"We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the last." (John F. Kennedy). Every generation has similarities and differences from the one before, and the one after their time. The people living through that time determines if they will be known for something great. I believe every generation feels a need to leave a positive legacy to pass on. We as people are constantly advancing in social acceptance but where we grow and excel in some areas we start to lack in others. My parents generation and my own have varying differences on political correctness, biracial couples and being entitled.

In my generation being politically correct is a must. Small children just entering the education system can tell you what being politically correct means and if what you are saying is correct or not. The media has made such a big deal over what is okay to say and what is not, which leads most people to be worried if they are offending someone. My generation is extremely accepting, women have rights along with African Americans, and gay couples. Most people want everyone to feel like their lives matter and that they are accepted especially minority groups. In order to make everyone feel accepted we have adopted political correctness so we do not offend anyone's choices, beliefs, race, morals, and sexual preferences. Even though being politically correct is important. I believe society is making too big a deal about needing to constantly be correct. By worrying so much if we are offending others I believe we are holding society back. We are verbally limited, therefor sentences start to become unnatural and robotic. At times people need to hear things that they may not always want to hear, but if we as a society started to speak our minds we may reach more solutions regarding the current issues. However thirty years ago being correct was not a social norm.

Even though people around my age takes others feelings into account, my parents generation was not the same way as they were more willing to speak their minds. Being politically correct was not taught in schools and embedded into young minds. The media back then wasn’t concerned about weather or not the listeners were getting offended the reporters were solely focused on getting the important news out to the public. Most people were taught to tell others what they were thinking and their thoughts and opinions. If someone said something that offended another person than being upset was the other persons problem. Thirty years ago most people could take criticism. If someone was not doing a good job at the office, as a coworker, you could call them out on their actions without being worried about how they may feel about the situation. My parents generation did not sugar coat criticism. I believe being able to speak your mind is important to advance society, and that is what most people did thirty years ago. Although people back them did not mind speaking their minds they were not as accepting of people and there choices and race.

Today in my generation acceptance is key. America has come a long way in welcoming minorities. Race is no longer an issue in todays society because us young people have accepted differences in a wide variety of issues especially race. Walking down the street I see all kinds of people sitting in groups. There are white people, African American, Asians, and Mexicans all talking and interacting with each other. Every race including minorities has the exact same rights as any other race including white people. Anyone can go to school, be friends with whomever they want or marry their significant other without judgement on whether being mixed race is accepted. My generation is focused on globalization, embracing all cultures, and accommodating for everyone. Society has benefited greatly with the tolerance of all individuals. No longer are certain people held back because of their race everyone has the opportunity to excel in life. Even though all races is widely accepted now, thirty years ago people were not as widely accepting.

In the early 80s people were starting to become more tolerant of minorities. According to John Brennan the author of Race Relations in the 80s: A Polling Review "The number of whites with black friends has gone from 54% to 66% in eight years, while 8-in-10 blacks now have white friends compared with 69% in 1981." Even though different races were really starting to become friends mixed relationships were still not accepted. Thirty years ago seeing a white and African American couple was a rarity and was not approved by most. My mother and father stated that most people were worried about the children. If the child was a mixed race, African Americans would reject the child because the kid was to white and white people wouldn’t accept the child because they were too dark. Many people were thinking about the interests of the child or as they say where as in reality I believe that was just an excuse to not more forward and put differences aside.

Now a days people my age, in my opinion, are extremely entitled. Most people no longer want to work for the things they want, instead if they want a phone they expect their parents to buy the newest smart phone for them, and pay for the monthly service. Most people my age expect their parents to pay for a lot of the things they want and need such as food, clothes, entertainment, and schooling. Entitlement is not just limited to parents though; for example girls tend to expect their boyfriends to constantly pay for all the different things that they want such as food, movie tickets or material items. Instead of working for the different items we want we expect someone to give us whatever we want. This is holding society back instead of working hard, trying to do a good job, and making a difference in this world. Most people have started to become lazy, not wanting to put in the effort to do something right. Look at almost any child if they want something they want it now and they expect you to give it to them.

My parents did not grow up with the entitlement mentality, instead they had to work for everything they wanted. Thirty years ago people had to work most people did not have a lot of money so growing up children did not get everything they wanted, they had to work for the item. Money overall was harder to come by. The majority of people were very hard working and that helped society immensely. People wanted to improve society and they were willing to put in the hard work to achieve that goal of creating a better tomorrow. There was no sitting around demanding others for something they wanted, they got up and got whatever they wanted for themselves. I believe most people from my parents generation agree that the kids today are externally lazy and entitled to everything that they want.

Every generation is similar but each one has their own differences. My own generation has brought political correctness to a new height, accepted biracial couples and feel a sense of entitlement. Not all of these topics have advanced society as a matter of fact I believe most have not but accepting people for who they are is a major step in the right direction. As a generation we get to decided what legacy we leave, and I believe my own will leave a positive impact for all the generations to come.