Posted on 12/11/2005 10:11:05 AM PST by LouAvul
They partied and protested, then grew up to dominate America with their chutzpah and sheer numbers. Yet now, as the oldest of the baby boomers prepare to turn 60, there are glimmers of doubt within this "have it all" generation about how they will be judged by those who come next.
The ferment of the '60s and '70s -- when boomers changed the world, or thought they did -- faded long ago. Nostalgic pride in the achievements of that era now mixes with skepticism: Have the boomers collectively betrayed their youthful idealism? Have they been self-centered to the point of shortchanging their children? Anthony DeCurtis, one of the boomers' pre-eminent rock 'n' roll journalists, hears the occasional barb from his creative writing students at the University of Pennsylvania and it gives him pause.
"There's a fear that there's going to be nothing left -- that they're going to be picking up the pieces for this six-decade party we had, cleaning up the mess," said DeCurtis, 54. "There's some truth to that, I guess."
The boomers -- 78 million of them born from 1946 to 1964 -- are wealthier and more numerous than any generation before or since.
They have controlled political power long enough to stack the financial deck in their favor.
"It's economic and policy imperialism," said University of Oklahoma historian Steve Gillon, 48, author of "Boomer Nation."
"The boomers have set up institutions that will continue to benefit them, at the expense of other groups, as they grow old and live longer than any other generation," Gillon said.
"It's spend what you want, cut your own taxes -- the ultimate baby boom philosophy of 'We want to have it all.' We're not a generation that's had to deal with the reality of sacrifice."
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
Since 1970 we have had 25 years under a republican P and 12 years under a dem P. Theres a lot of good and bad like everything else.
My family were Southern Democrats, so Ronald Reagan was our patron saint. I backed him as an 18 year old in 1976 and voted for Carter against the hated Rino, Gerald Ford. Four years later I was at the polls at five til six to vote for the Gipper. I formally changed parties in 1982. I probably became a genuine conservative faster than most.
My biggest problem with my own generation has been the unwillingness to admit mistakes. Many boomers just continue to propel forward with the same moral sactimoniousness as always, but the things they advocate don't apply to their own kids, who've been forced to wear bike helmets and see "I love Lucy" and "The Andy Griffith Show" with stupid ratings. The people of "freedom" turned into a bunch of despots pretty fast. We never would have stood for the severe restraints and limits placed on our own kids or grandkids. We'd have burned something down, I guarantee. We were the essence of spoiled brats. Hypocrites too.
Someone said the country will be best off when our generation passes. Probably sad but true.
Damn it, I am not a "Boomer". I am a "Jonser"
Just drop it already, my view were shaped by Ronnie Reagan the Great, not Veitnam or Watergate!
I am repulsed at the idea of being associated with "The Boomer" generation.
I am 44, born in 61
Presidents may provide leadership, but as one person representing only the Executive branch, a president cannot totally drive the policies of the nation. For instance, Congress taxes, and Congress spends. The president either signs or vetoes the bills, in their entirity.
Of the three branches of government, Congress, and more specifically the House, more accurately represents the aggregate of the people than the Executive, and definitely more than the Judiciary. Since the change to statewide elections of Senators, that section of Congress has been more 'beltway' driven than 'home-state' driven.
The overall political trends through recent decades are the culprit for the problems of today and tomorrow, not "a" particular individual, nor "a" particular party or group.
Granted, the way out of the abyss will require strong leadership (not "a" particular leader), and the combined efforts of a majority of voting citizens. Many of those leaders are currently being shaped, and will be shaped, in the ongoing Islamic War against Civilization, and the unspoken War Against American Citizens by globalists of every stripe.
Consider the demise of the FCC "Fairness Doctrine" that released station owners to fearlessly permit real discussion of political and ideological issues; i.e., modern talk radio, a product of everyday Americans
No more, "fairness is one hour a week of William F. Buckley on PBS."
And most of all consider this, for the first few years of modern talk radio it was impossible to count the number of callers who exclaimed, "I didn't know others believed as I believe! I didn't know that others knew that, it's never on TV news! You (the host) are saying what I've always said . . ."
We were the silenced majority.
Consider this also, it was some among the boomers who fought the Viet Nam war and took the crap dished out by the MSM, universities, politicians, et al. Thank goodness that idiot John Kerry decided to run as a "war hero" and gave the Viet Nam vets a chance to speak out after all these years.
yep...two sides
and the protestors were always a tiny elite minority
the civil rights protestors were not boomers..
Previously, especially in France, after the age of 35, a woman was called "A WOMAN OF A CERTAIN AGE"; which conferred on her a certain air of mystery and sexual prowess. In America, 35 was the onset of middle age; though 40 was specifically middle aged.
And for hundreds of years, 21 had been the age of adulthood; a time when one could vote, put away all childish things, and be responsible...if one hadn't done so already, at the age of 18. But with the crazy hippies/Yippies influence, adolescence has now been pushed into some people's 40s or 50s.
Like all other writers who try to generalize about Boomers or other generations this article is a p.o.c. Piece of Crap.
It is an unfortunate fact of life that perception is reality. Far too many X- and Y-Gen'ers know only that the baby boom generation radicalized the 60s, became the hippies and "stopped" the war in Vietnam. Unfortunately, they don't know anything about the majority of us who worked, took responsibility and fought against the creeping socialism that others in our generation supported.
We weren't all "Peter Pan" and we didn't all become conservatives later in life - we were always there. Unfortunately, the legacy created by the radical wing of the boomers is how we are all known.
And the X- and Y-Gen'ers aren't smart enough, yet, to question their conventional knowledge.
"Clintons" Yes and the previous generations had the Chomskys, the Browns, the Father Coughlins, The Klan, the Steinems, the Carters, etc. Every generation has good and bad. It's ridiculous to generalize.
Consider that mostly considered :)
I first "discovered" Rush Limbaugh on a summer day in 1990 while on lunch break ... went to my car hoping to catch a Yankees game on the radio (WABC-NY). Well, the Yankees game wasn't on the radio that day, but instead was this curious talk host who was espousing things that I'd never heard before on radio or TV ... he was espousing my thoughts !!! ... Imagine that ?? >grin< .... I couldn't believe what I was hearing! From that day onward I'd tune into WABC on my lunch break to listen to Rush
"generation of spoiled brats" You're full of it.
Oh, and that "Fairness Doctrine" was wholly unconstitutional anyway ... kudos to RR for relegating it to the ash heap of history .........
I've been saying this for the past couple of years.
"Unlike the boomers, who are reliabley liberal as a group Generation Jones were Bush's biggest supporters in the last election (by age)."
Hear, hear!
"Many of the former can look forward to enjoying the fruits of their actions while abandoned in a nursing home."
What you said is true (about 2 types of Boomers).
As for this statement, I just want to comment: I can't imagine the 1st type even growing old, let alone in a nursing home. So stunted are they they can't confront age, let alone infirmity.
I see a lot of suicide in their future, be it assisted (euthanasia), self-inflicted, or the result of self-destructive behavior.
You're right, at least by the late 1970s the courts were ruling that there were enough sources of information that radio no longer had to be constrained. So shills for liberals were wasting their time lining up to write complaints against radio stations.
I'll take this opportunity to say that I am not a boomer, too old. Not a "greatest generation" either, too young. I am just along for the ride.
I never even heard of the phrase "Generation Jones" until today, with this thread. But being born in 1960, guess that makes me a "Jones'er" :)
And then there's the Revolutionary War generation. Broke from the mother country, waged war on a shoestring at times over a seven year period, built a nation, forged a constitution, molded a way of life.
Not bad for starters.
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