I came upon this thread by reference. How do you feel about it now?
You stuck your neck out and were wrong on many points. Such is the fate of a would be prophet.
I do not share your manifold positive views on Gen X. I also do not share your blanket condemnation of the Boomers though much of it is correct and it certainly appears that the loons have been in the majority. However, while those who have law degrees and MBA were finding themselves and protesting those of us who made engineers and such other lowly professions have been railing against liberalism, export of jobs, funny money trading, regulation, bureaucracy, and all other manner of foolishness for a long long time now.
We are also not finding the virtues of great judgement, work ethic, initiative, competence and integrity in the Gen X and Y gang. So far, in my experience, they mostly whine and moan and get their feelings hurt...
They also apparently really gooved on obablaloon’s hope and change.
I also did not care for the Bush solution thought I am glad he and not this clown fought the war on terror. At least he loved the US. As for clinging to an old way and greed... they are guilty as charged. Immigration, cheap labor and outsourcing have ruined this nation but so have unions and entitlements. The constant give aways without fiscal responsibilty will end even if someone tries to hold on to them.
| Generations | Age in 2008 oldest |
Age in 2008 youngest |
Age in 2012 oldest |
Age in 2012 youngest |
Years born |
to | Came of age (20) |
to | Enter Middle Age (40) |
to | Became Elder (60) |
to | Die-off (80) |
to |
| Hero (WW-II) | 103 | 83 | 107 | 87 | 1905 | 1925 | 1925 | 1945 | 1945 | 1965 | 1965 | 1985 | 1985 | 2005 |
| Silent (post Hero) | 83 | 63 | 87 | 67 | 1925 | 1945 | 1945 | 1965 | 1965 | 1985 | 1985 | 2005 | 2005 | 2025 |
| Boomer | 63 | 43 | 67 | 47 | 1945 | 1965 | 1965 | 1985 | 1985 | 2005 | 2005 | 2025 | 2025 | 2045 |
| Gen-x (Survivor) | 43 | 23 | 47 | 27 | 1965 | 1985 | 1985 | 2005 | 2005 | 2025 | 2025 | 2045 | 2045 | 2065 |
| Gen-y (Mellennial) | 23 | 3 | 27 | 7 | 1985 | 2005 | 2005 | 2025 | 2025 | 2045 | 2045 | 2065 | 2065 | 2085 |
| Gen-z | 3 | -17 | 7 | -13 | 2005 | 2025 | 2025 | 2045 | 2045 | 2065 | 2065 | 2085 | 2085 | 2105 |
I came upon this thread by reference. How do you feel about it now?
I'm still optimistic that the Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers will move in a more conservative direction, and that they will do so as a more unified majority than either the Boomers or Silents.
I was disappointed in the results of 2008, but I do not believe that 2008 vote reflected a permanant mindset of our younger voters. I do believe that the 2010 mid -term election reflected a trend of a massive awakening among younger voters, and I believe that trend will intensify this year and beyond, until this Crisis Era ends (about 2025, for this cycle of history).
You stuck your neck out and were wrong on many points. Such is the fate of a would be prophet.
I predicted some generational trends, with an optimistic view that our current younger generations would help reverse the USA's slide into marxism.
Some points to consider:
Currently (in 2012) the Gen-Xers are ages 27 to 47, and the Gen-Yers are ages 7 to 27.
In 2008 the Gen-Xers were ages 23 to 43, and the Gen-Yers were ages 3 to 23.
In 2008 most of the Gen-Xers were already in the work force or suffering long-term unemployment. Practically all of the Gen-Xers were eligible to vote in 2008. Very few of these, far less than 10%, are liberal. Even in the city, I'd say that less than 20% of Gen-Xers are liberal.
In 2008 only one fourth of the Gen-Yers were in the voting age range, or in the working age range. Three fourths of this group were in diapers through grade 12. Of these who did vote in 2008, only a very small, but vocal, minority are still sold on the commie message (i.e. the OWS crowd).
I see younger people of both those generations in two vastly different worlds. I work in a large city, and live many, many miles away in a rural and small-town area. The samples I see of both the Gen-X and Gen-Y age groups differ greatly between the two locales, but there are still common trends worth noting.
The Gen-Xers in both places are trying to survive, as is their label. They work when they can, mostly without benefits.
These Gen-Xers who are in the military are already seasoned veterans in the upper ranks of enlisted and officers, more seasoned than any previous group of veterans in the history of the USA. Some of the oldest of these have served since Gulf War I, Somalia, Bosnia, through GW-II, and Afghanistan, and various little no-name conflicts in between. Our veterans have never served the back-to-back tours to the degree as has been done through GWB and Obama.
The entire pro-military segment of our population is more battle-hardened and support-hardened than we have seen since WW-II, and this hardening has happened before the Crisis War of this cycle. In 1941, we had to recover from more than a decade of isolationism.
Many of the TEA Party candidates we saw in 2010, and their supporter are largely Gen-X people. Many of the RINO and Democrat candidates they replaced were Boomer or Silent generation people.
The oldest Gen-Yers began entering the military around 2002-2003, during the height of the Iraq build-up and offensive.
One important point to make here: One young person serving in the military will impact strongly and positively on 10, 20, or maybe many more of their peers, as well as their families and neighbors.
I also do not share your blanket condemnation of the Boomers though much of it is correct and it certainly appears that the loons have been in the majority.
I am a Boomer, born in 1956, and served in the military from 1975 to 1979. Observing the trend of generational behavior is NOT a condemnation of all the individuals of that generation. It is a condemnation of the prevailing mindset of that generation. Conservative Boomers, the veterans and other decent people of the Vienam era and after, did NOT shape the prevailing mindset of the 1970s through the 1990's. That prevailing mindset was shaped by the older liberal Boomers, the liberal college students of the 1960s and 1970s, and those who became professors of the 1980s and 1990s, and those who "took over" management positions in the 1980s and 1990s, those who heavily infested the bureaucracies that have now become the monsters we never imagined.
For the 2012 primary elections, voter turnout was at record lows everywhere that Romney won. That was his plan, and it is working. Younger voters are always less likely to participate in primaries, and this year was an extreme case, mostly because Romney (to most sentient beings) is essentially the flip side of the Obama coin. However, I do expect these younger voters to vote overwhelmingly against Obama, whoever the Republican nominee is.
The entire generation of Gen-Xers are in their family years, and still trying to Survive.
The oldest Gen-Yers are in college, or leaving college, or in the first few years of their work lives, and their future prospects under marxism is looking very, very bleak.
I expect that the Republican candidate in November will get more than 80% of the Gen-X vote (40 million eligible; 20 million likely voters; thus 16 million (R) vs. 4 million (D)), for ages 27 to 47.
I also expect that the Republican candidate in November will get more than 60% of the Gen-Y vote (although less than half of the Gen-Yers are old enough to vote, or 9/20, or about 18 million, and likely voters being only half of those, or about 9 million; thus 5.4 million (R), and 3.6 million (D)), for ages 18 to 27.
If conditions through this summer and fall turn out like Obama's people, the OWS, the unions, etc., have promised, it could get messy before November. If such is the case, both groups of these younger voters will turn out in greater proportions than the usual 50%, and those turning out will be overwhelmingly on the side of national survival.
Some of these young Hero people might be among the tattooed, bones-in-the-nose savages you can see at the local mall, or the hoodlums making the nightly negative news ... these are NOT the majority; they simply happen to be the most visible, due to their misdeeds.
However, ... the most influential of this age-group can be found in the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venture Crews, martial arts classes, and the military, as well as at the Speech and Debate tournaments, American Legion Boys State/Girls State, and the AL Oratory contests, homeschool groups of various sorts, churches scattered across the hinterlands, etc.
For the first time in 60 years or so, interest in spectator sports and the jock worship scene among kids and young adults is diminished. They tend more to cooperate than to compete; they teach each other and they learn from each other; they work together more naturally and effectively than any groups since WW-II. And when the time comes, they do and will fight together more naturally and effectively, whether in actual combat or in the political arena.