Posted on 04/25/2007 4:18:43 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
Some seem to think so, but media's glare can distort
"The Millennial Generation has every right to be the Melancholy Generation." -- from USA Today. Is it more difficult to be a 21-year-old American in 2007 than it was in 1987, or 1967, or 1947? Has today's college senior witnessed more defining tragedies than her parents and grandparents?
Doubtful. Every new generation has to cope with tragedies and wars, natural disasters and senseless violence.
But a USA Today article wonders if the the so-called "Millennial Generation," i.e., "those born since the early 80s," has faced an especially rough road.
"[T]he signposts on this generation's road to maturity have been a somber directory of tragedy shared," say the co-authors of the article.
"The Oklahoma City bombing. Columbine. September 11. The space shuttle disasters. Hurricane Katrina. And now Virginia Tech."
The article quotes the author of the book Parenting the Millennial Generation: "They've seen the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, the worst natural disaster in U.S. history and the worst mass killing ever. . . . They have a more realistic view of the world than previous generations."
Right. As opposed to those happy-go-lucky 19-year-old soldiers who fought in World War II, or those blissfully ignorant twentysomethings who tried to feed their families during the Great Depression.
The Tumultuous Generation A respectful correction. The horrific massacre at Virginia Tech was the worst mass murder shooting, but not the worst mass murder ever. (The Oklahoma City bombing claimed more than five times as many victims.) Nor was it the worst mass murder at a school. In 1927, Andrew Kehoe killed 45 and injured 58 when he blew up a school in Bath Township, Mich. That said, it would be obscene to minimize such seminal events as 9/11 and Katrina and the Virginia Tech shootings. There's no disputing that today's 21-year-old has been witness to far too many historically significant tragedies.
But say you turned 21 in 1977. Just some of the events that would have defined your life experience:
The Bay of Pigs. Racial hate crimes during the civil rights struggle. The Vietnam War. The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Charles Whitman killing 15 and wounding 31 at the University of Texas. The Apollo 1 astronauts. Charles Manson. The Zodiac killer. Kent State. The resignation of President Nixon.
Tumultuous times then, tumultuous times now.
A whole new (media) world In the 1970 rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar," Judas wonders: Now why you'd choose such a backward time and such a strange land?
If you'd come today you could have reached a whole nation
Israel in 4 B.C. had no mass communication . . .
Of course, what passed for "mass communication" in 1970 seems Paleozoic by today's standards. Watch movies from 35 years ago and you see people in phone booths, watching snowy TV, sending telegrams, writing letters, and you think: How did they ever get anything done?
USA Today notes this is the first generation that "endure[s] repeated mass catastrophes in the harsh, inescapable glare of a 24/7 media environment."
In 1963, Walter Cronkite told a nation the president was dead. In 2007, we saw cell phone video and almost-instant MySpace postings about the Virginia Tech shootings, as the news channels provided saturation coverage. Whether it's a national story like Virginia Tech or a local tragedy such as Jessica Savin, MySpace and Facebook often offer instant glimpses into the lives of victims. (There are two "Rest In Peace Jessica Savin" groups on Facebook, with dozens of candid photos and messages from friends.)
If the technology had existed, Zapruder would have been on YouTube by mid-afternoon on Nov. 22, 1963.
I'm not slamming the USA Today article. In fact, it makes the argument that the Millennial Generation COULD be the Melancholy Generation -- but it's not. The twentysomethings quoted in the piece refuse to let the world frighten them.
"I don't see what good it would do to just live in fear," says a 21-year-old senior.
"[Shared tragedies] shock us into a sense of community," observes another.
The world probably isn't any scarier in 2007 than it was in 1977 or 1937. We just have a lot more ways of holding up a mirror to ourselves.
mailto:rroeper@suntimes.com
Are there any jobs in said places? If so, how do they pay? I’m sure there are homes that are under 100K, but they are likely completely removed from any metropolitan area, and thus any big job market.
There may have been a war and a depression going on in 1942, but this Glenn Miller opus, which hit the jukeboxes in the fall of that year, shows that it was still possible to have fun.
JUKEBOX SATURDAY NIGHT
Moppin‘ up sodapop rickeys
To our heart’s delight.
Dancin‘ to swingeroo quickies,
Jukebox saturday night.
Goodman and Kyser and Miller
Help to make things bright.
Mixin‘ hot licks with vanilla,
Jukebox saturday night.
They put nothin‘ past us,
Me and honey lamb,
Making one Coke last us,
Till it’s time to scram.
Money we really don’t need bad,
We make out all right,
Lettin‘ the other guy feed that
Jukebox Saturday night.
After sippin‘ a soda we’ve got a scheme:
Somebody else plays the record machine.
It’s so easy to say pet names
When you listen to the trumpet of Harry James...
(-Instrumental interlude á la Harry James-)
We love to hear that tenor croon,
Whenever the Ink Spots sing a tune...
(”The Ink Spots”):
If I didn’t know why the roses grow,
Then I wouldn’t know why the roses grow...
(Spoken) Now listen, honey child,
If I didn’t know all them little things I’m supposed to know,
Then I sure would be a SAD man
If I didn’t know...
Money, we really don’t need it,
We make out alright,
Lettin‘ the other guy feed that
Jukebox Saturday night!
Recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra on July 15th 1942 with Marion Hutton and the Modernaires.
There may have been a war and a depression going on in 1942, but this Glenn Miller opus, which hit the jukeboxes in the fall of that year, shows that it was still possible to have fun.
JUKEBOX SATURDAY NIGHT
Moppin‘ up sodapop rickeys
To our heart’s delight.
Dancin‘ to swingeroo quickies,
Jukebox saturday night.
Goodman and Kyser and Miller
Help to make things bright.
Mixin‘ hot licks with vanilla,
Jukebox saturday night.
They put nothin‘ past us,
Me and honey lamb,
Making one Coke last us,
Till it’s time to scram.
Money we really don’t need bad,
We make out all right,
Lettin‘ the other guy feed that
Jukebox Saturday night.
After sippin‘ a soda we’ve got a scheme:
Somebody else plays the record machine.
It’s so easy to say pet names
When you listen to the trumpet of Harry James...
(-Instrumental interlude á la Harry James-)
We love to hear that tenor croon,
Whenever the Ink Spots sing a tune...
(”The Ink Spots”):
If I didn’t know why the roses grow,
Then I wouldn’t know why the roses grow...
(Spoken) Now listen, honey child,
If I didn’t know all them little things I’m supposed to know,
Then I sure would be a SAD man
If I didn’t know...
Money, we really don’t need it,
We make out alright,
Lettin‘ the other guy feed that
Jukebox Saturday night!
Recorded by the Glenn Miller Orchestra on July 15th 1942 with Marion Hutton and the Modernaires.
I was 21 in 1978. I got married that year. I was earning $4.75/hour working as an electronics tech in a ship yard. Not a great start after graduating from UCSD at age 19. My wife was making minimum wage at Target ($2.25/hour). My dad lent me $4,000 at 10% interest as a down payment on a condo costing $36,450. My mortgage was $323 plus another $110 to my father. The homeowner's association sucked up another $100/month. Neither of our employers offered any health benefits. Car insurance was running about $100/month. We had to replace my wife's car. The new one added $150/month in car payments. We paid about $35/month for electric and about $15/month in water. Gasoline consumed about $60/month. Add it up. There wasn't much left for food. I had to claim extra exemptions on my W4 to keep money in my paycheck for food with the expectation that the mortgage interest deduction and property tax deduction would offset enough to limit the pain at tax time in April. I miscalculated to the tune of almost $1300 owed to the feds one year...the marriage penalty cost us dearly.
Good on you. The nanny state provided jobs for the nannyist, whom otherwise would be starving, dirty in some backwoods commune. Your generation had to sit through the crap.
Try and imagine how rough it must have been for our ancient ancestors, who were stuck using rocks, branches, and corncobs!
A very insightful comment.
That is a very passive statement about that generation. America didn't go down the tubes by itself. It was planned and in large part supported by that generation. Because it sounded 'good'. They 'felt' is would be fair, nice. Just like the smart, well educated, ruthless Democrats/leftist/liberals continue on today with the majority of Americans politically ignorant. So far, each generation sticks it a littler further to the next.
Obviously the home has to be located somewhat near a job. Driving long distant to a job is also expensive.
...yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah. I was a twentysomething fairly recently--early '90s. Hubbie and I couldn't afford a nice 2/3 bd-yard-nice hood.
We lowered our expectations and rolled up our sleeves. We bought a run-down duplex in an edgy neighborhood--some drugs, some hookers, some regular folks. We worked on the house, got together with the regular folk neighbors and started driving the illegal activity from the area. Has it worked 100%? No. It's a work in progress. But our rundown duplex is now a single family home, on the market for $106,900, if anyone is interested.
What was my point? Oh, yeah. In every generation, there is tragedy, natural or man-made. There are always obstacles. There have always been a certain amount of lazy asses who ride the system. There have always been a certain amount of regular folks--like 98% of freepers--who do what needs to be done and sleep well at night. There have always been generational differences. There always will be.
Now, I've gotta go make some spag and meatballs.
They’re out there, DB, and they’re not trailers or shacks. I believe you that you don’t know about them-—they don’t exactly send brochures to your mailbox! But they’re out there, and people who don’t like to work hard for a living, are getting filthy rich buying them and reselling for many times what they paid.
Yes, inexpensive homes are not in plain sight of the metropolis. They are in low crime, low tax areas, and you don’t need much of a job to pay a $100/month mortgage and property taxes of $300/year...but it can get pretty boring, not having a real job. ;)
I see you live in New Jeresy...where on EARTH are there homes like that around here? I recently moved here, as I accepted a position in NYC. My rent has spiked, but the increase in my salary more than covered the cost. However, the housing market for buying around here seems impossible to break into, at least not for a few more years when I’m earning some more money.
I mentioned to my cousin the other day how lucky we were to be born in the time that we were (1969). Unlike our parents, we didn't fear nukes. Unlike our children, we don't fear acts of terrorism.
One difference I see is that kids from ‘67, ‘77, and ‘87 were able to run out and play all day without their parents worrying if they would return. Even in the cities.
Ok, I wanna know where. It ain't Kentucky, 'cause I'm already living there.
Ok, even crummy, needing work, abandoned homes in my (not the greatest) neighborhood are more than 25k.
I spent most of my childhood within sight of the Empire State Bldg, and being a boomer my childhood was about 35 years long. :) If there is an affordable home around there, they’re hiding it real good! Not to mention the killer taxes and the crime rate. One bad day, one real bad one, and for the rest of your life you’d be wishing you’d never heard of Manhattan; and the high-paying job can never pay enough to repair what some criminal damaged. Been there. :(
If you MUST work in the city, think about living halfway across North Jersey. With nerves of cold steel you could commute. There are still some affordable homes out that way. Look into the foreclosures, but don’t let anyone swipe your money selling you lists. Do the legwork, talk to realtors too, and cultivate an agent who handles repos and rural properties. Don’t confine yourself to listed properties, but keep a friendly agent on hand just in case.
As far as I know, you might still be looking at very steep taxes almost anywhere in Jersey. (I’m in PA now and you would never believe me if I told you how low my taxes are.) But in rural areas of NJ the crime rate isn’t sky high, and you can even keep a gun in the house without getting into trouble. :) If you don’t mind the taxes and the commute, you should be able to find an affordable home, beyond the metropolis.
Now in PA, it’s much easier. Lots more land here, and houses so cheap in some places, it’s like picking them off a bush. And for what I no longer pay in Jersey taxes, I bet I could charter a plane to the city 5 days a week, if I needed a job. Or another life-altering catastrophe.
I’ve mentioned this here before, that a good home can be had for peanuts. 99 out of 100 people just refuse to believe it. Bottom line: if you think you can’t, you can’t. So quit thinking you can’t buy a house yet! If you can blow $1000 or $2000 or more on rent, you can definitely buy a house!
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