I was born in the right generation: I love questioning the government and the church/religion

 

I genuinely believe I was born in the right generation (Gen-Z). Not because life today is easier, and certainly not because everything around us works the way it should, but because I belong to a time where questioning power is becoming normal instead of forbidden. There was a time when openly criticizing government could make you disappear, cost you your freedom, or mark you permanently as dangerous. There was also a time when questioning religion was treated almost like rebellion against society itself, when asking difficult questions about faith, doctrine, or religious authority could isolate you socially or even place you in real danger. Today, even though those risks still exist in some places and in some forms, I feel fortunate to live in an era where people can challenge powerful institutions more openly than many generations before us ever could.

That freedom matters deeply to me because I think questioning is one of the healthiest things a society can allow.

I know people often say that young people today, especially Gen Z, are lazy, distracted, entitled, impatient, or uninformed. I hear that criticism constantly, and sometimes it feels like older generations repeat it so often that they no longer pause to ask whether it is actually true. But from where I stand, I do not think my generation is uninformed at all. In fact, I think we may be among the most informed generations to ever exist—not because we know everything, but because we have access to more information than any generation before us.

I grew up in a world where I can read government reports, watch parliamentary debates, listen to economists, compare historical records, study religious arguments from different perspectives, hear opposing political opinions from across continents, and access evidence instantly. Previous generations often depended heavily on one newspaper, one teacher, one church authority, one political narrative, or one dominant public voice. My generation has the ability to compare narratives in real time, and once you grow up with that kind of access, you naturally become harder to control through simple slogans.

That is one reason I think many young people ask uncomfortable questions.

It is not necessarily because we are rebellious for the sake of rebellion. It is because we have seen too much contradiction to remain passive. We have seen institutions speak one language and behave differently. We have watched systems presented as permanent and trustworthy fail ordinary people repeatedly. We have listened to promises made to our parents and then observed how little those promises changed their daily lives.

That matters because our generation did not grow up in theory, we grew up watching consequences.

I have watched people work hard their entire lives and still struggle financially. I have seen educated people remain unemployed or underpaid despite doing everything society told them to do correctly. I have seen honest people obey the law while powerful people bend it without consequence. I have seen citizens sacrifice repeatedly while leadership often appears insulated from the sacrifices it demands.

That naturally creates a number of questions.

Why should I inherit trust automatically when evidence shows that trust has often been abused?

Why should my generation be expected to defend systems simply because older generations accepted them?

Why should questioning be treated like disrespect when the systems being questioned affect every part of our future?

This is especially true when it comes to government.

Government is not a distant abstract idea. It influences nearly every part of daily life—taxes, education, healthcare, roads, employment policy, security, justice, inflation, business regulation, public debt, housing, and opportunity. Every citizen lives inside decisions made by government whether they are politically active or not. That means questioning government should never be treated as a bad habit. To me, it is basic civic responsibility.

If leaders ask citizens to trust them, then citizens must also feel free to ask difficult questions.

Where is public money going?

Why do public services fail while political privilege remains untouched?

Why do some policies burden ordinary people more than those who design them?

Why are some scandals forgotten so quickly?

Why do certain investigations never fully reach the people with the greatest power?

These are not dangerous questions. They are necessary questions.

And I think one of the strongest things about my generation is that many of us are less afraid of asking them publicly. We have grown up seeing social media expose contradictions instantly. A speech can be fact-checked within minutes. A policy can be compared against old promises immediately. A contradiction can travel across the country before official explanations even settle. That has changed how power behaves, even when power resists it.

Of course, questioning government does not mean believing every system must collapse. I am not saying all institutions are useless. Government matters. Institutions matter. Laws matter. But respect should never require silence. In fact, the institutions worth respecting most are usually the ones strong enough to survive scrutiny.

The same applies to church and religion.

I also believe questioning religion is healthy because church/religion remains one of the most powerful systems shaping human life today. It influences morality, politics, family decisions, social identity, lawmaking in some contexts, and how millions interpret meaning itself. Because religion carries that much influence, I do not think it should be treated as untouchable.

For me, questioning religion does not automatically mean rejecting faith. It means asking how faith is interpreted, how authority is exercised, how teachings are applied, and whether institutions always practice what they preach. It means asking why some religious leaders speak powerfully about morality but remain quiet around political injustice.

It means asking why some doctrines are defended rigidly while others evolve quietly over time. It means examining whether religion always liberates people or sometimes also controls them. These questions are not attacks. They are signs that people are thinking seriously about systems that shape their lives deeply.

If a belief system influences law, identity, relationships, ethics, and even political behavior, then questioning its role should be considered intellectually responsible. History itself proves that reform often begins with uncomfortable questions. Many harmful traditions survived precisely because questioning was discouraged.

Many abuses inside institutions, political and religious alike lasted longer because people feared sounding disrespectful. That is why I think my generation’s willingness to ask hard questions may actually be one of its strengths.

Yes, some people mistake skepticism for arrogance. Yes, sometimes young people question badly, emotionally, or without enough depth. But questioning itself is not the problem.

I do not believe older generations were foolish though fools still grow old. Every generation worked within the limits and realities of its time. But I do think my generation inherited a world where contradictions are more visible than before, and once contradictions become visible, obedience becomes harder.

We are not simply rejecting authority because it is authority. We are asking whether authority still deserves the form of trust it demands. That applies to presidents, ministers, pastors, churches, institutions, ideologies, and inherited habits. The future belongs partly to those willing to examine what they inherit honestly. Some things deserve preservation. Some things deserve reform. Some things deserve rejection. But none of that can happen without questioning first.

That is why I feel fortunate to belong to a generation where questioning has become part of ordinary public life. It does not mean we are always right. It means we are less willing to accept that power, simply because it is old or established, should never explain itself.

To me, that is not rebellion. That is maturity beginning. Because any system powerful enough to shape millions of lives should never fear examination.

And if government or religion truly serves people well, then difficult questions should only make them stronger, not weaker.