Sunday, September 6, 2015

Generations

 I expect it has always been the same. Each generation watching the changes taking place and wondering. I am a member of the " baby boomer " generation. Our parents are noted for being " the greatest generation " at least that is in America. I'm not certain how other countries and cultures view their generations or if they label them. The succeeding generations have all been given labels. X and Y are my children and grandchildren. All this naming of generations is really a concern of the marketing people. Understanding who you are trying to sell stuff to is of vital importance. Really it began as a simple identifier, to describe the world in which individuals were born. If you understand the times folks are born into and raised, you can gain an understanding of their core values and beliefs. Appeal to that and you can accomplish a great deal. Whether your goal is financial or social that will hold true.
 The thing I wonder about, and I'm sure each generation has done so, is what about when we are gone ? What comes after the " boom ? " I'm a boomer, will silence follow ? From what I am witnessing from generation x we boomers haven't done so well. In some ways I feel we have failed to pass the legacy of the greatest generation on to our children. We allowed them to become complacent. Was it Dr. Spock that started this decline ? Not the Spock of Star Trek but the one who wrote that parenting book our parents so cherished. At least the ones that were progressive did. It is all about progress ,is it not ? Each generation, at a certain point, feels that enough progress has been made. That is to say, the goal has been reached. We have acquired enough knowledge to weigh right and wrong, good and bad, and pass judgement upon it. That is the unrest we feel and the reason we wonder. Why does the next generation not learn from us and repeat the mistakes of the past ? It is ever the same. What happens when our guidance is gone ?
 Ours, the boomers, may be the last generation to genuinely venerate our ancestors. With the American family splintering the " old folks " are getting left behind. Where we used to listen and seek the opinion and advice of our parents that concept is falling by the wayside. Today the children " grow up " and move out. At an ever earlier age they separate themselves from their family and strike out. Not their fault really, it is what they are being taught. It is all a part of the American dream. The house with the white picket fence and your own little family. Independant. Self sufficient. Answering to only your own conscience and your God. As a boomer I see each generation moving further away from the " God " concept. Religion and the religious are under attack in America. Replacing that is the desire to just acquire. Acquire as much material wealth and possessions as possible. Assert yourself ! It is all about me. It is about what I want. This concept of " God " can cause interference with good conscience, it should be eliminated. The object is to " win ", at all costs.
 All of this sounds pretty glum. It is accompanied by sorrow. In today's world when someone passes we celebrate their life. That is because we do not want to mourn their loss. That is a reflection of generation x. That is how that generation deals with adversity, obliquely, not direct like us boomers. Kids, why can't they understand and learn ? Generation after generation it has always been the same. I expect it always will.


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