We were told the Earth had been conquered, and every area explored. Instead, Antarctica is censored on Google Maps.

We were told we would be traveling through Outer Space to reach Mars, Venus, even Pluto. Instead, Pluto is no longer a planet.

So where are the flying cars? Where is the space travel?

We are the Reason there is no Space Travel

I'm part of the reason why these things don't exist. I'm a programmer. I'm in "STEM". Yet, I'm not even working toward these goals.

The point is this: if you want these things to exist, you have to make them. If I want these things to exist, then I, personally, need to do whatever is within my capabilities to make these things exist. If I try and fail, then at least I tried. If I don't try, then I have no right to complain about their absence in our world.

When my generation was younger, we were told that these things "had been done." A lot of us just grew up thinking that it was already being handled. Maybe it was, to some degree. But the treatment we received on these subjects was not one of inspiration, but of obsolescence. My generation wasn't inspired by the messaging, but rather discouraged to consider them. Then, ten years after we graduated high school, people started asking why no one was joining STEM careers.

We were told these things were handled. Our brainpower was not necessary; it was obsolete. AI would take over any day. We would have an elevator leading to the moon. We would have a cure for cancer.

Having been told we weren't necessary for the advancement of civilization in the sciences, we turned to the liberal arts. We thought we would be artists, activists, musicians, gypsies. Then we became broke, as the economy crashed for reasons outside of our control. 

We were scorned for having chosen the path we did. Our grandparents landed on the moon. They invented the computer. They invented everything we took for granted, and then they told us we were ruining it.

As I said earlier, a large portion of millennials were simply not urged to go into the sciences. Sure, we were told to go into the sciences in school. But we weren't encouraged. The distinction is that the motivation for discovery was lost. We were told too often how great the previous generations were, and how by the time we grew up there would be a Disneyland on the moon.

We were raised to be the hipster generation, to treat the world with irony. How else could we psychologically cope with the failed promises of our leaders? We were promised space tourism, and all we got was a part time job that wouldn't let us work more than 30 hours a week in order to avoid paying for our healthcare.

The Other People never came through with their promises, which we foolishly banked on. Then they blamed us for it.

Then there are the Good People. There are people who want to build the technology of the future, with good intentions. These people are the Good Guys because they didn't respond to the failed world with irony. Instead, they responded with action. Realizing the futuristic future was a false promise and that the calls for STEM funding were just government funding Ponzi schemes, they went around the system and did things their own way. TRON hasn't become real yet? Make it yourself. 

As millennials, our place in the world is unique. We remember the time before the Internet, and we remember the time after. More importantly, we matured at the exact same time that technology matured. Civilization's technology seems to have a peak with the smartphone and apps. But we remember the future we were promised. We remember the Old Dreams. We remember the old ways, and we remember what the new ways were supposed to be. We know for a fact that this is not the way were promised.

Therefore, we have to keep the flame of inspiration lit and build these things ourselves.

That, or we can stop complaining about it.