Posted on 03/09/2006 9:23:36 AM PST by laney
In the 1960s and '70s they burned their bras and draft cards, marched on Washington, founded Earth Day and vowed never to trust anyone over the age of 30.
Today, the baby boomers are doing the limbo, dancing wildly and waving their arms in the air to the unintelligible lyrics of "Louie, Louie."
At least that's what they're doing in Portland, Oregon, at the Baby Boomers' Social Club Friday night dance at the Red Lion Hotel.
"We have a live band once a month, and we do all sorts of different dance styles," says Melanie Pedersen, co-founder with Julie Dahlman of the Baby Boomers' Social Club.
"Julie does a wall sweep," Pederson says. "She says, 'come on gals ... go get the guys that are holding up the walls.'"
"You know, we're in our 50s now, so it's okay to ask the guys to dance," Dahlman adds with a laugh.
Indeed, this mammoth generation -- at once lauded for its commitment to social change and derided for its perceived self-indulgence -- has grown up and is now going gray.
So, how did the "Me" generation do for itself? Have the boomers prospered as much as they could have, or did they miss key opportunities to better their nation and their lives?
It depends on whom you ask.
Some experts say the boomers did not plan well for their future, especially their financial futures, relying instead on the whimsy of a historically rosy economic era to carry them along.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
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November 22, 1963 was the beginning of the end of American societal innocence.
I could go on and on about the benefits of that ticket. And I don't think it is as unlikely as you presume. Allen has a fair chance of getting the nomination. And remember that the Presidential Nominee has a free hand in choosing his Veep. Remember Spiro T. Agnew? Remember Dan Quayle? Though Condi Rice is infinitely better qualified than either of those, or than both of them put together.
Congressman Billybob
"Some things are, some things aren't. The clothes were worse, the music was better."
I totally disagree! I like nothing better'n seein a nice mini-skirt or hip-rider bell-bottoms under a nice see through top!
Dang it, I wish the girls of today had the fashion sense of the hippy girls from yesteryear!
I hear you and agree.
Check out my boomer self-loathing in post #5.
(great screen name ....... you have there ....... that's cold)
;-)
For sure ................ that's a stone-*ss FACT.
Best music ever from around '66 through around '74.
Seems like when the folks got Nixon's scalp all the great music sort of petered out and ended.
'75 and into the future was sort of like lighting up a smoke after sex....... I guess.
I hear you. My post was slightly tongue in cheek with the "we suck" comment. But all the things that I mentioned that are going on politically is residue from people our age, and something better be changed rather quickly (imo).
I was in college from '64-'68, then spent a couple of years in the Army Security Agency. Nevertheless, all of us who did some things well back then better band together now to somehow kick these "heathen"/socialist/anti-American elements out of the government (Democrats out FIRST).
But as I observe, nearly all the "boomers" in the Congress, most of them, in my mind, are just worthless people who the Founders would want to at least tar and feather.
Oh well, "we suck".
;-)
That is a FACT.........., then 1968 (twice) was the stake in the heart. Everyone with a brain smelled something terribly cancerous in the government. Decency was alway in question after that.
We might be the last of the Mohicians so to speak the world will proably be changing more than any of us could of expected I feel that very strongly.
But I agree with you many Boomers were babied by our doting parents although they let us grow up and were not coddled like today's children...
To me as I get older it's truly not about Politics or conservatives and liberals it's getting yourself right with GOD and living like he says to, because we already knows what happens and what has happened when we and the world our own thing and leave a Loving GOD out of the equation.
LOL ....... I'd go with the latter.
****
By the way, a while back I came across this very attractive picture of Condi with the President at the funeral of Coretta Scott King.back
http://newsmax.com/images/headlines/Bush_Rice2.jpg
If you or anyone would like to post it...... great. I'm computer illiterate in many languages.
;-)
I just looked at that picture of Condi again. Man, that is a beautiful picture with her deep respect for G.W. written on her intelligent and attractive face.
Boomers or bums? I would say both.
Load of crap journalism. A few thousand burned draft cards and bras, while 3 million went to Vietnam.
I hate media stereotypes, especially this one.
"SOME of us learned a great deal from Viet Nam, and while we may or may not support our leaders and their policies, will NEVER treat a member of the armed forces with anything but respect and honor. "we suck............" Well, I suppose some of us Boomers do, but SOME of us have retained the values taught to us by our forefathers"
Somewhere in the Nixon Library, I suppose, rhere are millions of checks written to Nixon for the amount "all my support"......the silent majority.....one of those checks bears my signature.
I have returned to college and see it all the time there - it's a little annoying. Your use of the word coccoon is very appropriate.
Mine, too, friend.
I came face to face with my duplicity while reading about John Kerry in the 2004 election.
I am ashamed of myself.
The percent of the Boomer generation (the radicals) who did that crap was higher than the percent of radicals in other generations. Of course there were non radicals like you among the Boomers. But overall, the Boomers are the most radical generation ever.
Those 10 - 20% are today's elites.
TRUE...TRUE....TRUE.....
I lived thru those days....the most common social settings were of young people NOT heavily involved in any of that junk.....
we just drank....LOL......
seriously......most teenagers had nothing to do with the Bums of that day.....most were working or getting drafted or avoiding the draft or trying to get thru college....
The 80s formed my persona.
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