Ideological Crossroads: Gen X Marks the Spot (Xers Turning More Conservative as they age; Gen Y too)

Gallup ^ | September 2, 2003 | Darren K. Carlson

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"if you're under 30(?) and you're a Repub you have no heart, over 30 and a Democrat you have no brain."

I agree. This is false. An excuse for partially reformed liberals who now realize that they were not too sharp in their thinking back then and supported an ideology that was false and now hurtful to them personally. Many of these converts have socialist tendencies. Not all, but many...

[HitmanLV]

Keep the faith! The tristate area needed us in that time! I'm pretty sure NYS went for Reagan in '80, as well as 84. They lost their way after that, and I consider the Empire State hopeless now.

[Dr. Frank fan]

Churchill was all that you say he was, but it's probably a false quote.

[Arpege92]

It certainly was!

[Arpege92]

"What will they call my one-year old?"


Smarter....hopefully there generation will have learned from our mistakes! Your one-year old is off to a pretty good start anyway....my eleven year old has and we are not done yet! :-}

[The Brush]

Nobody said this (well, besides you :-).

Well then I'm going to go on record as having said it.. just make certain you spell my name right.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"I consider the Empire State hopeless now.

---

just like NJ.

I went to St Peter's Prep. My father went to Xavier.

[Free Vulcan]

Um, I thought generations were approximately 20 years, not 13. If the boomers were from '45 to '64, and 'Gen X' started in 1965, that would meant it ended around 1984, and 'Gen Y' are those who are now 19 down to newborns. Those born next year or so would be 'Gen Z' or whatever.

I know 20 years isn't exact, but 13 years is way too short. Many of what are called Gen Y are really the second half of what is called Gen X. No big deal, the Baby Boomers have two halves as well that are pretty different from each other in perspective.

[LizardQueen]

GenX definitely has a conservative streak, just not "religious" conservative. I would describe it as pragmatic libertarianism.

I agree with this - my GenX sis, myself (on the GenX cusp at 39) and a lot of people I know and she knows think this way. Most of them aren't religious but they sure aren't liberal. The phrase "South Park Republican" comes to mind.

LQ

[PPHSFL]

I'm 18 years old and have just started college at Stetson U. in Deland, FL. Here, in spite of your usual liberal organizations put out by the professors and higher-ups, there are a lot of conservative students here. For the club fair last week, the College Republicans were kept busy by the constant flow of people coming for info. In contrast, the Dems didn't even show up. Overall, I would have to say that most students don't care about politics. However, based on the feeling here at Stetson and on websites such as this, I feel that the number of young conservatives has increased in recent years.

[WOSG]

Right ... Here's a better one:


Liberalism/Socialism is the philosophy of the 7 year-old (dependence)
Libertarianism is the philosophy of the 17 year-old (independence)

Conservatism is the philosophy of the 27-77 year olds (interdependence)

After 77 they slip back into liberalism/dependence :-(

[Think free or die]

"No big deal, the Baby Boomers have two halves as well that are pretty different from each other in perspective."

That's the truth! According the the boomer definition of '45-'64, I'm a boomer ('56), but I've never identified with the boomers. I was too young to participate in the wild times of the '60's, so although I remember the war, the music, the drugs, and the commotion, I was an observer more than a participant. I've had to live with a lot of chaos wrought by the self-centered leading wave of the boomer generation, and I have often resented them. My brother was born in '52, and sometimes it's as though we grew up on different planets.

[RockyMtnMan]

There is no generation Z we X'ers reserve the right to name our children's generation. The highly creative boomers came up with X and Y we'll be better at naming their generation. My son was born in 1998 and I kindly ask you boomers to shut up and let me name his generation.

My father was a boomer (born 1945) and I am a classic Gen X (1971) and gen Y falls into the 1979-1994 group. Also please get busy dying since there are 40% fewer X'ers than boomers and I don't want to pay your medicare bills, that is if my job doesn't get offshored.

[Think free or die]

Our boys are born in '93 and '95. I've heard folks refer to this group as millennials ('82-'03). I just call them kids.

Is it OK with you if we put off dying until we've taken care of our aging parents and raised our own younsters? We're plenty worried about offshoring too. Lots of responsibilities left before we depart this earth.

[RockyMtnMan]

My parents are on their own just like I was growing up. I guess I should thank them for all the alone time I had.

[Wilhelm Tell]

At 41 I'm NO Boomer, I hate and abominate the Boom generation and all its pomps and works.

I'm the same age, similar situation. We are probably on the cusp -- not really "belonging" to either generation.

The whole hippie thing -- with it's drug experimentation, sloppy clothing and the rest -- it never appealed to me. I just didn't see the point of acting like a drug-addled bum. I never understood utopianism and fanaticism -- be it religious or political. I never understood the people who got all enthusiastic about Mao or Castro -- I just could not imagine how anyone could believe in a dictator. I think my first political thought was that all dictators are pretty much the same and anyone who believes in them is a fool.

My skeptical frame of mind often got me into some types of trouble even as it helped me avoid other types of trouble.

My parents were of the WWII generation. I think one of the first political discussions they had with me was about how stupid the West was to have appeased Hitler for all those years. Fear of appeasement formed my view of the Soviet Union.

In 1976 two important things happened -- I saw Ronald Reagan give a speech, and I also read Hayak's "Road to Serfdom." By the way, I was one of the lucky people who shook Ronald Reagan's hand as he passed by the crowd. I was happy when I could finally vote for him in 1980. In a way it seems like yesterday, and in a way it seems like a long time ago.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

That breakdown suits me...

[Anomaly in Illinois]

'Gen Y' are those who are now 19 down to newborns. Those born next year or so would be 'Gen Z' or whatever.

The youngest generation today, imo, begins with the children too young to remember 9/11/2001.

[Fraulein]

ping!

[Think free or die]

A lot of Boomers were (and are) self-absorbed parents. My parents didn't have as much time for us as I'd have liked, but it was due to the rigors of starting over in America, having fled Eastern Europe after WWII. They weren't partying or earning money for luxuries for themselves. I'm sorry things weren't better for you; kids really get shortchanged sometimes.