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Kurt Wallace: This is Kurt Wallace and our guest today on Rare is Britt Hysen Editor-in-Chief of Millennial Magazine, and Britt thanks for being with us today on Rare.
Britt Hysen: Thank you so much for having me.
Kurt Wallace: We have a lot to discuss but before we get into the interview tell us about Millennial Magazine.
Britt Hysen: Well, Millennial Magazine is a publication that’s really focusing on highlighting those that are shaping the world that we experience. The millennial generation has kind of gotten this negative stigma surrounding them. We’re basically dispelling that. We’re bringing out the positivity and showcasing the hard work that all of the individuals in our generation doing. And we’re essentially positioning ourselves to be the life magazine of this era. So, we have a team of photographers and writers throughout the country as well as throughout the world. And we really want to give insight into who the everyday Millennial is and what they’re doing with their life to improve our world.
Kurt Wallace: There’s a lot that’s being discussed about Millennials, I want to get into some of the more difficult parts of the conversation but first coming off of what you said about sort of the perception of Millennials. There is this idea that Millennials are spoiled but from everything I’ve seen it looks like Millennials have walked into kind of a massive mess in many ways – the surveillance state, the fact that our healthcare system is broken, we have these endless wars 15% of Millennials are unemployed – can’t get a job. It’s very difficult out there, student loans. Are Millennials spoiled or you having to overcome a great deal that has been left in the wake of previous generations?
Britt Hysen: Well, I think you can say that every generation has their spoiled kids throughout it and Millennials are no different than the Babyboomers or Generation X when it comes to certain individuals that lack what we deem as positive qualities. But like you mentioned there are a lot of hardships that we face but there’s also a lot of good that’s coming out of this and we’re in an era that we’re completely connected. We have access to so much information which provides us amazing opportunities. And it’s really those that are enterprising enough to recognize those opportunities and pursue them.
But what’s cool is that the Millennials are doing it with a much more socially conscious mindset so their pursuing these businesses and their kind of giving up their corporate jobs and going into things that they feel matter to them and their trying to do it with an overall positive quality. They want to help as many people as possible. So yes we are definitely faced with a ton of economic hardships but I think that’s birthing a whole new generation of entrepreneurs and especially social entrepreneurs.
Kurt Wallace: Interesting what are you seeing as far as entrepreneurship? How are Millennials approaching this?
Britt Hysen: What’s wonderful is that a recent report came out saying that 60% of Millennial’s believe that they are entrepreneurs. They are starting some kind of business that are in a start-up and they really just taking the reins on their life. But entrepreneurship as a mindset represent 91% of Millennials believe that they are entrepreneurial by spirit. So whether that’s looking for new opportunities within they jobs that they have so that they can learn new skills or become freelancers on the side their just trying to do as many things as possible to just make ends meet because it’s hard out there. So you know everything is going up while wages are not. Inflation is just getting crazy and the price of rent is just skyrocketing without our salaries going up. So, we have to be entrepreneurial whether that’s operating our own business or just operating our own skills to the point where we can solicit them out for additional services and additional jobs so that we can make that extra income. So, I think that as much as the economic crisis is a negative bad thing that happened to a lot of people I think it’s also the result of a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit.
Kurt Wallace: Well, because of the way the media has changed like in my generation, we got all of our news from cable networks which has shaped our view of the world. How are Millennials different with the information age?
Britt Hysen: Well, because we’ve been given so much and we do realize that there are probably thousands of different news channels outside of traditional cable news. And we’re seeing just how bias the mainstream media is, it’s not to say that media can’t be biased but what I think millennial are realizing is that there’s two parties they’re basically two sides of the same coin. And because we have this access to other information we can get our own estimation of the situation and really form our opinions based around that. IVN which is the Independent Voters Network on their news channel their editorial they just put out a an amazing article about Millennials and their feelings for politics and one of their amazing quotes is that one in five Millennials is firmly independent they don’t lean-to either party. So, that’s means 20% of Millennials are realizing through probably the alternative news sources that their not agreeing with the current system. So, I think that with this access to information that we will be able to change what we don’t like. And instead of just complain about it – actually act on it.
Britt Hysen
Kurt Wallace: Let’s talk about the more difficult subject for Millennials right now that has come out in the last year is the suicide rate it’s the third leading cause of death among Millennials economics, stress, depression some of these issue their real world issues that your generation is facing?
Britt Hysen: Absolutely and I think that really comes down to the prescriptions. In addition to being called Millennials and Generation Y I think we’re also the RX generation – we’re just fed prescription drugs like candy. We just posted an article about that on Millennial Magazine. And it’s an epidemic, it’s a serious epidemic that there is a real abuse toward these very easy to get and easy to take drugs. They don’t have positive side effects and the fact that they’re being advertised on TV and the list of side effects that goes along with that like even possible death, suicide and death, how could a company even put that out and expect for somebody to buy it and yet these pharm reps go to all the doctors and they convince them that they got to use them. And the doctors then just prescribe them and it’s a real issue within our medical system that the doctors are so willing to just prescribe this stuff carelessly. So I think that the suicide rate is really tied to the pharmaceutical drugs. And yet we have this whole war on drugs except for the pharmaceutical industry, that thing is just bowing up and everybody’s proud of it most of the fortune 500 companies like the top 10 are all pharmaceutical companies.
So, we don’t have a problem with that but we have a problem with conscious drugs here in America you know, yes, heroin is a problem that’s not a conscious drug and cocaine is a problem that’s not a conscious drug but marijuana we’ve been seeing the list in Colorado and Washington thank God more states are opening it up for medical marijuana. It’s a real holistic plant and addition to that psychedelics are something that our society just frowns upon yet it’s one of the probably only drugs that has ingredients that makes you actually connect with the earth.
So, there’s a lot of issues surrounding what we view as positive and negative drugs cigarettes and alcohol drink up and smoke up as much as you want because it’s legal. And yet it has such adverse health risks same thing with the pharmaceuticals, if you’re taking a pill because it’s legal by the FDA standards – that’s fine to go and take as many as you want. But with marijuana that’s totally frown on if you’re in a state that doesn’t recognize it as a medical health benefit. It’s a crazy time but you know I think that that’s where suicide is really emanating is that we have such a complex view on drugs and there are so many negative stigmas associated to possibly the more beneficial ones.
Kurt Wallace: Britt over the last 15 years or so we’ve seen a massive increase of things like the surveillance state and introduction of Obamacare, 47 million Americans are on food stamps. We’ve had endless wars happening, our political system you mentioned earlier has created a lot of government programs and is this something that Millennials are accepting or what is the biggest concern for your generation regarding leadership in the United States?
Britt Hysen: Well, I think that Millennials are kind of torn because they don’t really know the true to each situation. They only go as far as I want to be able to help other people and you know they think that the government’s got to fix all these problems but we also don’t want them controlling our lives. So, there is a little bit of a contradiction there. I think that Millennials when it comes to politics and improving our system need to realize that we can do everything ourselves that government is just a representation and if it didn’t even exist I think that humans in general would be able to control their lives in a very peaceful manner as opposed to needing some type of authority figure to set the order. I hope that the future entails people occupying their hearts as opposed to their cities and wanting to destroy it instead of rebuilding them and recognizing that charity comes from your heart it doesn’t come from your taxes.
So, I don’t agree with the way that our government is just inflating every program and more and more people are becoming government workers. However, the Millennial generation is actually declining – a lot of Millennials don’t want to work for any government office whatsoever. So, you know that’s a catch 22 because we do need more representatives that are young. I think that it’s really important that Millennials do get into politics so that we can start to take back our understanding of how the government should be running. The government works for the people and not the other way around and unfortunately it’s gotten so inflated that we have become slaves to the system. And I think Millennials should get involved in local politics cause that’s the one entity that we could actually have an effect on. And it’s the one thing that we operate in daily is in our communities so why not get more involved in that capacity we can start to see the problems first hand and hopefully create solutions around that.
Kurt Wallace: We’ve seen a growth of libertarian idea in both parties over the last four or five years is this something that is attractive to Millennials is the libertarian philosophy?
Britt Hysen: Yeah absolutely, and I think that was a result of Ron Paul’s turnout. Every time that he went to go give a speech he had you know thousands of young kids showing up at each one. So, absolutely I think that there’s a wonderful message surrounding liberty and just the Libertarian Party. However, I think that the Libertarian Party needs to get a solidified message if they think that they’re going to pull more members from both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party especially within the youth. There can’t be internal conflict if it’s going to be successful.
Kurt Wallace: Now regardless of parties what are the ideas of libertarianism that are attractive to Millennials, you mentioned Ron Paul. What are some of the things that attract your generation so much to ideas like his?
Britt Hysen: I think that he really struck a chord when he said that the government shouldn’t have the right to tell you how to live your life and that comes in lots of social issues as well as the financial. So, when it comes to the war on drugs I think a lot of Millennials are going to stand behind a leader that says we want to eliminate that program. Yes absolutely a lot of people are going to raise their hands and vote for that guy. In addition to that, the school systems are completely messed up and we need to have an alternative method that’s gonna clean up our schools. And hopefully a lot of Millennials realize that the government is just not been doing a good job of using education to improve our lives because it’s actually hindering a lot of people’s lives. So, I think that actually this entrepreneurial revolution is probably creating a lot more libertarians because of the way that they understand business and want to keep their money.
Kurt Wallace: Britt Hysen Editor-in-Cheif of Millennial Magazine thanks for being with us today on Rare.
Britt Hysen: Thank you so much for having me it was a pleasure.