Why Did You Even Have Me?
Every mother and father in this country knows the scene well: a teenage son or daughter walks into the house in anger, demanding an increase in allowance or a new pair of shoes. When you explain that the wallet is empty and times are tough, they might understand once or twice, but the third time is an explosion: “Why did you even have me?”
That passing remark, which some see as a teenage outburst, is actually a reflection of a generation raised on immediacy, wanting everything now, considering patience a weakness, responsibility a burden, and work a struggle.
What we are witnessing today in protests under the banner of GenZ212 is merely a digital version of those small family outbursts. The same anger, but it has moved from bedrooms to the streets, from family disputes to the virtual space. It’s a directionless rebellion, a frustration seeking meaning, and a voice that screams without really knowing what it wants.
However, we must be fair. The generations of the 1970s and 1980s, to which we belong, were not angelic; they too had their moments of rebellion, anger, and rejection, but they expressed that through reading, discussing, working, and engaging in political parties and unions. They believed that change required time and patience, not a tweet or a live broadcast.
Today’s generation doesn’t need reprimanding as much as guidance. They need someone to remind them that anger is energy that can be harnessed for constructive purposes, and that a nation is not built through noise but through diligence, education, and awareness.
These protests are not a danger in themselves, but rather a sincere warning that there is an intellectual and moral void that needs to be filled, and the responsibility of previous generations is no less than that of the protesting generation today.
We must teach our children that change does not only come from the streets, but from ideas, from writing, from action.
The nation we wish to see different tomorrow starts from our awareness today.
