The first day of December, already. In just one month a quarter of the century will have passed. Isn't that amazing? It is if you are a member of the boomer generation. We really are the first generation to be commonly identified in that manner. We took to calling our parents the greatest generation. Now I'm losing track of what generation is what. Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha and Gen Beta is on deck. When it comes to these generation's, a ten year span seems to be the defining time period. A generation is generally considered to be twenty years when doing ancestry. Guess we are getting in a hurry these days.
We boomers are generally dismissed by succeeding generations with a simple phrase, OK boomer. A definite shift in philosophy. Whereas we called our parents the greatest generation, they call us boomers as a dismissive term. I can't help but wonder if that isn't our own fault. I'm thinking we did name them right though, our parents were the greatest generation of Americans. Things have been going downhill ever since. No one to blame but ourselves for that. Now it wasn't everyone, but apparently it was enough that tuned in, turned on and dropped out. Maybe having witnessed the greatest we just lost our confidence and gave up. Many certainly surrendered independence for dependence!
My dad was born in 1924. He fought in WW2. His generation was called the silent generation, Sometimes called the traditionalist or builders. The greatest generation is considered to have begun in 1928, although I have always included by father as a part of that. The actual years are a bit murky, even among scholars. My thinking is an awful lot depends upon just who raised you. My dad was raised by his grandparents and so influenced heavily by their standards and beliefs. Interesting to note is that great grandfather Floyd was born in 1878 and according to the scholarly charts of generations his was the lost generation or the greatest generation! First time I've read that.
I have checked a listing of generations and noticed that in general each generation is lasting a bit shorter in time. All of that is of course very subjective. We try to explain the past in todays terms. I don't believe you can ever really do that. It's like attempting to explain things like slavery. There were times when that was considered a perfectly acceptable practice and in some places it is still practiced. There was a time when public hangings were performed, as a deterrent to crime, a show of justice. Most felt that was fair enough. People even went to those like we would go to a concert. The older we get the more we begin to understand and accept the past for what it was. That is because we lived that past. We do have an alternative opinion on that past as well. What is being taught in school may or may not align with our view of that history.
In just a few years I will have witnessed 3/4 of a century. The hope is to make it to one. Statistically speaking, less than 1% of the population will make that mark. I'm thinking I will one of them. I have some ancestors that did accomplish that, but it is less than 1%. It isn't anything I often think about or a cause of great concern. It's just a fact of life. I guess with Christmas approaching and this year to include a great granddaughter my awareness has been raised just a bit. She is a member of Generation Beta. Born January 8th, 2025 the beginning of that generation. I wonder what history she will have witnessed when the century turns again. I wonder will she read my history and wonder about that. "My great grandfather only had a black and white television, with vacuum tubes in it when he was a child. Can you imagine what that was like? " My great grandfather had a taxi, it was a horse and buggy. Can you imagine that?
Elliotte, generation Beta
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