I love my 30 yo Millennial daughter and almost respect her cultivated working class rebel style, while entirely reserving my right to call out her hypocrisy for doing that shit on my dime. In 2016, while living and voting in Michigan, she hated Hillary for reasons I’ve never understood, voted for Jill Stein, and, hence, slightly more than marginally, given Trump’s narrow victory in Michigan, contributed to the ascendency of the recently impeached, current occupant. But largely, throughout her life, as the younger daughter of two very active and outspoken parents, regarding political matters, she has appeared to show little overt interest in affairs in the Nation’s Capitol or other political personalities or events.
In the past week, something about that seems to have changed. Admittedly, it was an unusual week.
My sister in law, whom I first met in 1971, after I was already married myself, passed away in Cincinnati. Last Tuesday, during the height of the impeachment trial, my daughter and I drove there and stayed a couple of days for the funeral. After a midday funeral, killing time at the Embassy Suites, waiting to drive home during daylight the next day, I expected her to commandeer one of the televisions to watch her usual collection of simpering cable comedies and reality shows. But she didn’t.
Instead, hour after hour, she stayed glued to the set where I was watching Trump’s Impeachment “Trial” in the U.S. Senate. To observe her, you’d have thought she was watching a season finale of her favorite reality show. She’s ADHD, so when she stays focused at length, on anything, I notice. Also, she uncharacteristically showed no annoyance at my typical, frequent outbursts and snide remarks in response to the proceedings. When she started in herself with that stuff, I was gobsmacked.
She gave nicknames to Trump’s defenders and scathingly derided them with spot on insights into their tactics and lies. Obviously, the non newsy, non politicky, social media world where she spends her many online hours, has nevertheless kept her well informed and fully disgusted about Trump and his criminal cabal. When she heard something in the Senate proceedings that she didn’t fully understand, she posed astute questions to her political junkie Old Man. She was fully engaged, real time.
All of this was so far out of character that I started writing this essay about the change in my Millennial daughter and got through most of the first paragraph before I realized I might be making a mountain out of a molehill. I set the essay aside. Then last night happened.
I didn’t intend to watch the SOTU myself. My Trump Lie-o-meter pegged in the red and burnt out a long time ago and its buzzing, rattling and smoke just add more annoyance to the torture of listening to the man speak. But Mrs. Left intended to watch every word, and did. Since Trump magically converted my spouse of 50 years into a cable news junkie shortly after his inauguration, that wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was when Ms. Millennial invited herself over to watch it, too. She had never shown the slightest interest in any President’s annual addresses to Congress, in any of her adult years.
She watched the whole thing. She asked thoughtful, important questions afterward.
Who is this young woman and what have they done with my daughter?
My Millennial has become a political animal. Every sign suggests that she will happily wade through hip deep broken glass to vote against Trump in November. Other signs suggest that she is the opposite of alone, within her large generational cadre, in feeling and behaving like this.
Despite the dismal end of the Impeachment Trial, despite the stinking, steaming heap of excrement that was the SOTU last night, despite all things Trump and the national scourge of Trumpism, I’m starting to feel a glimmer of hope for November 3, 2020.
Do you know any Millennials? Have you observed anything unusual in their political behavior?