The Return of Revanchism

Millennials, also known as Generation Y have become increasingly engaged in activism. Many of them seem bent on creating their own version of 1960's Movement, Roe v. Wade, Civil Rights Marches for gender and sexual causes, and even radicalization into Radical Islam. What is causing Generation Y to protest and "storm the barricade?" in a French Revolution manner? Why are they content to reject traditional roles, and even sacrifice having families for their goals? The answer lies in the Generation Y's upbringing. Of all the more recent generations, The Millennials are considered the "Entitled Generation," that they carry an air and manner that they deserve to be CEO in a shorter time than most who have had to climb the ladder, and expect out of MIT to be the next Steve Jobs (The Late Creator and CEO of Apple) overnight, ignoring that Jobs had to work hard and experience failure and lack of interest for at least a decade. Generation Y is known for having had everything handed to them, their every desire, pleasure, and want satisfied with expediency and efficiency. One commentator on the generation said, "they are told they can do anything, that they super, they are given medals for losing, and are promised unicorns and rainbows, and they are shocked when they have to settle."

Generation Z, which is next upcoming generation that has been raised on Google, smartphones, and digital everything will undoubtly be even more entitled, since everything is instant download. The Millennials in contrast often experienced the transition from Library to Google, from VHS to iMovies Digital Download. What makes Millennials more of a story is they are old enough to vote, go to college, run a businesses, and voice their opinions in protest. So why does a generation that has everything, was given everything, and enjoyed pleasures like the best movies since the Golden Age of Hollywood (examples Jurassic Park, Toy Story and etc), and were fed tasty fast food, and got to live like sultans and princes so dissatisfied and yearning to join radical causes? It actually makes perfect sense, if you had to never earn anything, achieve anything, and learn cost both in fiscal, time, and energy to get something you want; if a carpet of every pleasure, toy, device, and excitement is before a Generation, there is no motivations. There is no desire to excel, since they are guaranteed B+ grades if they are political, and they having receive things instantaneously, have no desire to be patient to achieve anything at the workplace. Having had religion stripped from schools, specifically the Christian faith that teaches people to serve others, love others, love enemies, be patient, be kind, and to serve the Kingdom of Heaven and God; in addition to earthly people, Millennials simply have no motivators or reinforcement to live a certain way; which breeds chaos. The only outlet for generation that has everything is to become radicals for a cause bigger than themselves. Since nothing has luster anymore, they have had the Bentley and Lamborghini, the best TVs, and pleasures; they are compelled to join something bigger than themselves, something that they are passionate about like gender equality, civil rights, and even religion in form of Radical Islam.

Generation Y is trying to find Why for existing, since they were robbed of natural desires for achievement, ambition, work ethic, and morality, they must find shadow version of these things in causes, movements, and even radicalism. They can't feel anything because they had everything, they have exhausted the pleasures and plans, feeling numb to them; and so the only thrill is to be marching in something akin to Martin Luther King. Jr. March, a 1960's Protest, and other Occupyesque movements. The allure of French Revolutionalism, and Revanchism [Revanchism (from French: revanche, "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement] comes from a desire to matter, to do something bigger, and more impactful than the pleasures and normal motivators that they would have had without having everything handed to them. In essence, the complex is many in Generation Y want to be the next Martin Luther, Gloria Steinem, Steve Jobs, and Malcom X. This desire for an inflated existence, to be a leader of or major player in movement is because everything else is exhausted; there is no contentment in traditional life like having a family, a house, and career that spans twenty five to forty years doing same thing. For Millennials the only choice is to strive for what thrills, to be important because everything else was handed to them, they already had golden cars and the fruits of hard labor for free, so this is only goal, quest, and passion left: activism. They already enjoyed fruits of their parent's hard labor, and have not tasted the hardships of The Great Depression or World War II, they instead can only find fulfillment in radicalism, and activism which gives them a sense of purpose, albeit counterfeit purpose of what they would have found in Christ had public schools kept prayer and Christian curriculum in schools. 

Generation Y is on the road for great decline. They have very little work ethic (again they never learned the joy of working hard to earn something or how achievement can't be bought with $5 on Xbox, but is more rewarding to earn in 20,000 hrs. of hard sharp shooting or RPGing). I remember when even Video Games taught a work ethic, about having to work hard not only to complete the game, but to earn the little extras everyone wanted; now you can basically unlock anything with your pin number and sending Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo some money. This is Millenialism, you can just buy it and so why work for it? What's the point of earning, if you can send your given earnings from your ancestors to get it. 

The aftermath of Millennialism is a crisis. Generation Y is beginning to take positions in politics, in work place, and other important areas, and they have no motivators to do a good job, and work hard. Again the symptoms of being given everything, and the result is no service, no care, and lack of good experience at companies that once were delight to cooperate with. I am not trying to demonize all Millennials, there are diamonds in the rough of Generation Y, but the point is that this generation really is fulfill the words of the Apostle Paul who said, "You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!" (2 Timothy 3:1-5). The very words of Paul are partially created by Millennials being given everything, they love only themselves, what thrills them., and love money not to just buy some fun, but because it funds their causes and only thrill. Generation Y will not consider anything sacred, because they don't know God and what is sacred, their religion is a farce because its lip service only, they were taught they are god, and thus they are full of pride. 

It is perhaps a sign, though I will not say I am convinced, that the fact this generation is the Millennials, that the Millennial Reign of Christ will come in their life time (Revelation 20:4-9). Look back to Paul's words to Timothy, which stated "in Last days it will be difficult, people will be lovers of self..," which is exactly how people are today, particularly Generation Y and Z. It is obvious this generation could be fulfillment of these prophecies, and that we are likely in the Last Days according to how close the times and people are what prophets of both Old and New Testaments claim. What is certain is that this generation is at tipping point, their Revanchism, Grievance Industry, and Anti-Colonialism and Globalist perspectives are geared to make them radicals one way or another. What this Millennial Generation needs is an encounter with Jesus Christ, to make their activism sharing the Gospel, and spreading love of God (1 John 4:8, John 3:16) rather than being activists for social issues created by political powers. What Generation Y needs is Yeshua (Jesus) to fill that void inside created by their upbringing, and self focused pleasure and purpose seeking; they need Christ's purposes (2 Timothy 1:9, Isaiah 55:8-9) to become theirs, to focus on Kingdom of Heaven rather than their own kingdom building of activism and extremism. 

What the Millennials need is the Messiah Jesus Christ and to prepare for His Millennial Reign (Revelation 21:4-9). They have been robbed of the opportunity to encounter Emmanuel (Jesus Christ) because of Liberalism, Post Modernism, Revanchism, and Activism that has overtake academia. They aren't complicit alone, the earlier generations of X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation are guilty in that they dropped the ball, the Globus Cruciger of Christ Jesus, by letting the minority of liberal and Communist antitheists to take over the school system and purge prayer, and Christian teaching; they let evil triumph by doing nothing: " The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke). While this does not give Generation Y a free pass and guilt free pass, everyone is guilty of sin, "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts," (1 John 1:8-10), and "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins," (Romans 3:23-24), but their worldview was shaped by the laziness and unwillingness of the earlier generations to fight for prayer and Christian teaching to remain in public schools; that and their parents gave them everything, a Great Depression survivor I knew said this, "the worse thing you can do to your child is give them everything," we are seeing the fruit of these words.

On being Radicalized, Millennials are increasingly recruited by ISIS/D'ash and other militant Jihadist Muslim groups because of their revanchism. They get caught up in Lawrence of Arabia complex, wanting to avenge of the purported disenfranchised Muslims around the world, and hope to forge the Ummah. In addition, Radical Islam fills the void in Millennials who need activism and purpose, building the Caliphate is a cause they can get behind. Radical Islam combined for those in Generation Y a cocktail of history, activism, and spiritual rewards for killing the infidels; sadly since they weren't exposed to Narrow Way of Christianity which teaches love God and love others (Matthew 22:26-40), Millennials are drawn into Radical Islam because it gives them the perfect counterfix; activism and religion (they will appear religious but it will have no power); they use Radicalism and Jihad Akbar as perhaps the ultimate drug to fill their revanchism, activism, and latent desire for eternal things; they ignore that they've become murders and complicit to murder in holy war. They needed Jesus Christ, the God of Love (1 John 4:8), because they have a deep need for love, and to remove the programming they've received through "having anything they want." Sadly, because Christianity is increasingly being persecuted and removed from all public places, Generation Y tends to encounter Radical Islam before they can deprogram from their revanchism through Redeemer Jesus Christ and learn to love God and love others.

Hollywood and Media has had major hand is promoting Revanchism (revenge activism) specifically in The Hunger Games Anthology, where Katniss Everdeen is leader of revenge based resistance against an oppressive Capitol Government. Star Wars Rouge One, and even The Force Awakens both promote a diluted Revanchism called The Rebellion/Resistance. The beloved Legends/EU character Revan or Darth Revan in Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic and The Old Republic gets his name from Revanchist. The Divergent Series and many other major franchises focus on activism and revenge based movements called rebellions that no doubt parallel the movement in politics in America of the protesters with signs that read "Rebel," "Resist," and "Fight." Hollywood and Media have not be idle in promoting Revanchism, and we must understand that the combination of Academia and Media sending this message to a generation obsessed with activism are complicit as well. 

No matter what generation you are from, there is need to pray for the Millennials, that they meet Jesus Christ the Messiah, and learn from the only source of love, and become ambassadors for Kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) rather than angry revanchists. Generation Y needs a revival like encounter with Yeshua (Jesus Christ) and to lay down their passion for revenge and grievance activism, and instead allow passion of Christ to fill them. Pray for each generation that still lives, Silent, Baby Boomer, Generation X, Generation Y/Millennials, and Generation Z; pray that these generation come to faith in Jesus Christ and fufill this Scripture, "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deuteronomy 7:9, especially under new commandments of Christ and salvation in Him, see Matthew 22:36-40 and John 15:12-15). Amen.