The Only Way To Save America Is For Millennials To Destroy It From The Inside

Today, Tea Party Republicans are some of the loudest politicians around. Ted Cruz, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, to name a few, continue to make controversial and incendiary remarks in public.

In fact, their entire platform seems to be fueled by desperation, which is perhaps why they continue in their futile attempts to call for the impeachment of President Barack Obama.

Moreover, at present, House Republicans are also attempting to sue President Obama for "what they say has been inadequate enforcement of the health care law they oppose."

Rather than addressing imminent issues, such as immigration, these individuals seem determined to attack President Obama over a law that has already been passed and determined constitutional by the Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, the Guardian noted, "Popular opinion [in the US] is moving towards more progressive policies, though Republicans won't go down without a fight"

Thus, perhaps the Tea Party is screaming so loud because they are worried that their message just isn't resonating with the public anymore.

As H.A. Goodman argues in a recent Huffington Post article:

The Tea Party miraculously began its existence when Barack Obama was elected president, but remained oddly quiet when George Bush started the bank bailouts and racked up his own debt prior to the Wall Street collapse. Since then, its rhetoric has been polarizing and meant to speak primarily to a staunchly conservative base.

Basically, when the far-right saw the country moving in a direction that did not coincide with its beliefs, it decided that extremism and obstructionism were the only viable options.

Obviously, they didn't care if that meant derailing the progress of the country in the process. The irony of this is, they are likely making the country more liberal by turning people against them.

In January 2014, a poll was released that revealed the politics of the United States is slowly but surely becoming more progressive.

As Michael Cohen notes for the Guardian:

Oh to be a liberal in America today. In New York City, a Democrat has finally been elected mayor after a 24-year absence from City Hall – and he's a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. Gay marriage is legal in 18 states including, most bizarrely, Utah, one of the most conservative states. The minimum wage is going up around the country and you can even smoke a joint in Colorado. Obamacare, for all its speedbumps over the past few weeks, is the law of the land; the Senate filibuster just took a big hit (and along with it Republican obstructionism); a nuclear deal with Iran is in the works and even Obama is talking about the scourge of income inequality.

This is not to say that America is wholeheartedly progressive, or liberal, now. Most Americans still identify as conservative, but liberal self-identification is on the rise.

Accordingly, Michael Cohen states,

Indeed, the success of Republicans in blocking reform is more of a desperate rearguard action to hold back progress than it is an indication of conservative success or even political ascendancy... American politics is likely to look like an extreme version of the gridlock and dysfunction to which Americans have become all too accustomed. The question then is not will liberals get their day in the sun – it's when.

Undoubtedly, Millennials have played a large role in this trend.

Traditionally, most liberals have identified as Democrats, while conservatives have identified as Republicans. Millennials are breaking this trend, however.

While most Millennials are growing more liberal, they are also increasingly identifying as Independent. This is obviously a direct product of their lack of faith in the institutions that have continuously failed to move their country forward.

Millennials have every right to be fed up with the bipartisan system of the US. It has provided them with a broken economy, high unemployment and a nation with a dubious global reputation.

If anything, Millennials want to see progressive values embodied in a new system, in which bipartisanship no longer holds the nation hostage.

According to the National Journal, "Millennials are... the only generation in which liberals outnumber conservatives: 31 percent identify their political views as liberal, while 26 percent say they are conservative and 39 percent call themselves moderate."

Much of this trend has to do with the fact that Millennials are the most racially diverse generation in American history. Exposure to diversity breeds solidarity, openness and understanding: the foundations of progressivism.

Moreover, Millennials are fed up with the blame game that permeates US politics at present. While it is true that House Republicans are primarily to blame for the general lack of progress at the moment, the Democratic Party is also no better at times. After all, it takes two to tango.

Millennials don't care if Democratic politicians espouse the same ideals as they do. You have to talk the talk and walk the walk. Simply put, don't talk about it, be about it.

Correspondingly, the National Journal highlights, "Just 49 percent of millennials approve of the job Obama is doing, down from its high of 70 percent in the infancy of his presidency."

Likewise, David Zogby of Forbes contends, "I have been singing the praises of Millennials for over a decade because I strongly believe their major contribution will be to change and redirect the political debate from its current gridlock and hyperpartisanship to one of meaningful dialogue, creative play, and consensus decision making."

With that said, it is apparent that more states are slowly but surely adopting progressive policies, which is likely a result of the fact that Millennials are getting older and more involved in the political process.

More states have either decriminalized, or legalized, marijuana. Others are now granting greater access to medicinal marijuana. Correspondingly, Millennials are the biggest supporters of marijuana legalization.

Furthermore, same-sex marriage, which Millennials overwhelmingly support, has made enormous strides in the past year.

Millennials also exhibit a deep concern for the environment, and for greater attention to be granted towards addressing climate change.

Perhaps the greatest quality of Millennials is that they are open to hearing out perspectives other than their own. They have learned the hard way that close-minded politics does nothing to foster palpable change.

In the past, America has always progressed as a product of compromise and cooperation. Without it, this country will remain stagnant.

Thus, the ability to question and change their convictions is what makes Millennials the most progressive generation America has ever seen.

President Abraham Lincoln once stated, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

It is now apparent that Millennials are determined to prevent this from happening. The fight will be long, slow and hard; however, with such a large and formidable force, it seems that this generation is definitely up to the task.

Photo Courtesy:  The Social Network