This past weekend, I was reminded by my 9-year old son of the following passage in the Bible:

“Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.” – Psalm 8:2

That verse has been shortened over time to become a colloquialism used when children have said something humorous in front of adults – “Out of the mouths of babes.”

It was on our drive to Bible study that my son asked for my phone to play a new song he liked. (Note: This is also the reason traditional “terrestrial” radio stations are dying a slow painful death. If it ain't “on demand” – it's dead.) After a moment of scrolling on a music download app, the following words begin to stream through the cabin:

“We are the ones, the ones you left behind.
Don't tell us how, tell us how to live our lives.
Ten million strong we're breaking all the rules.
Thank you for nothing, 'cause there's nothing left to lose.”

I was immediately struck by the lyrics and paused the song to ask my son if he understood the meaning of the lyrics. He replied simply – “no…but I like the song.” 

The song opened up the ability for my son and I to have an important dialog about the future of “Generation Z” (those born after 1995) and the challenges that they will have to face. More importantly, the reasons why “Generation Z'ers,” those “10 million strong,”feel like they have been “left behind” by the generations before them.

What is interesting is that this was not a new song at all. In fact, the song debuted very quietly in 2013 by a band called MKTO (Misfit Kids and Total Outcasts) which was founded by two real life friends Tony Oller (21) and Malcolm Kelly (20). According to aninterview with with Celebuzz the duo stated: