Move over, Boomers!

By: Juliana

So when I said that I wanted to start sharing my opinions, I didn’t realize it was going to be so hard! I have spent the last few days trying to come up with a topic for my next post, and it has been about as fun as getting a tooth pulled. I realize that I am thinking way too much into it. We’re just writing a blog, not curing cancer here. But I do want my posts to be interesting, so I hope what I continue on to say doesn’t induce you into a coma.

A couple of days ago, I read an article in the Courier Journal (the Louisville newspaper) titled “Gen-Ex?”. Under the headline was a picture of Jay Leno and one of Conan O’Brien, with the “Ex?” being conveniently placed over O’Brien’s head. My first thought was, why is this still making front-page news? Anyways, I can’t resist anything having to do with O’Brien’s massive pompadour, so I read. The article went on to discuss a clash between generations. In the first corner we have the reigning champion generation, the Baby Boomers. On the challenger’s side is, well…everyone else: Generation X, Generation Y, and whatever the hell is after us. The article explains how Boomer Leno ultimately defeated Gen X’er O’Brien and how the Boomers in Congress are currently overshadowing our first Gen X President. This article sparked something in me, not because I disagreed with it, but because it hit on a sentiment that I have been feeling for some time. Unless the Baby Boomers rid themselves of their sense of entitlement, nothing is going to change in our country until they are gone. I feel like I should have tried to put that sentence in terms that didn’t sound so, oh, I don’t know, harsh? But, no. I voted against doing so because the whole generation’s narcissism is putting everyone else in a life and death situation.



As frustrated as the Baby Boomers make me, I do realize it is important to understand where they came from. Last year, I read a book by Tom Brokaw called “The Greatest Generation.” In this book, Brokaw shared fascinating stories from Boomers all around the country. The book, though it is an excellent read, is a bit of an indulgence by a Boomer extraordinaire. Brokaw is an uberboomer, in my opinion, the one to rule them all. So, of course his perspective is going to be biased. However, on the back of the book is an excerpt that is helpful in understanding the Boomer’s perspective. It reads,

“They came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America – men and women whose everyday lives of duty, honor, achievement, and courage gave us the world we have today.”

I know I can never fully understand what the Boomers went through, but they are not giving credit where credit is due. Gen X’ers were born roughly between 1960 and 1980 and Gen Y’ers subsequently after. The Baby Boomers came of age during WWII? How about a never-ending war where there is no clear enemy. One that continues to racially tear our country apart, turning citizens against each other. The Boomers went through a recession? Well in case they haven’t noticed, so are we. And how about the threat of global warming and more natural disasters in recent years than you can count on all your appendages? Does that mean nothing? It is bogus to say that Gen X&Y will never understand what the Boomers went through, because we have gone through it too. Every generation does. Boomers believe they have paid their dues and earned the right to the establishment, and establishment they have been. This goes way beyond who is going to host “The Tonight Show.” It stretches into our jobs, media, and government, and if you take a look at their track record, in my opinion, they have done just about as much harm as they have good. We face more problems today than I can even begin to list and a lot of the blame has to be placed on who has been in control for the past 20 years. “The Greatest Generation” has left a world for the “generation who has to pick up the pieces” and “The generation who doesn’t know how they will make ends meet”. If I were writing Brokaw’s book now, I would consider several titles; “The Greediest Generation”, “The Generation who never learned the meaning of sustainable development”, or “The ‘Just Say No’ Generation”.

There is so much to be frustrated with in Washington and throughout the country and I may just be a girl sitting here pointing a finger, but I think there are others who feel the same. We do have a lot to learn from the Boomers. We desperately need some of their wisdom and experiences, but they must relinquish some of their power, pride, and stranglehold on our country. The change we so desperately need will not happen otherwise.