“Judge not lest ye be judged.”

                                                            Matthew 7:1

A miscarriage of justice, that’s what it is.  So, it’s time for us to set the record straight.  People have accused, indicted, judged, and convicted an entire group of people . . . and they were wrong.  We need to exonerate them.

What are you talking about, Rev. Dan?

Recently I saw where a U.S. Congressman, along with a few reports on television stations, along with some stories on the internet talk about how the millennials are not responding to the Coronavirus pandemic appropriately.  (I thought if it was on the internet it HAD to be true.  Maybe not).  Anyway, the report said that the millennials are not taking the Coronavirus warnings seriously, and not heeding the rules at all.  To bolster their case, those writing the reports showed pictures of college kids on spring break gathered on the beach. 

Your honor, I offer the following as the sole facts of my prima facia case.  Millennials are not on spring break unless they are on the 10-12-year college plan.  (And there’s nothing wrong with that plan.  I didn’t utilize it in its entirety, but 4 years wasn’t nearly enough time for me.)  As I understand the millennial generation, they do not have time for college.  Most of them are:

-        Too old for spring break. 

-        In their 30’s. 

-        Starting to lose hair.

-        Changing diapers.

-        Running the kids to and from day care and dance class and soccer.

-        Figuring out how to work from home and not let the kids barge in on a Skype meeting.

-        Paying a mortgage.

-        Trying to pay their student loans.

-        Telling their retired Baby Boomer parents to stay at home because of the virus.

See what we’ve done?  We’ve judged an entire generation on the actions of a few, and we did it with incorrect information.  (You see, technically, it’s Gen Z who are in college right now.)  So, let’s play a game called, “What if?” to see how it might feel to be lumped into and accused and convicted with an entire generation of people.

What if . . . you were born before 1940?  If you’re a boy, you wore your jeans and your leather jacket, and you have your Old Chesterfield cigarettes rolled up in the sleeve of your white t-shirt that matches your white socks.  (And no, you’re no Fonzie, just a run of the mill “greaser”.)  If you’re a girl, you have on black and white oxfords (saddle shoes I think they called them) with your bobby socks, your poodle skirt, and a sweater that’s juuuuuust a little too tight.  And Lord knows, it’s your generation that brought the hip-grinding Satan in blue suede shoes and his rock-and-roll music to the country.  What an awful generation, every one of you.

What if . . . you were born in the 1940’s?  Your time came in the late 50’s and early 60’s.  Weren’t you the ones throwing rocks and bricks at Little Rock and helping Bull Conner with fire hoses down in Birmingham?  Or burning down the stores of Watts and Philadelphia and Detroit.  What an awful generation, to a person.

What if . . . you were born in the 1950’s?  You came of age in the 60’s and early 70’s.  You bunch of long haired, dope smoking, acid dropping, draft-dodging, mini-skirt wearing, groovy Woodstock hippies.  What an awful generation – it’s a wonder the world didn’t end.

See what I’m saying?  It’s not the entire generation.  SO. JUST. STOP.  All these labels.  All this clumping everyone together and looking for someone to blame.  All this divisiveness.  Sure, there may be a few kids not thinking straight– but remember they’re still kids.  And truth be told, I still see a bunch of baby boomers out and about on the news and nobody’s screaming about them. 

Yes, Gen Z, this is serious, so please take it that way.  But that goes for EVERY generation.  And for those on the “jury”, unless you want to be judged for the things you did in your late teens and early 20’s, or the things the other people in your generation did, I’ve got a request.  PLEASE. JUST. STOP. 

The original verdict in this case is set aside.  Case dismissed.

“Father, Help our love to be stronger than our fear or our judgment.  Bring us all together with your mercy and grace.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Grace,

Rev. Dan