Whitlock 1

Madi Whitlock
Millennial vs. Baby Boomer
ENG102
11 November 2016
Generation vs. Generation
Can people raised in entirely different generations possibly share the same ideas and
beliefs? Or will the different generations ideas and beliefs differ entirely from one another? Do
you believe that different upbringings result in different views? If we take a look at the
millennials and the baby boomers, you can clearly identify many differences, or what is
commonly called the generation gap. As a result of this generation gap; the relationship between
both generations may be different. Millennials and baby boomers may not agree on everything,
but can share similarities in their ideas and beliefs too. I decided to take my research a step
further and conduct an interview on a baby boomer in order to compare and contrast our beliefs
on four important topics: immigration, foreign policy, the economy, and the legalization of
marijuana. My grandfather, Sam Whitlock, is a sixty-year-old baby boomer that willingly
participated in my interview. I compared his beliefs as a baby boomer with my beliefs as a
millennial to distinguish the difference between our generations.
The first topic discussed was immigration. My grandfather strongly believes illegal
immigration should be reduced from current levels by 50%. He thinks immigration from middle
eastern/Islamic races where terrorism is prevalent should be suspended with an exception of

Whitlock 2
women and children under the age of ten. In addition, he believes Hispanic/Latin American
immigration should be permitted under a work visa program with annual license permit fees and
registration, along with fingerprinting and the issuing of IDs. However, Sam does agree with me
that existing illegals should be provided the same opportunity. My grandfather sides with the
Republican party, and although he is not a supporter of Trump, he supports the building of the
wall to keep foreigners out.
In contrast, I am a millennial who believes in America as a diverse country who should
welcome people of other ethnicities, cultures, and religion. I do agree that countries with active
terrorism occurring should not be allowed to enter our country with the exception of women and
children under the ages of ten. I do not believe in the deporting of illegal immigrants, but
immigrants should be required to have the proper registration, fingerprinting, and individual
IDs. Mass deportation is wrong and would negatively impact the victims lives, friends, and
families. I disagree with immigrants being permitted under a work visa, as well as annual license
permit fees. I do not think it is fair nor right to force immigrants to annually pay to live in
America. Normal fees for identification cards, drivers licenses, and registration renewals for
vehicles, etc., that current citizens pay should be a requirement. I am an independent, and do not
side with any political party. I strongly disagree with the idea of building a wall along the state
border to Mexico because it is pointless. For one, there is already a wall there and people still
illegally cross the border. Second, there are still going to be various ways to illegally cross the
border with a giant wall built. Lastly, the decisions we make reflects our country as a whole.
Building a wall to isolate from Mexico defeats the purpose of everything America stands for. We
all bleed the same blood, because they are not Americans does not mean they are not people.

Whitlock 3
The economy was the second topic discussed. Sam says to allow repatriation of
international earnings with a tax rate of 15% on the first 100 million dollars with a 10% tax rate
on any amount that exceeds 100 million dollars. Plus, lower corporate income tax rates should be
an overall effective average rate of 25%. Obama care should be repealed in total due to heavy tax
burden and the sale of health insurance policy should be allowed across state lines, according to
my grandfather.
My ideas on the economy are different from my grandfathers. I believe the repatriation
of international earnings should be ceased. Allowing money to be held in private accounts out of
the country in order to avoid high corporate tax rates in America should be banned. If people are
against foreigners entering our country, why would they want to keep their own money in
foreign countries? This is a secretive and selfish way for the rich to become richer. I do think it
would be fair to lower the corporate income tax rate to an average of 25% because I do not see
any harm in that. The government makes more than enough money off the American citizens as
is. Obamacare, although going towards a good cause, I agree is a heavy tax burden on specific
groups such as higher earning individuals. I believe majority of tax fees in the country should be
banned. I know that will never happen, therefor I think basic healthcare should be automatically
provided to all American citizens free of charge. In my opinion, there are more important
economic issues to be addressed. Environmental issues such as global warming is a more
important issue to me. We are endangering the animals and environment mother nature shares
with us. The millennials tend to care more about the environment and the importance of
cherishing it than baby boomers. Another example is student loans and college tuition. Education
is the one thing that is 100% yours and no one else can affect it or change it but you. That being

Whitlock 4
said, college should be made affordable to everyone who wishes to attend. A forgive student
loans act should also be in place. Education should not be limited. The millennials are going to
be the ones who unite and change this country for the better.
When it comes to foreign policy, Sam says he would slash all foreign military aid by 25%
and slash all humanitarian aid by 10%. He said it would be in Americas best interest to apply
those two to the national debt. Sam would reinstitute the sanctions against Iran and expand the
use of the drone program against Jihadist terrorists and all nations that support it. In contrast, I
believe all foreign military aid should be stopped and put towards the national debt. It would also
be unwise to expand the drone program and fight violence with violence, and I think it is best to
get rid of the drone program all together. America should mind our own business and stay out of
it unless we are personally attacked. We have a whole country to protect, and we should retrieve
all of our troops from foreign countries and remain neutral unless an act of defense is absolutely
necessary. We should not be funding and fighting wars that do not involve us.
The final topic discussed my grandfather and I agreed on. We both believe in and support
the legalization of marijuana medically and recreationally. Neither of us support excessive
taxation of marijuana for state/national revenue. Excessive taxation allows the cartels to continue
sales through the black market. We both agree that there will have to be regulations and
restrictions in place to maintain the legalization of marijuana. Marijuana has a number of highly
effective therapeutic and medicinal qualities. Legalizing marijuana medically and recreationally
will reduce crime rate involving marijuana and paraphernalia. I believe that recreational use of
marijuana might also lower the use and purchase of hard drugs and prescription pills. My
grandfather and I agree that legalizing marijuana would be beneficial for our country.

Whitlock 5
As a result of my comparison between my grandfathers ideas and beliefs versus mine, I
can conclude that we disagreed on most of the topics. I did find that we agreed on more than I
expected, but my grandfather and I see the world in two different ways. The generation gap
between the baby boomers and millennials does prove to establish a clear difference between
both generations. My grandfather is a cut the crap and do the thing regardless of who or what it
affects type of person. I encourage positive change, appose violence unless need be, and new
solutions that benefit our society as a whole. Majority of millennials want to lead our country
away from evil corruption and violence. We stand the moral rights and are determined to change
everything we can in hope to make the world a better place.