tell us we're wrong in brand new ways, and we will no doubt resist and cry ageism and resent the upstarts putting us in our place. But for now, all we can see clearly are the ravages that the current power structure has wrought and the necessity of change. If you don't see it too, then it's time for you to take a back seat.</p>
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