gen x will be the rational, clear headed, pragmatic leaders, the clean up crew of the boomer overspending overindulging disaster left behind.

gen y and millenials will do as they are told by gen x, and bask in all the glory as if they did it.

boomers are self-centered, the “world revolves around me”, “we’re the greatest” generation

they even made their parents, AND their children the “the greatest generations” WOW!!

give it a rest will you?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.