What Will Happen When a Millennial Becomes President?

“Millennials,” amirite? You know, that generation of 20-and-30-somethings born roughly between 1980 and 2000 who are infamously narcissistic, entitled, lazy, arrogant and politically disengaged?

These days, the millennial hit-piece has practically become a literary genre unto itself, proving that this generation has become both a source of fascination and malign to older generations. Even The New York Times happily summed up these sentiments in one fell swoop: “You know them when you see them. They are tapping on their smartphones, strolling into work late and amassing Instagram followers faster than a twerking cat. They complain. They ‘disrupt’ stuff. They simultaneously (and somewhat improbably) like both Kanye West and Kenny Chesney.”

In many ways, millennials have come to symbolize what people tend to blame for the perceived American decay in the 21^st century: Tech addiction and a growing culture of mistrust and individualism. But ultimately the amassed clichés used against this generation have become so commonplace that it’s all too easy to ignore the positives this demographic also embodies.

According to Article Two of the United States Constitution, a candidate for presidency must be at least 35 years old to be eligible for nomination. This means that next year, everyone’s favorite generation of easy punching bags could become the nation’s next president—and they have a lot of good to offer.

The significance of millennials extends beyond their numbers (currently, they make up one-third of the total population). According to a 2014 report from the Council of Economic Advisers, this is the first generation to have had access to the Internet during their formative years. Millennials also stand out because they are the most diverse and educated generation to date: 42 percent identify with a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white, around twice the share of the baby-boomer generation when they were the same age. About 61 percent of adult millennials have attended college, whereas 46 percent of the baby-boomers did so.

Another important marker for this demographic is that many of them have come of age during a very difficult time in the country’s economy. As unemployment surged from 2007 to 2009, many millennials struggled to find a hold in the labor market. They made important decisions about their educational and career paths, including whether and where to attend college, during a time of great economic uncertainty.

“No generation has been better equipped to overcome challenges than millennials. They are skilled with technology, determined, diverse and more educated than any previous generation,” the report stated.

But perhaps the most crucial contribution that millennials bring to the table is their strong desire to change the world. The numbers who volunteer for programs like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps have risen substantially. In 2014, Teach for America received over 50,000 applications, more than twice the number received in 2008. Many talented and highly credentialed students choose to work at nonprofits after graduating. And while it’s true that nongovernmental organizations have become cool, that trend has happened for a reason: Young people today view NGOs as a valuable and worthwhile way to spend part—or all—of their lives. As much as students from any generation before them who might have gone into politics and government or volunteered for war and exploration, they want to do good and follow their principles.

In a new book based on original research, Running from Office, political science professors Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox ask more than 4,000 high school and college students if they would be interested in running for political office in America someday: A resounding 89 percent of them said “no.” Their response wasn’t surprising —teenagers and young adults have witnessed a dysfunctional Washington grow more and more each day, featuring an inept government response to a drowning city, battles over debt limits and shutdowns, multiple unending wars and innate debates over the faith and birthplace of a president.

“The mean-spirited, broken system that has come to characterize American politics turns young people off to the idea of running for office,” Lawless and Fox write. “It discourages them from aspiring, one day, to be elected leaders. It prevents them from even thinking about a career in politics. A functioning democracy needs every new generation to heed the call to serve.”

Today, millennials just don’t see their values—such as improving their country and planet through activism, teamwork and compromise—reflected in current politicians. A recent Harvard Institute of Politics survey found that 60 percent of Americans age 18 to 29 believe that politicians are motivated by “selfish reasons.”

In the end, Lawless and Fox believe that this resistance is a good thing—a civic-mind generation more interested in improving the country in ways not currently seen by the traditional American government will make millennials a revolutionary force to be reckoned with in decades to come.

“Young people have the skills and potential to make the country and the world a better place,” Lawless and Fox conclude. “Let’s make sure they see that running for office is a worthwhile way to do it.”