Posted on 09/02/2003 6:17:04 AM PDT by tcostell
They had their childhood in the 50's and remembered it as a time of unambiguous innocence.
They had their adolescence in the 60's when they decided that their parents view of hard work and respect for family were "antiquated" ideas that no longer should apply in this age of social awareness. They preached free love while they spouted hate and burned the symbol of their country and called those who were risking their lives for them "baby killers". "Private property" became dirty words to them. Crime soared, many fathers were replaced by the government.
In the 70's they left college and got jobs, but the adolescence continued. They now had more money to buy stronger drugs, and indulge in more exotic means of gratification. Those that did marry gave up on the idea, and divorce rates climbed. They called it a journey to "find themselves" but they were already utterly devoted to their own egos. They even went so far as to name themselves the "me" generation. They replaced the minister with the psychologist, and the community with cultural awareness groups.
In the 80's the myth of socialism finally died, and with it also, their already threadbare pretense of caring about anyone but themselves. The ideas of family and community had been trampled under the feet of the proletariat. In the 80's it became about obtaining wealth, and the rules be damned. Excess was still the preferred flavor, but with age beginning to take it's toll it became external excesses rather than the sex and drugs of the last 2 decades. Conspicuous consumption was the new trend and exercise became the fashion in an attempt to hold back the tide of time.
In the 90's they elected their king, and filled the corridors of power with their number, but it turned out that the emperor's new robe was a stained blue dress. They told each other lies about the "new business cycle" and picked each others pockets. They put off till tomorrow everything they could so they could have one last moment of ego gratification. The band played as the new millennium rolled in. But then there came a day when everyone knew that the party was over. The markets stopped pretending everything would go on forever, and the World Trade Center came crashing down.
I'm a part of the generation that has followed along behind the baby boomers paying the bill. No one asked me if I wanted to, (in fact they still never ask me) they simply present the bill and await payment. I was bussed to public school as a child, turned down from ivy league colleges while my friends with worse performance were accepted in deference to affirmative action. I was taught to fear aids and other diseases when I was laid off in the 80's, and watched my savings and stock options turn to so much wallpaper in the 90's. Worst of all, I lost lifelong friends in the World Trade Center, and my wife still has nightmares about how close I came to being there myself. I've grown accustomed to the idea that although I've paid vast sums into social security, it won't be there for me. It was never "for me" anyway. And now that age is upon them they would like me to pay for their medical care as well. Even if it costs me everything I have. Even if it's long gone but still being paid for by my 3 year old daughter.
I know it will probably happen. The baby boomers are arguable the most short sighted and self interested generation that America has ever seen but they are in the majority so there is no-one to stop them. I'm even certain they will come up with some grand rationalization about why I should be thrilled to pay the bill for them one more time. But it won't really be for me... it never is.
In the meantime I'll care for my family with whatever is left. The schools have failed so my wife and I will teach our daughter ourselves in our own home if we have to. We'll make room for both my parents and my in-laws when they can't afford the property taxes needed to live alone anymore. We'll make our family the center of our universe because the family works better than all the government run pipe dreams that the die hards keep trying to sell. They can take everything I have but my self reliance.
We were landless peasants once, and may well be again before the "most spoiled generation" is through, but we'll survive it. And when they finally leave, we'll build the country again. Not as a collective "workers utopia", but as a place where no man is saddled with the burden of another, that he does not willingly take upon himself. Family is the best reason to shoulder a burden. Even community can be a good reason sometimes ...if the links are close enough. But it should be asked for not ordered. And the government can only order.
I don't ever need to be on the receiving end of government largess. I would just like to see the generation that precedes me to pay their own way for once. I'll carry my own water... and I think they should do the same.
This applies to vast swatches of the people I grew up with in California during that era, but you didn't touch on the real problem with the Boomers. Yes, we invented sex, but I consider that one of our good points. Yes, most of us started off as socialists and dopers, but that sort of thing dies off rapidly with exposure to reality. How swift was our passage from Che Guevara to 401(K)'s!
No, the real problem with my generation, and the one you young people will be paying for the rest of your lives, is that we were a pack of Luddites. We gleefully abandoned our parents' religions, only to take up worship of rocks and trees. After we stopped new electrical generation in the Seventies, America's whole industrial base moved away to Asian countries that built nuclear plants on every streetcorner. Now, thanks to my generation's legacy of fearful ignorance, we're about to lose our early lead in biotechnology in the same way.
So kids, think of us while you're out of work.
You can't trust anyone over 50!! (sarcasm)
Dr. Kevorchian will take care of that. /heavy sarcasm
2. Every generation feels smug and superior to the generation before it, and every generation blames the older generation for its problems.
3. Someday the generation after you (Generation Y?) will complain and blame all of its problems on you.
Good perspective. While I find it hard to blame the poster because I share some anger toward the Boomers, I'm also angry at the voters of my parents' generation who fell for the New Deal. I'm sure my kids blame me for the inescapable stuff that came down on my "watch." But most people in any generation have absolutely no influence on whatever happens. Hey, I voted for Goldwater! The economic trends described by Final Authority and the philosophical fall-out from the Enlightenment have led to the present state of the world. Mega-trends overwhelm nearly everything in their paths.
I'm not going to go so far as to say "Bite me," but I'm of the Baby Boomer generation and don't fit your description at all. Maybe it's because my parents were older when I was born (I'm the 7th of 9 children). They lived through The Great Depression and taught us to conserve and work hard. I've paid my Social Security taxes since I was 16 years old and able to get a Worker's Permit. How is that hurting your generation?
I don't think you will find your Most Selfish Generation among FReepers since it is (primarily) a forum for Conservatives. Perhaps it's not the generational factor that is the common denominator for selfishness; it could just be the old liberal thought pattern that is the root of the problem. You wouldn't be complaining about Baby Boomers sucking up your hard-earned money if Social Security hadn't been created by liberal (socialistic) thought in the first place.
Know what I'm sayin'? :o)
What was their reaction to your criticism of them, their values, their parenting, and the desperate childhood that only your own superior efforts allowed you to rise above?
Also, who should have asked you if you wanted to be an "X", and what should they have done about it?
Beautifully summarized.
Momma didn't love you, huh?
She lived through the Depression, and growing up through WWII without a father, and becoming an independent lady through hard work, sacrifice, and service for others.
I can only hope I turn into her.
I love my mother, but I won't be her social-wise.
The socialists want to do everything, for the children when all the funding (through excessive taxation) is going to pet Pig projects and and people's pockets. Get the lawyers out and get some MBA people to run it like a business. It'll cost less...
Don't forget uncontrolled socialism, peaceniks, and environiks...remember, its all for the children.
Boomers born 1946-1964
LSD; formulated 1943, popularized by Timothy Leary, not a boomer. *Amphetamines; formulated pre WWII. *Opium has been around for maybe 5000 years.
Aids; first occurance, 1959.
Unimaginaboe Debt; 90% of the socialist state (which set up our current system of large debts and high taxes) was brought about under Roosevelt and Johnson, neither of whom were elected by boomers (or were boomers). Boomers were RAISED with socialism already in place.
Abortion on demand; Supreme Court ruling, 1973; less than half of the boomers could vote. There wasn't a boomer on that court.
High Crime rates; highest crime rates always in the 15 to 34 year old group. True of the boomers. True of Gen-X. Lots of boomers, high incidence of crime. Boomers grow up, GenX criminals happily take their place.
Divorce; can't dispute with that one. But sexual morals began to be compromised during the "Roaring 20's", if not a bit before.
Kick God out of institutions; prayer in school banned in 1963's. No boomer old enough to vote. No boomers on the court.
Uncontrolled socialism; see Roosevelt and Johnson.
Peaceniks; see Neville Chamberlin, circa 1938.
Environiks; modern environmental movement began with "Silent Spring" a book by by Rachel Carson, 1962, not a boomer.
Before some GenX-ers get completely carried away with their hatred of boomers, perhaps they should do a little research and read a little history. Boombers are not the beginning of the evils of this society, nor the end.
I've been married once, for 28 years. I've always been faithful to my wife (as she has been to me). I've been paying taxes since 1971. I've never tried "pot", let alone the stronger stuff. We're putting our daughter through college so she won't incur any debt. And there are tens of millions of boomers who are productive and selfless. Be careful who you stigmatize.
I don't condemn your generation (and some of you ain't perfect, kids). Don't condemn mine.
I hate the "pop" culture of today, and wont let my son watch most programs on TV, or watch MTV. I think that although "mid-America" is sick of the immortality, Hollywood has yet to get the picture, and seems to be pushing it further.
I see my son, and his classmates, as much more respectful, much more responsible, and much more "in tune" with what matters, then even 15 years ago. I think parents are finally seeing the distruction that their generation has wrought, and trying to improve their future.They seem to be moving back to family time, respect of God, and overall see how a lack of morals are ruining us.
Great rant, I agree 100%, yet I am extremely opptimistic of the future.
You are admirable, honorable, and a role model....despite what others may say.
My compliments and thanks.
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