Gus writes, "I listen to the show on Sunday mornings here on 89.1 in San Antonio, TX. I like the show a lot but had never been motivated to write til I heard Charles Monroe Cain's spot railing against the nostalgic boomers. As a Gen X-er (I didn't even know I was one til his spot, but as a 37 yr old I guess I am, lol!) I say: RIGHT ON!!!!! He summed it up so well. I've come across several of my age who roll their eyes at the commercial flogging of the 60s. And really, was EVERYONE then a hippie?? The way pop history recounts it, you'd figure that was the case! If it actually were the case, why did Republican Richard Nixon win '68?? I guess no one wants to recount nostalgically about being conservative during the Summer of Love. I just about wanted to throw up when Fortunate Son was used in a clothing commercial during the highpoint of public support for the current Vietnam. The only lyric that made it into the commercial was "Some folks were born made to wave the flag, ooh they're red, white, & blue..." before the narrator came on to identify the product. I guess it was a preferable lyric compared to "some folks inherit star-spangled eyes, oh they'll send you off to war". All I could picture was John Fogerty somewhere going "Ka-ching!!" with glee upon each airing of that thing. Pfft...typical of the selling out of the hippie generation. That all written, we're also not without blame in the current state of affairs. We share in the complicity of a 2nd Bush administration as well as not more actively pushing for an end to the war and the rest of the administrations "high crimes & misdemeanors". Maybe not wholly complicit, but its something to consider before we opt to blame every current little thing on the "60s generation". It may not give us a wholly higher moral road but it'll at least be a more sincere one."
Danny writes, "This topic is close to my heart because I came of age listening to the 60.'s generation reminisces about their great accomplishment. I never could understand the significance of the cultural phenomenon know as Woodstock. How did a muddy rock concert attended by the self-proclaimed world's smartest generation change America? What was the attraction to the Kennedys? Baby-boomers had the best economic conditions of any generation of Americans that existed and still whined and cried about it. The ugliness of drugs and causal sex will be the destructive legacy they left to generations of Americans. It is wonder they haven't built a memorial to that in Washington, DC. If there is one thing Boomers are good at it would be to building memorials. They have built more than any generation in American history. I am sick of Boomer vague, artsy double speak. The unleashed the destructive genie that cannot be put back in the bottle and are proud it. This is one generation of Americans that will have a real fear of dying since they think they are going to live forever - perpetual youth even in death."
Seth writes, "I'm a regular listener of the program, long time public radio supporter (some years 2 or 3 stations at once). I live and grew up in San Francisco and my parents epitomize the 60s era archetypes to a T. If it's not obvious where I'm going with this, Charles Monroe Kane articulated feelings I have been struggling with for a substantial period of time, a significant one for my family, by which I mean to say other 60/70s offspring share the reaction against the boomers, as do many of my friends. Basically I've been ready to sever ties with the more extreme characters in my family about precisely the reasons Charles Kane speaks. I could not agree with his sentiments more. I thought the piece was bold, articulate and dead-on. Beyond that, it captured the rage that many offspring of the 60s, my friends and younger family, have in common, which we simply do not find reflected anywhere in the media and is consistently denied by our families. I do think this constant backdrop of rage is a common motivator for the higher functioning gen X'ers, I do think it's fair to say a crowd of gen X'ers that were exposed to the more extreme 1960s hippies turned themselves into smarter, wiser, more motivated individuals than our predecessors - we have a generation of fail to study for what to do wrong, ones that feel comfortable emotionally manipulating us whenever they desire ... talk about a good motivator for a backlash. I forwarded the link to my mother - never have I had radio, or any media, take such a positive personal role in my life. It was a brilliant piece and I applaud the author and whatever forces at the radio program allowed such a relevant viewpoint to be on the air. This is some of the best radio I have ever heard. Again, I deeply appreciate that the risk calculation to air such a piece was on the side that it was. 'To The Best Of Our Knowledge' has a new fan. Feel free to share my comments with the author. He seems like a friend of mine on the work alone."
Phyllis writes, "Listening to the "almost 40" year old take the "Boomers" to the woodshed on our generation was interesting. At first I was angry and then I started to think about how our generation really coined the idea that older individuals should move out of the way and let the young people run things. Remember, "Don't trust anyone over 40"? I do. We convinced everyone that our elders were uptight, martini swizzling, incompetents who had squandered the world that was handed to them. Now these kids say, we are sellout, marijauna smoking, corporate idiots and we need to get out of their way. I sure hope that they have a radio at the home in ten years when his kid gets to comment on Generation Next, who will be longing for the good old days of the 90's, Ecstasy and IKEA. Their kids will roll their eyes upward and say, "Hey Dude, we're here now, move out of the way.""
Johanna writes, "This morning as I headed around town on my Saturday errands...new bi- focals (OMG!!), sweet corn at the farmer's market and dropping a book at the library...I heard your wonderful piece on baby boomers and how they/we have dropped the ball. I agree. My son, a 25 year old Gen-Xer in Chicago, would love the story. Would you be willing to share a copy of your remarks?"
Barb writes, "I just heard your commentary on TTBOOK concerning and thought you described my generation very succinctly! I just turned 50 this year and am at the tail end of the Baby Boom. Many times I have told my daughter (she is 20) that her generation will invent a "Patriot Suicide Pill" and order each of us boomers to take because they are going to be so tired of us. The baby boomers were part of a movement and now feel it was the best thing that ever happened in this country. How about we take credit for the disaster that has been 8 years of GW Bush. Our complacency allowed the rise of the religious right as well as justification of torture in the name of fighting terror. And don't even get me started on the swooning ads featuring music from the 60's aimed at our generation. Ugh. However, lest you think your generation is off the hook think again. Gen X and Gen Y were positively swooning with man (and woman) crushes for Sen. Barack Obama. The movement that embraced his eloquent speeches made no demands of this candidate as they sought to purge the evil centrist Hillary Clinton. This enraptured electorate made no demands of Sen. Obama during the primary and now act surprised when he very quickly moves to the center beginning with his vote to extend FISA. The Nation, the once proud watchdog who spoke truth to power supported him so blindly, they are now asking readers to sign an online petition asking him (pretty please) to start acting like the progressive that he told us he was during the primary. How sad and pathetic for this once great publication. But I digress. I think your essay is worth a longer piece on TTBOOK. Keep up the good work."
Elizabeth writes, "I just listened to your sixties commentary and involuntarily commented on my own with a gutteral, "YEAH!" I cannot imagine saying all that with all the boomers you are probably surrounded by at work. You go bro! I would also like to lament about "The Secret" stuff that is running around boomer-ville. Just think positive and all your worries will be over. All this positive thinking makes me think boomers want to go back to the fifties, the very decade they wanted to obliterate. Ugh! Oh, and now that they are getting older, we're all required to hear lovely things about aging like bladders and skin collapsing and menopause and erectile dysfunction. Nothing like a topic like that in regular conversation to make you want to hurl off the edge of the planet. If you haven't already read it, "The Fifth Wave" is a great book about boomers and the impact on our generation. That book has been accurate, including the prediction of biparticism, Sept. 11 and, I think, the voting crisis of 2000. I hope you are not having to dodge slanted looks from people older than you as your words were refreshing, important and about time!"
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5 comments:
Thanks to all of you for supporting my comments. When I wrote the essay, I was kinda surprised how ANGRY I was about all of this. I have had many friends today tell me I really spoke for their anger as well. Anger is a gift, right? So, what are we doing with our gift? Hiding it under a bushel? Me, I'm gonna let it shine!
Charles Monroe-Kane
I've had alot of boomers today give me a piece of their mind. They're really pissed! Why didn't I enjoy it? I feel bad. I agree with what I said but I feel bad about hurting people. Do others feel the same?
Charles Monroe-Kane
Before I respond to Charles's piece, I just want to point out that I don't believe "generation" exists, except as 1) a unit of individual history; or 2) an arbitrary social construct. For humans, a generation is the period from the birth of an individual to the birth of that individual's offspring. Beyond one individual, "generation" is an arbitrary social concept that is more often an obstacle to our understanding history. Who was part of the generation of the 60s? Those born in 1938? If such a person went to college, they did so in part during the 1960s, yet were over 30 before the end of the decade. Those born in 1958? If such a person went to college, they did so in the mid-70s, yet in the midst of much that is associated with the 60s: the end of Vietnam, the second wave of feminism, large student protests at universities and colleges, the widespread use of drugs, and so on. My point is that history and social change occur as trends, events, at varying speeds, and has nothing to do with "generations" and very seldom anything to do with calendar decades. We should stop using the term generation when we speak of an historical period, and speak of events, trends, and dates.
Now to my comment on Charles's rant. Mr. Monroe-Kane's piece was valuable because it so well reflects what he criticizes. One strong characteristic of the actions and statements of too many of the youthful leaders and followers from the mid- to late-1960s to the late 1970s was a partly immature, generally self-righteous, often self-inflating, partly ignorant, and largely wrong condemnation of most people who were older than them, and of course their ideas, beliefs, achievements, and history. Charles does precisely the same in his piece. As satire, it would have been brilliant.
Further, Charles betrays himself by exaggerating past the point of credulity. For example, he describes hitchhiking across the U.S. and growing weary of aging male hippies picking him up in their BMW's with leather interiors and recounting their own mythic youth.
I've hitch-hiked a lot, and I've hitchhiked lately. First, BMW's with leather interiors are an extremely tiny fraction of cars on the road. Second, the drivers of such cars are less likely than most to pick up a hitchhiker. Charles, I just don't believe you were picked up by a succession of male hippies, often with pony tails, in their leather-interior BMW's. That's a fictional symbol you created and presented as reality because it fits your argument. You did the same throughout much of your piece, whether you were describing your boomer friends, the people and events of the "60s," and the subsequent social/political changes or lack of them.
My coment to Charles' rant is that he sounds like another whiney, overindulged Generation X'r, who was sent to college for an education, paid for by his Baby Boomer parents, who also probably bought his first car, set him up in his first apartment, of course, with everything new, and he now walks the stroller to the coffee shop as his wife earns the income in the family. Sour grapes, man, sour grapes. I never saw this Generation have to struggle to get anything for themselves, so if the Baby Boomer parents failed, it was because they made it too easy and failed to teach their children to work hard and earn it on their own merits and talents.
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