This week I had the opportunity of traveling to New York City for the first time in my life on a business trip with a couple of young men who are early in their careers. Both of those descriptors have, in past conversations, elicited negative responses.
“New York City…Yuck! Better you than me!”
“You had to travel with Millennials? How did you even do that?”
NYC and Millennials both have a reputation. So I thought I’d jot down a quick apologia (in the Latin sense of defense) for both.
New York City. The Big Apple. The center of culture and commerce on the East Coast. While my first time in NYC, I am relatively well traveled (although not so much in recent years) and can lay claim to having seen large cities in the USA, such as San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, as well as cities internationally such as London, Tokyo, and Manila. I found NYC to be a relatively clean and well regulated place to stay. The disclaimer here is that it is a vastly different experience to visit a city for a couple of days than to live there, so take this as a perspective on visiting, not dwelling.
The thing about NYC is that it’s a city, and a city means masses of humanity in an unharmonized yet rhythmic choral cacophony, constant construction projects and logistical nightmares. The dangers of the city, while varying from neighborhood to neighborhood and culture to culture, lie in the enlarged sample rate of personality types, the anonymity of masses, and the abundance of acolytes unfamiliar with the habits and personality of the locals. But the safety of such cities also lies in those same attributes. In short, it would be hard to mug someone on 34th street when any one of a throng of passerby’s might clobber said mugger in the back of the head without missing a step on their way to Penn Station. Stick to the well worn paths of the tourists and the business traveler or the paths of trusted friends, don’t be an obvious target for a pickpocket, and enjoy your stay. All cities unconsciously begin to imitate Babel and will do so until the Celestial City descends, but in my limited observation, NYC is no worse than any other.
The other thing about NYC is that it’s NOT just a city. It’s New York City. My brief time there wasn’t nearly long enough to do a fraction of what the city offers in terms of entertainment, history, architecture, and sightseeing. A brief trip to the Empire State Building and a sunset view of Lady Liberty were all we could fit into our abbreviated schedule. Gazing at the geography from 1250’ in the air, I could understand why the Patriots could hold Boston but not New York against the British. Walking by Pier A at the Battery, I saw the Museum of Jewish history but had no time to walk its halls displaying the triumphs and tragedies of a people who are always caught between the abundant blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant and the refusal to receive its realization in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. There was no time to even glimpse the memorial to those who died at the hands of terrorists on 9/11. New York is like most large cities in the way that all large cities are alike, but there is a history and personality all its own that is worth getting to know.
I was blessed to enjoy this business trip with a couple of young engineers only a few years into the wonderful world of construction. Generationally, they are at the border between Gen Z and Millennials. When it comes to generational proclivities, I believe there are discernible tendencies. Particularly in the last 100 years when a difference in one generation could mean a completely different experience in terms of culture, wealth, and technology. From globalization to the smart phone to a pandemic, the paroxysms have come at an increased velocity. Of course, previous generations also experienced their own generational branding in the form of world wars or economic depressions, so it’s not like this thing is new. It just seems to be increasing in frequency so that something as little as a gap of 10 years could make a difference. Which would put me two full steps away from the guys I was traveling with.
Let me be brief. I found the young men professional and ambitious (not in a negative way), curious and eager to learn (both signs of humility), and personally engaging. I point these traits out as an apologia for a generation often characterized as entitled, selfish, and preferring virtual relationships to incarnate relationships. They were unperturbed by flight delays and jogs through airports and chose to enjoy rather than complain about the hazards of travel.
Demographically speaking, we are dealing with a small sampling size of individuals who are also working in a career field that requires a particular skill set and character. It may be that these particular young men had to rise above the general deficiencies of their generation in order to enter that field, but even so, it’s a sign of hope to me.
Maybe as a result of my international upbringing, I notice commonality more than variance. Maybe as a result of my theology, I find the image of God in man to be a universal basis for bridge-building. Or maybe, as a middle-aged man, I haven’t quite forgotten what it was like to be in my twenties. For whichever reason mentioned above or for an unnamed reason, I did not find the generational gap to be a significant barrier to friendship or fraternity. I think the world needs more cross-generational relationships.
So if you have a chance, visit NYC. And should fortune smile, make a friend of a Millennial.
Nathan Writes 