A Message to Baby Boomers and Generation X
by Steve ----Bookmark on del.icio.us----When I hear people my age (35+) rip the younger generation I usually keep my mouth shut. But I have something I need to say, so this is my public response to the people who think there is something wrong with young people today.
Let me tell you what I think about young people:
The kids coming of age right now are the greatest generation, and we don’t give them the respect and freedom we were given and it is shameful.
When we were young, our elders trusted us to drink at 18. In contrast, today, because of our own insecurities and fears, we send our 18-year-olds off to the deserts of the Middle East to be dismembered or killed and when they are lucky enough to return alive we throw them in jail for drinking underage. We have dozens of laws and regulations which apply only to those under 21. Laws that do not apply to us and never did, even when we were 18.
It is a testimony to their maturity and character that they treat us with the respect they do. The Baby Boomers rioted in the streets over this type of blatant prejudice.
Some have labeled today’s generation the entitlement generation.
When I hear you complain about the salaries they demand… I think… I wish I had expected more when I was young. Besides, have you seen the price of a home today? You want to sell your homes for a 300% profit, but you won’t pay young families enough to afford them, and then you cry about the housing bubble. Were you stoned in econ 101?
It’s time young people understand the value they provide. Who told them that the best way to earn money was to buy an expensive education? We did. And now they have high expectations and we criticize them?
I hear complaints that the younger generation isn’t loyal. Good. Why should they be loyal? They watched as corporations fired their ‘loyal’ parents and grandparents by the thousands in the 80s and 90s. Loyal to who? And for what? These kids aren’t stupid. They can learn from history.
I’m grateful so many young people - some just out of high school, others just a year or so out of college are thinking, growing, and changing the world, making it better for everyone, while building value for themselves and everyone else.
The Millennial Generation stands in sharp contrast to the last two generations.
We (the GenX and the Boomer generations) squandered the opportunities we had when we were young. Many of us acted like rich unhappy brats burning through mommy and daddy’s money at the amusement park and our excesses and stupidity led to the authoritarian nanny state we have today. Young people are the ones who are going to dismantle it. We won’t, because we don’t know how to live without mommy and daddy (Big Fat Government) protecting us and fixing everything we fail to take responsibility for.
When we cry about how we must protect children from the evils of drugs and crime, we project our fear of our own past onto a younger generation, a fear that they might be as stupid and irresponsible as we were, so we created a police state to crack down on rebellious youths, when we needed to crack down on ourselves.
I am from the older half of GenX (born in the 60s) and I have four older brothers in the boomer generation. My brothers grew up in a medium sized (pop 25,000) Midwest town and all graduated in the 1970s.
After watching Dazed and Confused, I asked my brother, “Was high school like that in the 1970s?”
He said, “No, I was a freak, and that movie didn’t scratch the surface. You saw the good kids in that movie – the jocks. I recall one morning in 1977 when a student brought two sheets (200 doses) of acid to school and sold them all before homeroom. That day was fuckin’ crazy.”
That was just one day, at one school in the 1970s, and it was happening from coast to coast. Cut to today - do you believe there are days when 200 kids are running around a medium sized Midwestern high school hallucinating on LSD? I don’t think so. If they are, I’d be damn surprised. Today, most of them are smarter than that.
Mike Males gives us the facts in his NYT column:
What experts label “adolescent risk taking” is really baby boomer risk taking. It’s true that 30 years ago, the riskiest age group for violent death was 15 to 24. But those same boomers continue to suffer high rates of addiction and other ills throughout middle age, while later generations of teenagers are better behaved. Today, the age group most at risk for violent death is 40 to 49, including illegal-drug death rates five times higher than for teenagers.
When I mention that you refuse to let your kids ride their bikes to the park, you say, “Things are different today. There are more crazies out there.” Yep, and the crazies are us. Middle-aged people are so riddled with anxiety we are eating Paxil, Zoloft, and Prozac like Copenhagen at a rodeo. We are afraid of everything, and most of it is delusional. Some of us are screaming, ‘the Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming’, others see pedophiles on every park bench, and the rest of us are running around like Chicken Little proclaiming, ‘the sky is falling.”
TV News and Talk Radio is creating your paranoid distorted view of reality. Turn it off.
If we’d open our eyes, we’d see that everything is getting better and safer – even our kids. Violent crime rates are less than half of what they were when we grew up and we have just raised the most educated generation in history.
When you write stories about how young people have a sense of entitlement, I want to shout – WHERE DO YOU THINK THEY GOT IT? We are the ones that think we are entitled to everything. Who invented the concept of the McMansion? I bet he wasn’t 20.
The kids aren’t greedy; we are. And to the extent they are greedy, they learned it from us. If you think kids today have a sense of entitlement, wait until the boomers are fully retired, then you’ll hear the collective whining of 30 million adult children who failed to save for retirement. After all, who ran up 10 trillion dollars in debt living beyond their means?
The next time you hear an adult complaining about how they don’t have enough money for this or that and how life just isn’t fair and how the government needs to do more, remember the last time you saw a child throwing a temper tantrum at the supermarket because his mommy won’t buy him a candy bar and you’ll know what you are listening to – the collective tantrums of us the most spoiled generations in history. I pray the Millennials shake their collective finger at us and say, “you are going to have to learn to take ‘no’ for an answer.”
I know some of you believe we will continue to slip into a dystopian police state because people can’t be trusted. I don’t share your bleak vision. I have faith that future generations will learn to take responsibility for themselves and others without delegating it to an army of tyrants with guns and cages.
In fact, I can’t imagine any other possibility and there is evidence that suggests our future is bright.
What do you want to evolve into? People who are ethical because you understand the self-destructive nature of corruption? People who understand cheating is cheating yourself? People who are good because you know it leads to good things for everyone? People who understand that peace and prosperity go hand in hand?
Pollyannaish? Maybe…
But contrary to popular opinion, humanity is becoming healthier, wealthier, stronger, smarter, kinder, and more ethical with each passing generation. Our shrinking world is making us better – our technology is making us smarter, and our young people are leading the way.
They will live up to the expectation.
So listen to them, trust them, and get out of their way. They are creating a better future for all of us.
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October 1st, 2007 at 7:49 am
While I agree with the author, it would be interesting to see if this shakes out politically.
Politicians can count.
There is little reason to expect much to change.
October 1st, 2007 at 9:16 am
Ron Paul 2008 BABY!
October 1st, 2007 at 10:33 am
I, for one, am a Millenial. Born in 1989 I was just old enough to really grasp what was going on in 1999 and have never known an intelligent republican president.
What scares me is my generation’s complacency. When the government screwed up you boomers called them on it and won. Now we have an astoundingly corrupt administration and hundreds of Iraqis die each day. What are we doing? Nothing. We have been raised to follow our egomaniacal boomer parents, and we are trapped by them. I hope to god we see some real unrest, but I sure haven’t seen it here in college.
October 1st, 2007 at 10:43 am
Thank you Steve :) You’re on of the few articles I’ve read on reddit today that has had a positive impact on my worldview and its nice to see that some middle aged people are in touch with reality :]
I find that the generation that grew up in the 60’s preaching to us about how to be good citizens is getting tiresome and is incredibly hypocritical. I choose who I respect and I respect people like you who keep an open mind and don’t slip into middle aged conservative, closed minded thinking. I understand that I, as an 18 year old, have a lot to learn about the world before I draw solid conclusions, but I believe and always believe that you never stop learning and should never close your mind, as so many politicians and lawmakers and preachers and elders have.
October 1st, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Eric, I agree with you. Your generation tend to be very lemming like and just go with the flow about everything. They seem very, as long as it doesn’t affect me, I’m fine.
For the record, I’m a Gen Xer (I think). This whole name geration thing seems to constantly shift for me, depending on who you talk to. I was born in 1980.
October 1st, 2007 at 1:36 pm
That’s the sanest thing I’ve ever heard come out of a Baby Boomer’s mouth (well, okay, fingers).
I am one of the future leaders of the generation of which you speak. I was born in 1979, and graduated college in 2003 with a degree in CS. I am astonished at how little work my older peers truly do. They may look busier than me, but I’m 1000% more productive. I don’t buy into the look busy mentality. I have set deadlines. I have know what my projects are, and I get them done in a timely manner. If I read reddit or digg on company time in between, then whose harmed. Isn’t it better than staring at a screen in a daze for four hours? I’m at least exercising my brain.
I’ve also got a lot of Gen X friends that just don’t get it. They want so desperately to be from the Baby Boomer generation that it makes me sick.
I sometimes feel as you do about my generation although I worry that we have been nannied beyond our ability to recover. This could mean that we will take the big risks later on in life that will change the course of history. I truly hope that this is the case. We can ill afford to cash the check that our fathers and grandfathers have written for us.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:18 pm
“It is a testimony to their maturity and character that they treat us with the respect they do. The Baby Boomers rioted in the streets over this type of blatant prejudice.”
Wow. Just wow. They’re great because they’re docile submissives to wanton irrational boomer authority.
Not that I’m blaming them, but that isn’t a credit to them either.
And it’s not Millennial - they’re Gen XL. Or XXL.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Steve
The USA is going to hell. It is in very serious debt, it is fighting a losing idiotic war, the rich are gladly raping the middle class, people are getting fatter, the environment is dying and the medical system is a complete disaster.
Steve - WAKE UP TO REALITY! What is this entry on applauding Gen X?? And the baby boomers are taking it up the rear as well.
What we need is a social revolution. Not a ridiculous meaningless rose colored entry.
October 1st, 2007 at 4:17 pm
This is just fantastic. I often wonder if some of the anger I see from my kids at the alt school is due to oppression. Their every behavior is monitored and treated as though it is something pathological, as opposed to being chalked up to normal adolescence. Today, I got a kid in the alt program for telling his coach, albeit in a ugly tone of voice, that his school had an awful football team. The kid will be in alt school for an entire semester!!! We have truly lost our collective minds when it comes to our youth. However, while in my program, they get a good education–including how to exercise one’s right to protest unjust laws and policies–something that is not typically found in public schools. Most of my kids have a stronger sense of social justice than anyone I grew up with. Kudos to them!!
October 1st, 2007 at 4:39 pm
Sidney Hale:
I couldn’t agree more with you. I was born in ‘85. and am on my 4th year getting my CoE degree. This summer I had an internship with a Fortune 500 company, with an average age of 40 or so, and average tenure of about 20 years. I would find that nearly everyone I worked around would certainly work longer than I would, but good god I got so much more done than they ever did (with the exception of some workers).
This wasn’t something that I just noticed either. About 10 of my friends had internships with equally as large and successful companies, and were among the most productive employees at their respective jobs. Not because they worked more, but because they worked smarter.
-Swaz
October 1st, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Thanks, Steve.
I’m a bit worried about this complacency too, but in the end I think it won’t be too much a problem - you can only push us too far!
Joe: Indeed, politicians can count - if they stay around…
October 1st, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Fuck that. What you ask, idk, sounded good at the time.
I’m me, a 1990 baby, generation who the fuck cares. Thanks for thinking about us, the youth, but right now you should be doing something more important.
The problem with america is that we all just log on and blog or read our rss or shit when we should be out protesting the war on drugs or the war on terror or the war in iraq or soon to be war in iran or perhaps burma and all the monks that are being killed right now. Fucking monks, hundreds of them, being killed and tossed into the jungle or burned, some protesters even get burned alive, and its happening right now. so fuck that.
im not even 18 yet and i’ve had two MIP’s, i cant get my license till im 18 because minors cant be in possession of alcohol, i cant drink a beer but our government is letting blackwater investigate itself regardless of all the horrible things they have done. FUCK THAT.
If everyone (including government officials and the police, off duty that is) just lit some buds, toked some dank greens, rolled a fatty blunt and smoked it straight to the dome, it’d be much better. crime rates would drop, eating disorders would be a thing of the past, everyone would be happier. sure, some people would abuse it, that happens with everything tho.
Sorry, i kinda started ranting and got off the topic, but the point is, fuck you and what your doing, unless its something important and meaningful like it should be.
October 1st, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Wow, Steve. Really interesting point of view that people don’t normally think about!
The drinking part reminds me of this Onion news network spoof about how teenagers are not prepared for college level drinking because we don’t prepare them enough in high school. While it’s a parody, a lot of times comedy is funny because it has truths in it. It is true that when a the older generations push their own fears onto the younger generation and take away their opportunities to learn (and some of them rebel to take it back).
The video can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPWL0MgDFYM
October 1st, 2007 at 8:21 pm
@Lucci - You sound like I did when I was 17. Hang in there and let it turn to something else. You can’t fix everything. Find something you can affect in a positive way and do that. If we all did that, well… imagine that.
October 1st, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Wow. Pretty heady stuff and some great comments. What’s amazing is that not all GenX’s are the same just as not all Millen’s are the same. I’ve always been amazed at the “we deserve” mentality of any generation regardless of the age. We all have a part to play, some have to be up front pushing and protesting while others have to be at the back, watching what happens. The youth today are no different, when it comes to wanting to experience life, than any other generation it’s just that, as you state, their parents are scared shitless because of what they did or what they saw. As a parent, I have all the faith that these kids will grow up to do great things despite seeming to be complacent right now. I don’t agree about the drugs - they aren’t the same as the 70’s. But, as I watch the Boomers, still doing drugs and drinking big time, tell the youth to stay away, I think “what garbage.” They are smarter, they are exposed to more information than ever before and, by and large, do make good decisions. It will take time for them to use that information but they will. As for the two young adults who worked with older people and so much more, I’ve done the same with people your age and younger. Personally, I’m tired of the whiners, deadbeats and “wannabes” who drag down each group but we all have them. What really is annoying are those adults that, like you said, want to make 300% on their houses but want the youth to be in debt for 50 years to do it. What goes around, comes around - and it will. Those of us who are tired of our own generation whining and crying will be there to help make that transition - because someone will have to do it and, for me, I want the youth to be smart, strong and able to deal with the issues that are presenting themselves. One thing, don’t paint us all with one brush - some of us try to stay away from the herd mentality as much as possible.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:52 am
This blog is very refreshing. I’m glad to know that SOMEONE of an older generation knows what the hell is going on and can ADMIT TO IT without showing that they’re a tainted yuppy. I can agree a little bit with Locci when he said that we need to protest the war and the war on drugs and all that… but here’s the thing:
First off, I don’t see YOU going out and starting a protest. You did just as much good commenting on Steve’s blog as he did writing it. But the good thing about our blogging is that is gets us talking to each other about these topics and gets us motivated and inspired enough to comment and further the potential of opening some more minds. I learned in my women’s studies class that problems like the ones outlines in this entry NEED TO BE TALKED ABOUT among those that it effects. If we keep our ideas and opinions shut up like the government wants us to, we would be even more oppressed than we already are. Another thing about protest- Bush wants to outlaw it. Just think of everything that’s wrong with that.
Second, As soon as you turn 18 and realize that you have a voice that kinda matters, you’ll understand that you can’t just say fuck it all. I was also the same way when I was your age, completely convinced that my generation couldn’t do anything about our future and that we were all fucked. I still think this, but I also know that my generation (genX) is smarter than my parent’s (boomers) generation, and once they’re retired, it’s up to us. I knew that violence and crime was going down, and that’s great. Notice that all the crazies are older? Yes there are crimes committed by younger people, but it’s usually petty theft, burglary, or something with guns. That’s because those are the easy crimes, and some young people ARE stupid, but look who they were raised by?
I find it funny that the boomers were the crazy ones in the 60s and 70s, and now they’re the ones that are turning this country into a shit-hole. I think they did too many hard drugs and didn’t really think of their motives before they tainted their bloodstreams. They did drugs because it was the new rebellious thing to do… we do drugs because we know what they do to us. Of course some drugs just aren’t good for you (anything other than pot, really) because they can kill you if you take too much. Even alcohol! Which is legal!
I think that if this generation takes hold of responsibility, doesn’t let Hillary into office, and thinks about the future BEYOND our own, things could change for the better. The system can only change if the people demand it. You can be a silent activist and still do a lot of good. You want to close the gap between rich and poor? Stop shopping at places like Wal Mart. Break your addiction to fast food by eating at home. Buy into organics and properly raised meat (notice all the recalls? none of them have been for organic foods… think about it). Remember that you vote with your dollar, and the government takes away a significant portion of your paycheck. Ma and Pa work in their private shops to pay their mortgage, CEOs work to stay millionaires. Be careful who you vote for.
October 2nd, 2007 at 6:45 am
Wow! This post really has stirred the pot. Love it! I am a woman in my mid-40’s…YIKES! Anyway, I have two sons in their early 20’s. I love that neither of them will take jobs that pay too low or have rediculous work environments. They both want to contribute to the planet and to the folks living on it. I asked them both recently why they haven’t taken to the streets to protest the war and other crazy things that this administration is doing and neither of them feels the pull to do this. Their focus is on other things.
I think that folks just aren’t that uncomfortable. People have to get really uncomfortable before they take it to the streets.
I do agree with much of what you said Steve…this next generation will be brilliant…they will come up with things that are leading edge..they will change the world. Each generation has been leading edge in its time. We do need to offer these young people respect and freedom. But, if this climate continues to keep them down, they will get uncomfortable enough to rise up and protest…just like folks did in the 60’s.
I like what Holly said about changing the system by how we shop. Shopping organically and being aware of what we are purchasing. I have never been in a walmart…but, I work with many single moms that shop there. It is the only way that they can afford to feed their kids. So, even this is not clear cut.
I think that every person, on the whole, is doing the best they can. We are all on the leading edge of thought and on the leading edge of creation. So, what do we want to create?
Thanks Steve…great post!
October 2nd, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Quite a post Steve! Being one of those awful Baby Boomers you were speaking of I am not completely sure how much I agree with you, however, I think that has much to do with where a person lives and how they were raised. Not all Boomers would fit your definition and certainly not all GenX-er’s do either.
As far as feeling a sense of entitlement, the younger generation, I think they do. But that is a sad truth IMHO. There are too many young parents that I know that are GenX-ers whose parents raise the children they just couldn’t wait to have. And these young parents are not holding down high powered jobs or buying high end homes with 30 year mortgages. And it is amazing how much they still have, all the labels and ipods and “I’m Somebody” paraphernalia they can scrounge, charge, schmooze or muster up. God forbid they don’t have. And that is the fault of their Boomer parents. No question in my mind about it.
So my question to you is why would you think that these young people are the ones to change the world? Every generation of young people think they will be the ones to do this magnificent thing and it has not happened yet. Like all the politicians there have ever been….their platform is great everyone loves it, the catch is how do you get everyone else to help you out? vote for you? Above all how do you get congress to vote for you and not against you? These young people, our future politicians, are going to be treated no differently than the present ones or the past ones.
Boomers and their counter culture Flower Power ideas can only be blamed for so much that is wrong. At least they stood up and shouted about it before a lot of them sold out because the whole thing seemed to be hopeless. But not all Boomers were protesters many were happy with their Beaver Cleaver lives and never rocked a boat in their lives. Just like this younger generation…there are haves and have nots and wannabes and a few gonnabes. So we carry one just as we have carried on for centuries.
Honestly if my grandson’s ( 9 years old) bright future hinges on some grown up GenX-er with the newest ipod/blackberry/flat screen computer instead of his own intelligence and work ethic
That is a sad thing.
The one place that I think the younger generation has outstripped the Boomers and all the others is in their creativity. I don’t care whether it is technology, art, or myspace blogs. These young people’s brains are hardwired to a different tune than my generation or my mother’s or grandmothers were. Too bad that they can’t take the will we had and the talent they have and cure the ills of the world or at least the nation as we wanted to. But every small voice whether it is 51, as I am, or 9 as my grandson is makes a ripple in the world. Chaos Theory/Butterfly Effect.
I do not think they are going to be the cure of souls anymore than we were there are not enough of them who are selfless quite the contrary. I do, however, think they will take us a bit further down the road and that is the important thing.
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:39 pm
@Margaret,
I don’t believe the coming generation will create utopia, but I do believe they will get us one step closer, maybe two. I believe looking back, that each passing generation makes our world better, some more so than others. I am an optimist. In other words when GenX or the Baby Boomers criticize the Millennials I cringe because they are our creation on the evolutionary human story. We have faults and they will too, but almost everything we castigate them for, I see in us. We are pointing the finger in the wrong direction.
I am a huge rock and roll fan. I was hooked as a pre-schooler when my brother (born in 1955) played ‘Born to be Wild’ off the sound track of Easy Rider. I’ve been going to rock concerts since 1980. I still go to concerts, some of which are filled with 14 - 20 year olds. My observations at these concerts are one (just one) reason why I am optimistic about the future. From 1980-1994, the atmosphere at these concerts was insane, pure bedlam, Drugs, Alcohol, Overdoses, Sex, Nudity, Violence, Racism, Sexism, even murder. There were squads of volunteers at concerts in the 1980s with shirts that read “Drug Crisis Unit” who carried kids out on stretchers who had passed out, freaked out, or overdosed. I could write a book about my experiences at concerts. Anyone who was around the scene in those days knows what I am talking about. I’ve seen girls lined up 3 wide and 20 deep to perform sex acts on roadies so they could meet the band. In know it was even worse in the 70s. You don’t see that today. Well, there was one example 8 years ago at Woodstock 99, but that is an exception.
Cut to today – the kids at these shows are angels. The contrast is astonishing. Sure you might smell a little discreet reefer here and there, but it is NOTHING like GenX or the Baby Boomers and the debauchery they engaged in! My wife comments about it all the time. In my view kids are far more polite, conscious, and healthy than they’ve been in 30-40 years and they aren’t burning themselves out young, even though a lot of them are overweight. They are going to be strong and clear minded when they reach their 40s and 50s and they will be able create far more change than we can because they won’t carry the same baggage.
But here is one for the millennials: the generation that come after you will make things even better. Maybe they’ll figure out the obesity problem. That’s probably my biggest gripe with the Millenials, but again… Who’s been pacifying them with food for 18 years? Us. They are going to change it, just like we changed the smoking habit.
BTW – I do believe the Boomers and the Xers made a positive impact on the world, I especially like the 60s flower power stuff. It’s too bad it bottomed out so hard. I wish more of them still thought the way they did in the 60s. I wish they had more faith in young people.
October 2nd, 2007 at 3:47 pm
The Boomers are easily the most disappointing generation ever. They basically turned their back on everything they ever fought for in the name of making sure that they took care of themselves. Their pendulum swung so far one way in the 60’s that they’re now on the opposite end of the swing.
I’m glad someone wrote something about the latests generation, because they are amazing. Not only do they have the talent and skills, they have a great attitude and the belief that they can make it all work. They’re not “environmentalists” but they want to save the environment. They’re not “health nuts” but they know how to live healthy. They are the balance that the world has been looking for and they’re going to solve things in ways that us Gen X’ers never dreamed of.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:52 pm
[…] You don’t see this a whole lot, but here’s a piece written by a baby boomer praising the next generation. It is true, us younger folks have to cope with a lot of stupid bullshit. […]
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:49 pm
I’ll start by saying that I’m a late thirties in age generation x-er who has two millennial boys. My interest in generational stereotypes was stirred by the baby boomer media pundits who devalued Kurt Cobain in comparison to the holy J trinity of Jimi, Janis and Jim, and by “13th Gen” by Neil Howe and William Strauss. Being an Australian my perspective will be slightly different.
I find stereotypes about generations quite grating. If one accepts that there is a distinct generation every 20 – 24 years, the baby boomers helped fracture this time frame. My parents are baby boomers and some of their contemporaries had their first children during the late eighties so boomers have give birth to either gen x-ers or gen y-ers. Some baby boomers have given birth to both gen x-ers and gen y-ers in second and/or third marriages/relationships. Gen x-ers have given birth to a mixture of gen y-ers, and millennials. And there are even some millennials who have baby boomer parents.
This blurring of distinct generational lines is something that I have never seen discussed by the media. As far as entitlement goes, one has to consider how immigration patterns affect a generation’s upbringing. In Australia the post ww2 wave of European migrants and the early 70’s wave of Vietnamese migrant saw their Australian born children encouraged to make the opportunities of further education by their parents who working hard in the manufacturing industries. This I know first hand growing up as a teenager in a pretty diverse area who had friends of at least ten different nationalities.
A percentage of the baby boomers have lived pretty free and easy and what has been sown is being reaped by them.
The “if it bleeds it leads” mentality of the mainstream media is something that I filter and analyse on a daily basis. I have learnt to let stories unfold without instant gut reactions to the latest breaking news, because there are multiple sides to each story and the world is a shade of grey.
In Australia it is compulsory to vote once you have turned 18 and my view of politicians is best summed up the following line from the Coverdale/Page track, “Whisper a prayer for the dying” - “Politicians those bodyguards of lies”.
It’s good to see some thought provoking and positive writing on the generational dance.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:32 am
Steve, great post, very well said. I am an X-er, born in ‘69, to parents who completely missed the “60’s”. I am definitely better off for it. I have a sneaking suspicion that our society is going to continue to creep to the Right, especially if a few particular events occur. (i.e. another spectacular terrorist event, a massive socialization of the economy or other government over-reach, Boomers bankrupting Social Security and bleeding the youger workers dry to pay for it, etc.)
>Holly - “I find it funny that the boomers were the crazy ones in the 60s and 70s, and now they’re the ones that are turning this country into a shit-hole.” - you are diad on with this, and they will get theirs when young people take away the taxpayer-funded entitlements that they are setting up. Wait and see.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:25 am
Huge thumbs up, Steve.
I am now working as a civilian instructor of avionics to young Navy sailors and Marines. I am in close contact as a teacher, mentor, and adviser to the younger generation on a daily basis and I have to agree with what you have said here.
Of course there are a few bad apples just as there are in any group or generation, but the vast majority of the youth with whom I work are people who give me great hope for the bright future they will build. Every day, I am surrounded by men and women who personify the honor, courage, and commitment that the Navy has made their motto.
When I read all the negative commentary available about the youth of today, it is tempting to assume that those who join the military are cut from a different cloth than the general masses. Your article helps to put the lie to that assumption.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:37 am
Steve,
I’m also reminded of a comment that Bobby Knight made once on the David Letterman show. Dave asked Coach Knight if the kids today were different than the ones he had coached earlier in his career (this interview took place in the mid 90’s). Knight replied that kids were pretty much the same but that the adults were different. Unfortunately, his exact words escape me but it was roughly that kids are always about the same and that it was the adults at the time who were screwing everything up.
Anyway, I just thought of that after re-reading what you’ve written here.
October 5th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Yeah I read the book Generations too. Wrote a poem about it:
http://www.copingwiththoughts.com/2007/06/20/generation-x/
Maybe I’m arrogant but I’m proud to be part of GenX. I’m not humping the leg of Millennial Generation hoping for them to save me or something. If you recall part of our generation’s ‘work’ will be to bail out the mess that our gov’t has created. We will produce some of the finest writers, comedians, revolutionaries - we’re the observers and now we are poised to make our mark.
October 13th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Very good post. I actually came in figuring it was something I’d disagree with strongly, but you make good points. I have to take exception with a few issues, so let’s start with that.
I was born in 86, which I believe that makes me part of the ‘Millineals’. I am of the belief that my generation is nothing special. We are more technology-enabled than the incumbents (leave a line between paragraphs, people) but that’s not unexpected: I’ve been using computers for almost as long as I can remember, and I remember being two. We are certainly more subdued than the Greater generations, but the flip side of that is that we don’t stand for anything. We don’t represent anything, we don’t fight for anything.
Statistically we do look better off than you did, but don’t let that make you believe that we have any integrity or ambition. The average member of my generation is self-centered consumerist (this is more politically correct than “myopic ba***rd”) who cares more about their Wii or very large television than the war in Iraq, the next election or the economy. My generation have always been told that they can do anything, and took that to mean that they would have life handed to them. They didn’t expect to have to /work/ at it, and balk when they do. My state has the highest minimum wage in the country, and even for a very healthy increment on that employers have a hard time finding young people who will so much as show up for work on a regular basis.
At least part of the difference in our cultural direction can be attributed to the fact that we are not facing a bright future. We are not the up-and-coming thing. We will not be greater than earlier generations, except demographically. The realistic ones know that the best we can hope for is to be as well off as our parents — and that will be beating the odds. A few high-flyers (the type of people who will actually read blogs like this, myself excluded) might be hired by Google and get rich quick, but the rest of us don’t have the same opportunities that existed when the economy was less iffy.
Among my generation - at least among those few who have spent time thinking about it - there is some resentment of the older generations. The economy is broken. The environment is getting there. The US is not the center of the world any more, despite what the people setting foreign policy think. The rest of the world justifiably resents us, and pretty soon China will have a larger economy (circa 2010). And it will be another generation, maybe two, before we outnumber you and get to set policy.
Peak oil is now. We can’t pay off the national debit. We are paying Social Security to support you, but it won’t be there for us when we need it. This is our future, and maybe - /maybe/ - if we work all our lives, and if the economy doesn’t actually crash, we will be able to fix it for our grandchildren.
Now ask me if I think my generation is capable of that. I might be a pessimist or I might be a realist; time will tell, but not in the near future.
October 14th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
erm… i AM generation x.
and i think you are DELUDED.
You are living in an alternative universe or something.
You need to WAKE UP.
November 7th, 2007 at 7:42 am
[…] http://www.steve-olson.com/a-message-to-baby-boomers-and-generation-x/ […]
November 27th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Hi,
I am a black baby boomer. In the ’60s I watched the hippies and I knew that they would cut their hair and sit on wall street. I left for Sweden in the middle ’70s(no I was not a draft deserter, nor in the army. I only knew what was coming down the pike. I stayed away from America for 20 years. I became an artist, a very professional and successful one. I am also a happy anarchist now living in Northern California. My son is a GenXer. He is completely spoiled and his future is in doubt. Although he was brought up in socialist Sweden, he had the bad fortune to come from money(his Swedish grandparent’s money). Whatever generation we are talking about, one can be sure that in America–greed rules, and the only hope is to fight it in one’s own individual way. I have absolutely no faith in this capitalist society. I have no big-time money, but I am happy with the choice that I made.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:21 am
asc - wow. I agree. nearly totally. almost as if we are reading off the same script…
really though - how many people in your/our generation feel this way?
2%? 3%?
also, what news sources do you use/read/watch?
just curious.
December 10th, 2007 at 3:48 am
I was researching a bit about baby boomers because I have been wondering what they are all about, because for a time it seemed to me their values all seem to be monetary. Not true!I learned that boomers come in a different styles like any generation. Some wanted to be out protesting everything and anything. Some things were worth changing such as the racial segregation that was finally ending throughout the 1960’s. The vietnam war had really gone on way to long and you could drafted but not vote at age 18 till the laws changed. Some are very caring and give great amounts of their time to good causes, others just live to be entertained.
Being a little child in the 60’s my observance of the world was that it could become very dangerous if you were caught in a protest or the wrong neighborhood ( was beaten up for being the wrong color, which is caucasian), but it also seemed hopeful too. In1969 I was a 9 year old ,I don’t know if I am a boomer or gen X’r, I don’t really care for labels much but many in my particular age group have called ourselves the silent generation, unheard and right on the heels of the boomers grandstanding. They tried to get us to go out and protest but we all wanted an education and since we had to work and get student loans who had time? When I was a 9 year old I watched the men land on the moon. That event said, “the world has a bright future”! I have tried to keep that positive attidue in my heart although at times I have had real anger toward all these well off “we are so priveleged” folks some times. Then I realize they had a better start than I did. Lucky them! But not fatal for me.
I have also been very jealous of the boomers, their money and sense of privilege. But that is just a section of that age group, other boomers I have met are plain old middle to lower middle class and work daily to keep up their health coverage. I married one of those, an older man who is my greatest friend and a baby boomer, albeit a younger one.He dutifully went to Vietnam and closed out the war in 1972. He said his life was the Beaver’s being the youngest child in his stable family. He has worked hard all his life, still does, and makes sure his family at least has enough but he is not driven to make a million, he would rather be home with his family. He has worked with younger people teaching them airplane mechanics and security measures. He says the young folks are just fine but like all of us some have more solid values than others.(Gad has anyone watched Housewives of Orange County? Epitomy of selfish boomerish types, their kids I feel sad for becauese they expect it all will come from someone else)
I have watched many of my 60 something friends raising their grandchildren whose parents have fallen into meth addiction ,which is so very hard to over come. One couple comes to mind in that they are counselors for addiction abuse and they are raising a grandson because if they didn’t he would probably be dead by now with his mothers mishandling of him.
I must have a different experience from many boomer/gen X’ers, in that my paernts did not have loads of money, they were artist/crafts people and unfortunatley they divorced when I was 10 which left us with very litttle money and the loss of our home, I was one of those unfortunate kids whose parents divorced when it wasn’t as common and I lost a lot of security and self worth over it then. Leave it to Beaver was a fantasy on tv as far as I could see.
My mother and later when he came along my stepfather made me go out and make my own money if I wanted anything.I started working at 11 years old mowing lawns and cleaning homes and selling my drawings just to have a few things of my own. I understood a work ethic and showing up on time because the older generation around me would lecture me about being responsible. I learned to work hard and be as productive as I could. I didn’t rely on any help to get to college and neither did my brother. People comment on how grounded we are now. Reliabiliy has it’s points. I have tried to work with some teens teaching them art and I have heard a lot of “I can’t, it’s too hard etc”. Then they would drive home in their beamers. What I have learned is if you believe you can or you can’t, it will be so.
I read this article because I live in a small town that is changing from a farming community to a millionaire’s playground. I was terribley jealous and a bit appalled of the boomers with all this money building monster 10,000 foot homes and all these multi home subdivisions on prime farm land. Some of these people are very smug and self satisfied with all their outward wealth but are they the most boring people to talk to. No depth. Many I learned are from California( I loved living in CA and many of my friends there are great!) and they inherited their parents overpriced homes and sold them for a million dollars. Ok great for them but the rest of us need an affordable place to live too. We just had Walmart land on us and it has killed off 26 mom and pop businesses who couId not compete after a couple years, but our workers need a cheap place to buy items for their families. The average wage here is $10 an hour but the average home cost is now $300,000. I am watching the classing of American right before my eyes, the have’s and have nots.
I would call myself middle class for now, until the boomers retire in droves and suck up a lot of the government resources and entitlements that have been created there may not be anything there when I am ready to retired, I am saving all the extra money I make for my retirement. Every time I see my social security info sheet each year there is a frightening warning that there will be no social security for me and those coming up behind me.
I have been concerned for the people younger than I am but I have a feeling there will be a creative shift in some way that the young Americans and people my age who are not pulling down $100,000 a year will figure out how to make things work out. Our economy right now is going thru an adjustment. All of us have to make changes. At least I can say my hubby and I are not in any debt save a mortgage.We plan to downsize and maybe not in the area would like to stay in but our next home will be ours ourtright. We don’t plan to be a finanicial burden if possible to society unless something serious happens to us we cannot financially handle. We have done the best we can to be self sufficient and debt free. More than I can say as 3/4 of my friends are around $10,000 in debt. I have taken several “how to handle your money classes” over the last few years.I highly recommend it!
Today’s younger people have their battles to overcome. That’s life. I am learning to live a life of gratitude because I found that the green monster of jealous envy was blocking my creative problem solving. I wish I had done so many things differently in my 20’s but I am doing my best now.
But as I turn around and look at the 20 somethings, (I guess they are the millineals), I realize they will have different challenges and will come up with the answers that need be found. Some will be fantasitic leaders and others are just now falling into drugs and dysfunction. They will step up to what needs to be done like all generations do.I don’t think they will make Utopia, because no one can make you happy buy yourself, but they have the advantage of building upon what others have discovered and built. I am glad they have the advantage of computers and today’s science and technology to build upon and they in turn can leave something for their inheritors to learn from and implement for everyones good or ill.
I think it all depends on our attitude toward the world and life. I am becoming more spiritual and I am turning off the tv and all the ugly that seems to be out there and only watch what is uplifting. I discoverd Dr.Wayne Dyer this way. He is a Daoist monk. After listening to him, and making a search of many other texts and current leaders in self improvement and spiritual growth, yes and even Christian values, I realize we are all born to a time that has unique problems that need to answered the best way we can. We are responsible for our own happiness, whatever that is and should respect others to find theirs as long as no one is harmed. I myself, am thankful I never had to go thru the experiance of a concentration camp or a Rwanda. I live in a fairly stable country with opportunities.
I was thinking that todays younger generation might be a lazy one as many places I have worked ask the question when hiring, “do you think it is important to show up for work and be on time?” This is a problem in some kinds of work where the pay is low and the job is not challenging enough. And many kids today think they have to start work only at the top! They have somehow not understood the idea of paying your dues. But for the most part the younger folks I see working as waitresses and clerks are stable and solid and great! They have plans for the future.
I think todays kids are freer in some ways than my time. I did not have as many options as a young woman in career choices. It was still uncommon to see a woman in politics or women doctors, or women CEO’s. Many women working at the time were divorced and had to work. Women were home more than working and I was out working at a younger age than my mother was. Today if a young woman just wants to stay home and raise a child it seems odd or financially unsound.
Frankly we have this one life to live unless you bleive in reincarnation. And even if you do believe in returning again, you still have to make the most you can in this world, at this time, the time you are born in. All humans have the amazing abiltiy to adapt to anything if they keep positive open minds seek creative solutions. That is why we are the most successful bunch of bipeds on this planet!
December 28th, 2007 at 4:56 am
Steve,
While I disagree with you and much of the political discussion on this blog, I sincerly appreciate your optimism for our youth. I am a 36 year old genXer who has spent my adult life striving to maintain order & control in an attempt to escape the chaos of my childhood. I have spent my entire adult life attempting to be everything the Boomers were not — Responsible, Patriotic, and Wholesome!
While I am aware that not all Baby Boomers are created equal, I was born to a Flower Child of a mother, who found drugs, sex, and rockin’ roll more compelling than childrearing. I was raised by my alcoholic father who loved me (and my siblings - all born by other women) dearly. Unfortunately, I had to endure his 3 other marriages, and 2 live-in women in between the divorces. He finally kicked the alcohol habit and grew up a few years after I joined the Marine Corps.
It is hard for me to read so much “anti-war” discussion about how the government sends these kids off to be dismembered… etc. Have you forgotten that there is no draft? We are an all volunteer force. As a Marine - I didn’t feel as if I had “done my part” until I deployed to Iraq. If I were still single, I would request more tours of duty there. It was the most enriching experience of my career. Despite the fact that all you see is bloodshed and death counts on the news - we are doing some pretty good stuff over there - and many more Iraqis appreciate us than you would like to believe. The non-stop complaints about the war only remind me that 9/11 seems like a distant memory to many Americans.
I have hope for our youth because of other genXers like my husband and me - who believe in making a marriage last. I believe in our youth because genXers like us strive to nurture our children with love and DISCIPLINE. We give them a stable home environment, yet a diverse upbringing because of military relocations. Our fellow Marines are our extended family and our kids have many good examples set for them. I personally don’t smoke or drink and I channel my “aggression” through exercise and a continual search for self-improvement. I balance motherhood and the Marine Corps, often at the expense of my own needs.
I try to conceal my rage at the Boomer generation, but I can’t help but be disgusted by their lack of values. There is so much talk about the culture war and how bad the “Right” is. I’m not sorry that I’d rather fight for my country than the “so called right” to kill my unborn child. And though I’m not particularly religious, forgive me for not appreciating the God-hating mantra of the left. It disturbs me that a desire for morals, clean living, and the values our country was founded on (freedom of religion) is so disturbing to you all.
The good news is - I’m still willing to die fighting for Americans’ right to say and do what they want - even when they are trampling all over the flag we (Marines) live and die for.
And I could be wrong… but I think my children will grow up respecting me for that.
December 29th, 2007 at 12:14 am
[…] for the attitudes and beliefs of the “Gen Y’s” and Steve Olson in his article A Message to Baby Boomers and Generation X puts the responsibility of the attitudes of Generation Y squarely in the shoulders of the Baby […]
December 29th, 2007 at 8:02 am
Great comment by Sondra. Highly respectable post.
December 29th, 2007 at 8:42 am
Born in 1974 and raised in the Sacramento area, I feel myself at the heart of Gen X. We watched in horror as are parents turned from hippies into yuppies, frequently divorcing and often giving birth to much younger siblings who would become privileged Gen Y-ers. As for the divorce part, I had very few friends whose parents weren’t divorced. We sometimes teased the ones whose parents were still together, attributed their naivety to their happy family unit.
Some Gen Y-er in a comment said that the older generations messed everything up. Do you remember Chernobyl? What about the Challenger shuttle disaster of the same year? I was 12 years old, and this was the world I was inheriting. The Cold War was in full swing as men in power sat poised over weapons made to kill us all. I think Gen Y grew up in relative comfort and security as their parents had gotten beyond the post hippie disillusionment and were generally in full yuppie swing, spoiling their children and shielding them from everything. The cold war was over and their was *talk* of dismantling weapons of mass destruction (but plans within plans). The middle class grew fat and happy, feeding the government and clamoring for more. Efforts toward a social system wherein all people had a chance collapsed throughout the 80s. The violence and anger of youth in the late 80s and early 90s was a response, Gen X’s outcry, immature, raw, and fatal.
One Gen Y-er above said, “The average member of my generation is self-centered consumerist (this is more politically correct than “myopic ba***rd”) who cares more about their Wii or very large television than the war in Iraq, the next election or the economy.”
This is the sick truth that Gen X-ers face. We watched our parents become slaves to the dollar, now we watch our younger brothers and sisters feed off the same festering, hormone and antibiotic laden teat. We need local level sustainability and we need less junk in the world. So stop buying all that new plastic techno garbage crap that will plug up the earth in landfills and go plant a garden.
One other thing, I may not have been two, but I was only 7 when I started using computers, so I would be hesitant to say that Gen Y is spearheading the technological age. Sure, many grew up with online gaming, which is definitely cool for a kid, but that doesn’t mean that they have some inherent authority on computing. In fact, computers became quite easy to manage with zero understanding of operating systems by the time Gen Y came to use them frequently.
In sum, I look both behind me and ahead to see the problems of our society: selfish consumerism being at the forefront. We must become less selfish, give up cars, give up toys, give up snacks and soda and sugar, give up money. We must learn to respect the land and the people, give more and take less, regardless of our perceived social class. None of us deserve anything, we owe the children of the future. We need to foster respect for earnest education that includes philosophy of knowledge and concentration on how we learn. We must realize that our gross indulgences have spread around the world, and now huge countries (China) are following our footsteps in terms of production, consumption, and waste. We need to ease down, take care of our own, and stop the wanting; this must be the face of the US that others see if we’re not going to be fucked. As a true Gen Xer, of course, I’m skeptical and generally believe we’re fucked, but I’m old enough to realize that I’ve got nothing better to do than to try.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:51 am
You truely make me sick with your comments which are all geared to stir things up. How is this helping anyone? We need to clean up the airwaves and internet from things such as this.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:49 am
Joe: Sorry I missed you there. The automagic there-has-been-a-comment mailer must have been down.
As far as percentages of people who would agree with us go, I have no concept — my sample is too small. You probably make three that I’ve ever met, and such things don’t seem to come up in everyday conversation. I would hazard a guess at one-percent-or-less, but who knows.
My primary news source is frankly probably google news and whatever it links to on a given day — it provides a nice cross-section of usually decent news sources, and browsing from it can turn up a wealth of interesting links and discussions (this blog post, for one). The other primary one would be… NPR. Serious News For Serious People, but their guests are always highly knowledgable. A good source for actual in-depth discussion of the issues of the day.
I watch no television, and recently came to the realization that cnn.com is an entertainment site - they run stories on whatever people are most interested in or is amusing, and discussion of issues be damned.
My opinions are largely a result of correlating what I read and hear to what I observe in my approximate peer group.
About a year ago, maybe a little less, I was working for a small marine electronics manufacturing comany, assembling components. My mid-late-20s, prime-of-life co-workers spent much of the day talking about… games. Wii parties, guitar hero, maybe a few movies. I have been to three (small) colleges in the last four years; in one of them, I even found myself in a program with a competent and fairly motivated group of the top few percent. I observed lots of myspace use, plenty of gaming, parties (every friday night, reg’lar. Also thursday and saturday), and even a fair amount of studying in the one case.
What I did not at any point see was any discussion of politics or other issues. It feels as though my entire generation has adopted a don’t ask, don’t tell policy for political discussion of any sort.
For the duration of this time period, the government has been blatantly violating our constitutional rights at home, and blatantly violating abroad the very inaliable human rights we are supposed to stand for. Where are the protestors? Where are the angry crowds? Where are the riots? Where is the impeachment that should have been made when all the dirt started coming to light?
January 14th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Sir, I heap thanks upon your head for showing wisdom in the sea of greed! If I hear one more boomer brag about flipping houses or selling one at 300% markup or bulldozing more wildlife for the sake of fortune I may loose it.
I sure wish that peaceful streak in all of you lasted throughout the decades; perhaps this world would be a better place. All I can ask each and everyone of you is to put on a big positive finish to end a dismal situation we are all now involved in would be greatly appreciated by me, your son’s, your daughters, their grandchildren as well as my kids and my future grandchildren. Think and ask yourself simply ‘what I do today benefits society or just myself?’ I have no doubt when your wrinkled old asses are out of power we WILL dismantle this pack of lies and rebuild something worthy that money can’t buy. There will be nothing from your legacy we want. Greed, and corruption are not favorable attributes.
January 18th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Idiot.
Nominally you might be in Generation X, but the broad sweeping bullshit you’re spouting is more true about boomers than about X’ers.
X’ers continue to deal with the excesses of the Boomers, and will be the generation who either succeeds or fails at tempering their ever gluttonous, entitled predecessors. Prominent examples in pop culture? Try Tiger Woods, Dave Grohl, Peyton Manning, Billy Joe Armstrong, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Gen Y — the echo boomers and distinguished from “Millenials” — are right behind us and are, like their boomer parents, also a bunch of whiny coddled losers. Want proof? Here’s some prominent examples: Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Britney Spears, and “American Al Qaeda” John Walker Lindh.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Excellent article, very well written and accurate. I am a “Boomer” in Northern NJ and my fear is of the cell-phone crazed, Boomer-’Beemer’ and Benz drivers that strike terror into the hearts of every pedestrian. The “Millenials” are great -
courteous, bright and enthusiastic. Nice change from Gens X and Y and us.