gen z and political parties

When it comes to Gen Z and their struggle with mental health, writing blogs about this subject can be endless and a truly Sisyphian task as this generation is ill-equipped to confront the challenges posed by modern society and these rapidly changing times.  Despite having access to the most comprehensive and diverse network of mental health professionals and services ever seen in the history of civilization, this generation struggles because they lacked the skillset that prior generations had bestowed upon them by family, school, church/temple, and other natural supports aimed at preparing them for the future.  In this piece I won’t go into all of the tools available to Gen Z since  most if not all of the aforementioned supports I just pointed out may not even be available to Gen Z anymore due to this generation’s opposition to the traditional family, education, and religion.  In the absence of those once accepted protective factors something else has risen to influence and provide dubious support to today’s generation: politics. Particularly the two party system in the United States.  Think of it like this. Parents had a tough job raising millennials. They both had to work and rely on grandparents to help if they were lucky. But these days Gen Z may not even have their grandparents, but then when you throw in reliance on the political parties into the fray, then you get a sort of Temu version of grandparents of yesteryear.

Let me describe the difference differences between Democrats and Republicans in familial terms. Democrats are like that grandma that is super soft and lets the grandkids get away with murder. She undermines the parents when they’re too strict and will sneak the grandkids cookies and scold the parents for hurting the kids feelings. This in turn will make the kids not want to listen to the parents and quite frankly not work as hard because they know grandma will always bail them out. And since grandma doesn’t have to live with them like she did with her own kids, she can spoil them to death and keep them dependent on her love. This does a great job of helping the children to feel loved and supported and might even foster a sense of giving back and helping as it mirrors grandma’s unconditional support.  These kids might give those less fortunate and organize donation drives to help the needy. But this overly emotional nature will end up triggering them as the ascend to adulthood and witness how unfair life can be.  They will look for support since they were not raised to be self-sufficient and will need help managing their emotions since they were dependent on it growing up.  They trade early happiness for later depression. 

In contrast, Republicans are like the crotchety old grandfather. He’s the opposite of grandma in that he is not nurturing and loving without condition. He likely did two tours in Vietnam and has seen the worst that the world has to offer and survived it. He’s got the mental and physical scars to prove it and he believes in tough love and natural consequences.  When the parents are tough on the kid, he wants them to be even tougher because he wants the boys to grow up to be strong men and the girls to grow up to be virtuous women. He’s especially tough on the boys because he wants them to be men before the world forces them to be men. And why not, he was likely a boy when he went to war and by the time he came home, he was a grown man that probably killed twenty Viet Cong all while also fighting dysentery. The children raised in this style likely suffer from uneasy attachments and a decreased sense of worth as they can never be good enough for grandpa.  This makes can make feel unworthy until they catapulted into the real world and they realize that much of the world is soft compared to old grandfather.  They find that his practical if not harsh life lessons gave them a thicker skin and this allows them to navigate life’s challenges with a somewhat stoic approach that is devoid of happiness or anger, but rather just this feeling that things need to get done and problems solved.  This group was raise to fix their problems with little interference or assistance so they don’t help others so much as they offer advice or opportunity.  But this often leave them cold to the needs of those that lack their independent nature.

So Gen Z needs to ask themselves who would they rather have backing them? Sweet grandma Franny whom they love more than life itself for her unconditional love and affection? Or cranky grandpa Harold, who they openly love but deep down, hate more than the devil himself. Do they choose the nurturing love that makes them soft, weak, and happy?  Or do they opt for the tough love that prepares them for the real world at the expense of emotional connectiveness?

By the way, if you think this blog was actually about the impact of grandparents on a child’s happiness and success you are an mistaken.