I read an article recently that got me thinking about something I rarely identify with: my
generation. It's a spirited call to action, to which this is a complement. If
you don't have time to read both articles, read Matthew Hennessey's.
I have friends across a range of ages and have
always thought that was important, so even when “Generation X” was a popular
term, I didn’t really submit to it. But age has been prominent this year in the
U.S.A., more than race or ethnicity. The age of Bernie Sanders seems to be
remarked upon as often as the remarkable fact that the U.S., at this late date,
has yet to elect a woman president. What I never hear mentioned is that Hillary
Clinton, several years younger than Senator Sanders, is the same age as our
oldest president (the one I grew up with, Reagan.)
All of this has made me realize that the people least noticed and talked to/about in all of this are
the generation doing most of the work and kid-raising happening today—mine. So
I want to sit down in a [virtual] room with the Baby Boomers and the
“millennials” and knock their heads together sort this out. I’m
addressing this not just to Democrats, because one of the problems is that lots
of Americans (including, until recently, Sanders) identify as independents.
That’s not actually a problem, of course, unless your party is more important
than your country. If it’s not (I’m looking at you, Republicans), read on.
The Sanders
campaign has drawn the focus of this talking past each other, because its
candidate’s age contrasts with the age of some of his strongest supporters. The
Millennials are by no means all of his voters, but what Baby Boomers (the core
of Clinton’s and Trump’s support) can’t get past is that these young people are
voting for someone so old, when they themselves know nothing! They don’t
remember First Lady Hillary Clinton. They don’t appreciate what happened in the
1990s.
Well, I do.
And because I am in the middle, I can see farther than either of you.
Further into
both the past and future. Unlike my youngest compatriots, I know members of the
Greatest Generation—my grandparents’. I vividly remember people who lived
through the Second World War. I have met Holocaust survivors on numerous occasions, and
I will never forget them. The 1940s are receding into history, but still part
of my century.
But I can
also see further into the future than perhaps those born in the 1940s can. And
that’s important, because the next President of the United States is almost
certain to come, once again, from that decade. The presidency, and voters for the
presidency, skew overwhelmingly Baby Boomer. By sheer size, the Baby Boomer
generation has had overwhelming influence at every stage of their lives, and
that continues. But as you guys retire, your grandchildren’s generation is
going to need mine.
Most people
my age are too busy. We’ve had presidents from your
generation since 1992. That was when George Bush, a World War II veteran, gave
way to Bill Clinton, the first Baby Boomer president. Back then, Bill was the
draft dodging, pot smoking guy in his forties. Remember that? Millennials don’t
remember when Bill and Hillary Clinton were the young First Family, but I do.
You don’t have to remind me.
The week I graduated from college (=university), 1994. Reality Bites was in theatres. |
I get you,
Baby Boomers. I’ve known of Bernie Sanders since before the Millennials were
born. You were the original “never trust anyone over thirty” protesters, and
now you see people under thirty voting for someone older than you and you don’t
understand it. My gosh, are they even Democrats? The answer to that depends on
your response now. They represent either the future of your party or its end.
I’m Ted
Cruz’s age, so I remember the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. But
these young people don’t. What they remember is capitalism never having worked
for them in their entire lives.
And as for
you, young people…of course I’m frustrated that you don’t like “feminism” or seem to appreciate all that your
mothers’ generation went through, not to mention my mother’s. I’m a ‘70s-born
lesbian, for Pete’s sake. But you are also the world that previous generations
fought for. We wanted a generation that takes environmental science and homosexuality
for granted, and thinks barring transgender people from bathrooms is stupid.
We worked so that you would think electing a woman is no big deal. We are the
generation that changed minds over this.
Every
generation gets its turn to challenge what went before and try to do better. The
Baby Boomers did this on a seismic scale, and gave us the revolutions of the
1960s. Women’s rights and gay rights come from that generation. Well done.
But this is
your last chance. You get one more chance to run this country instead of
running it into the ground. Many people, not just young people, have lost all
confidence in the system even functioning, let alone fairly. You can
continue to dismiss and alienate them, like your parents’ generation once did
you, or you can listen to your children.
Both older
and younger people need to listen to us for once. We’re the only
ones who can understand you both.
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