Posted on 11/04/2008 7:30:41 AM PST by iThinkBig
The Baby Boom Generation will never be mistaken for the Greatest Generation that survived the Great Depression and defeated evil in a World War that killed 72 million people. I hate to tell you Boomers, but putting a yellow ribbon on the back of your $50,000 SUV is not sacrifice. Our claim to fame is living way beyond our means for the last three decades, to the point where we have virtually bankrupted our capitalist system. Baby Boomers have been occupying the White House for the last sixteen years. The majority of Congress is Baby Boomers. The CEOs and top executives of Wall Street firms are Baby Boomers. The media is dominated by Baby Boom executives and on-air stars. We have no one to blame but ourselves for the current predicament. Blaming Franklin Roosevelt or Lyndon Johnson for our dire situation is a cop out. Baby Boomers had the time, power, and ability to change our course. We have chosen to leave the heavy lifting to future generations in order to live the good life today.
(Excerpt) Read more at ragingdebate.com ...
aahhh...I gotta go cash my $600 SS check and buy some more oatmeal but when I get back...
(yes..yes i took my meds, now lemme alone! I'm typin’)
Many your age are indeed stepping up. My daughter is married to a soldier and trust me he and his buddies are stepping up big time as are all of our young people in the military. They have a hard task- but are willing to make the sacrifice. My son-in-law is deploying soon and is making plans to start college when he returns, and it will not be easy for him to fit college into his military career. I see them getting their careers going, planning for their financial future, and at the same time they have to deal with realities of his service- things like making a will when you are only 19 years old.
Just by going to college, if you are doing your best, and not just there for the party- you are also stepping up. You are preparing for your future, and not depending on others to hand you a living. I see nothing wrong with your parents helping you with school, you just need to be serious about planning for your independence as soon as you are able. That is stepping up.
LOL
Disco became hot after I graduated high school & I didn't go to college, so I didn't get dragged into the trend very much. Other than hearing it when I went out to go dancing, I didn't listen to it & never bought any of it. Tho I became an adult in the seventies, my musical taste is more toward sixties stuff, specially stuff that is rooted in the blues.
When I was 10, I heard a lot of show tunes & like you, still favor much of it to this very day. Gershwin meets Jethro Tull. LOL Sarah Vaughn wailing out "Summertime" reaches down deep into my very soul.
Just as there are many born before and after the Baby Boom who live in fantasy worlds. Bill Ayers isn't a Baby Boomer. He was born before the Baby Boom, like most of the 60’s counterculture leaders, most of the musicians on the stage at Woodstock, etc. Baby Boomer bashers don't seem to be too concerned with facts though. They have a need to blame all the world's problems on some person or some group and people born from 1946 through 1964 are as good a group as any to demonize.
I'm not a Baby Boomer. I guess I'm Gen X. That doesn't mean I'm like everyone else born during the same year I was born, anymore than everyone born between 1946 and 1964 are the same. This cohort bashing nonsense is silly and counterproductive.
And the fact is that Baby Boomers are now just really coming into power. We've had a couple of Boomer presidents but our older politicians have still dominated American politics especially in our federal legislative bodies. That's changing now as these older folks retire and die off, and over they coming years Boomers will completely take over Congress and the Senate. They'll be the senior legislators with the most power. They'll head most of the committees which are still now headed mostly by people older than them. Aging Boomer voters like their predecessors will outvote young voters by significant margins. Boomers are now just finally taking the reins in government from those who came before them and we won't really be able to judge their performance until they start retiring and dying and being replaced by a younger cohort.
“Generational labels are there either to make life easier for journalists (who love to label whole groups of people) or to enable advertisers to sell you something (by appealing to the cliches of your generation).”
You are absolutely right.
Thank you good sir! I have read much of the Vietnam war. The entire military servicemen and women of that time kicked ass! The age old struggle of the right to choose (freedom) and the right to tell others how to live (communism) was dealt a severe blow at your hands. And I have no doubt if this blow was not delivered, the world would have become a much uglier place. A shame the politicians didn’t have the spine to follow through and complete the victory.
. I see them getting their careers going, planning for their financial future, and at the same time they have to deal with realities of his service- things like making a will when you are only 19 years old.
My friend just got married at nineteen to the man of her dreams... who is also being deployed to Afghanistan in 6 months. They are both amazing people who already trying to start to be much more responsible than most people I know.
You might like this column from September 17, 2008
“It’s the Morality Stupid”
http://www.tableofwisdom.com/MrArbitrage_on_Market_.html
by MrArbitrage
The title of this column of course refers to the Clinton campaign’s famous slogan in the 1992 election. I don’t mean to call anyone “stupid” but as that phrase was deemed so integral for that particular time, I think that the emphasis now more than ever should be diverted to the consequence of our materialism. It is not my intent to undermine what is often referred to as the “American way”.
I think prosperity is a positive and it is not for government to be our conscience. It is up to us to properly align our collective conscience and for government to reflect it. Judging from the disappointing actions of many representatives in Congress, it looks like they are indeed doing so.
Watching the financial news networks and reading most of the popular publications has brought me to the conclusion that most if not all of them are missing the point. The big government liberals want to blame our woes on “corporate greed” and the Bush administration for the onslaught of financial losses.
It’s not just “corporate greed” that is to blame. Immorality has permeated our entire country. Adams warned that “our form of government was intended for a moral people” and that it is entirely “inadequate for the government of any other.” Self government doesn’t work for a people incapable of governing themselves. The same is true for capitalism.
Capitalism is a beautiful thing when the people “love their neighbors as themselves” and “do onto others” as they would have others do onto themselves. A country of hedonists and narcissists will destroy each other without hesitation. These are the fruits of Darwinism. It is survival of the fittest. Why shouldn’t I plunder you for everything you have? So what if YOU are going to be destitute; just think how happy my wife and kids will be while we enjoy your money. It equals out right? “If I didn’t take the suckers money, someone else would have.” If there is no system of eternal reward or punishment why should I care? Oh, it’s wrong because YOU say so? Well it “feels right” to me so what gives you the right to impose your morality on me?
We are reaping the harvest that comes as a result of moral relativism. Today’s corporations are run by generations who have been taught by public schools and Ivy League universities that they are accidents which emanated from cosmic goo (Carl Sagan). They believe that man determines right from wrong and there is no higher authority. This is the same disastrous belief that failed the so-called “enlightenment” in France a concomitant of the French Revolution. Ivy League universities like Princeton think they are being savvy by adding courses on corporate ethics to their curriculum but when people are taught that they are accidents and there is no morality beyond what “reason” can bring us – it is all empty rhetoric.
You cannot believe anyone anymore. How do you trust anyone’s reported numbers? How do you know you can trust anyone’s analysis? Stronger government oversight and regulation will safeguard us from corporate greed? Dream on folks. That has been tried for the last 100+ years. First of all, immoral people will always find away to get around the new laws and regulations. Secondly, the government and their regulators are no more than a sample taken from the same pool of immoral people that are ostensibly being regulated. Look how many of our representatives took sweet heart deals from Fannie Mae. They are just as corrupt as those running many corporations. These are the same spoiled brats who we saw smoking their dope, dropping their acid and protesting our country at Woodstock. You’re going to take solace in the notion that these reprobates are going to fix the problem? They ARE the problem. They reject the very foundation that made this country the most prosperous nation on earth.
We are overly self righteous in that we all point the finger at corporate America for being corrupt and insatiably greedy as though we ourselves are immune. When I listen to the Obama campaign it makes me nauseous to hear them blame the banks and mortgage industry for making “bad loans”. There is culpability across the board from the mortgage lenders, realtors, developers, property appraisers to the actual borrowers themselves. It is time for America to grow up and start taking responsibility. The elected idiots are telling people what they want to hear. You never hear about “predatory BORROWERS” in their populist rhetoric. You don’t hear about the millions of prodigals who knowingly borrowed more than they KNEW they could afford for a house or houses they knew they couldn’t afford. As I warned these people myself that when the bottom drops out they will not be able to make their payments once their ARM adjusts. They just replied that they were going to “flip” the home before that ever happened. Well the music stopped and all of the sudden they are playing the victim and are calling for a “new deal” from their enablers the Democrats.
We as a nation CAN become stronger from our suffering if we stop acting like insolent children, take responsibility for our own actions and once again become a people worthy of self government. Just as gold is refined by fire as the fire burns out all of the impurities, we can use this time to become a better people. If we as a nation do not return to our heritage, which first requires that we learn what those roots are (thanks to the juggernaut of public education), we will witness a tyrannical ending to our freedoms. The writing is on the wall. People find it cute these days in using the phrase about having a “come to Jesus moment”. I am not being flippant in saying that is exactly what we need.
“Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?” – George Washington/Alexander Hamilton (Farewell Address)
Nice. I play a lot of the sixties and early seventies folk music on the guitar. It’s soothing. But I still like some of the head banging music from the eighties along with some pop. Hip hop, gansta rap and all that never sank in, neither did country which to me was better in the 1970’s then today.
You might like this column from September 17, 2008
“It’s the Morality Stupid”
http://www.tableofwisdom.com/MrArbitrage_on_Market_.html
by MrArbitrage
The title of this column of course refers to the Clinton campaign’s famous slogan in the 1992 election. I don’t mean to call anyone “stupid” but as that phrase was deemed so integral for that particular time, I think that the emphasis now more than ever should be diverted to the consequence of our materialism. It is not my intent to undermine what is often referred to as the “American way”.
I think prosperity is a positive and it is not for government to be our conscience. It is up to us to properly align our collective conscience and for government to reflect it. Judging from the disappointing actions of many representatives in Congress, it looks like they are indeed doing so.
Watching the financial news networks and reading most of the popular publications has brought me to the conclusion that most if not all of them are missing the point. The big government liberals want to blame our woes on “corporate greed” and the Bush administration for the onslaught of financial losses.
It’s not just “corporate greed” that is to blame. Immorality has permeated our entire country. Adams warned that “our form of government was intended for a moral people” and that it is entirely “inadequate for the government of any other.” Self government doesn’t work for a people incapable of governing themselves. The same is true for capitalism.
Capitalism is a beautiful thing when the people “love their neighbors as themselves” and “do onto others” as they would have others do onto themselves. A country of hedonists and narcissists will destroy each other without hesitation. These are the fruits of Darwinism. It is survival of the fittest. Why shouldn’t I plunder you for everything you have? So what if YOU are going to be destitute; just think how happy my wife and kids will be while we enjoy your money. It equals out right? “If I didn’t take the suckers money, someone else would have.” If there is no system of eternal reward or punishment why should I care? Oh, it’s wrong because YOU say so? Well it “feels right” to me so what gives you the right to impose your morality on me?
We are reaping the harvest that comes as a result of moral relativism. Today’s corporations are run by generations who have been taught by public schools and Ivy League universities that they are accidents which emanated from cosmic goo (Carl Sagan). They believe that man determines right from wrong and there is no higher authority. This is the same disastrous belief that failed the so-called “enlightenment” in France a concomitant of the French Revolution. Ivy League universities like Princeton think they are being savvy by adding courses on corporate ethics to their curriculum but when people are taught that they are accidents and there is no morality beyond what “reason” can bring us – it is all empty rhetoric.
You cannot believe anyone anymore. How do you trust anyone’s reported numbers? How do you know you can trust anyone’s analysis? Stronger government oversight and regulation will safeguard us from corporate greed? Dream on folks. That has been tried for the last 100+ years. First of all, immoral people will always find away to get around the new laws and regulations. Secondly, the government and their regulators are no more than a sample taken from the same pool of immoral people that are ostensibly being regulated. Look how many of our representatives took sweet heart deals from Fannie Mae. They are just as corrupt as those running many corporations. These are the same spoiled brats who we saw smoking their dope, dropping their acid and protesting our country at Woodstock. You’re going to take solace in the notion that these reprobates are going to fix the problem? They ARE the problem. They reject the very foundation that made this country the most prosperous nation on earth.
We are overly self righteous in that we all point the finger at corporate America for being corrupt and insatiably greedy as though we ourselves are immune. When I listen to the Obama campaign it makes me nauseous to hear them blame the banks and mortgage industry for making “bad loans”. There is culpability across the board from the mortgage lenders, realtors, developers, property appraisers to the actual borrowers themselves. It is time for America to grow up and start taking responsibility. The elected idiots are telling people what they want to hear. You never hear about “predatory BORROWERS” in their populist rhetoric. You don’t hear about the millions of prodigals who knowingly borrowed more than they KNEW they could afford for a house or houses they knew they couldn’t afford. As I warned these people myself that when the bottom drops out they will not be able to make their payments once their ARM adjusts. They just replied that they were going to “flip” the home before that ever happened. Well the music stopped and all of the sudden they are playing the victim and are calling for a “new deal” from their enablers the Democrats.
We as a nation CAN become stronger from our suffering if we stop acting like insolent children, take responsibility for our own actions and once again become a people worthy of self government. Just as gold is refined by fire as the fire burns out all of the impurities, we can use this time to become a better people. If we as a nation do not return to our heritage, which first requires that we learn what those roots are (thanks to the juggernaut of public education), we will witness a tyrannical ending to our freedoms. The writing is on the wall. People find it cute these days in using the phrase about having a “come to Jesus moment”. I am not being flippant in saying that is exactly what we need.
“Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?” – George Washington/Alexander Hamilton (Farewell Address)
” I hate to tell you Boomers, but putting a yellow ribbon on the back of your $50,000 SUV is not sacrifice.”
The boomers produced 9.4 million veterans, out of the tens of thousands of boomers lost in battle and still fighting, the majority were lost in Vietnam.
WWII was a war fought by draftees, while Vietnam was a war fought by volunteers, The boomers are and probably will remain, the last great warror generation.
As I already wrote, Ayers born Dec 1944, not a boomer
Wright, born Sept 1941, not a boomer
Farrakhan, born May 1933, not a boomer
Nah. I know the writer. He is a good man and a Patriot. We just disagree a tad on political leanings. I give more credit to the Administration for keeping the country radioactive free :) I feel that whatever the failures were in the Administration, most people do not understand the danger the country was and still is in.
LBJ, another president from Texas. Born 1908.
“In the last 40 years, the Democrats have enacted lots of socialism and power for their party by getting lots of people working through the state and federal jobs.”
Think back more like 70 years, in fact after the boomers started voting the most gut wrenching legislation slowed down from what the previous generations had been ramming through.
By 1980 the majority of boomers including Sarah Palin and her husband Todd Palin could vote and by the 1984 election all “baby boomers” were old enough to vote.
Lots of people talk about the draft during the Vietnam war. I was amazed to see that a large percentage of the people who fought in Vietnam, were volunteers. It was something like 75%. I had no idea.
Why do you insist on ruining a perfectly good Baby Boomer bashing party with a bunch of facts?
I meant to say that boomers Todd and Sarah Palin could vote in the 1982 elections, they were still too young in 1980, boomer Obama could vote in the 1980 election.
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