Generational Shift?
Keeping with the theme of change and newness, it's possible that we are watching a generational shift going on today. Sociologists like to talk about generational cohorts -- advertisers like this to, as do churches -- because it helps us understand behaviors and predilections. Music, fashion, etc. are reflected in our generational sensibilities.
The last two Presidents, Clinton and Bush, were very much Baby Boomers. They came of age in the 60s. One "dodged" Vietnam by going to England for further education and the other did a National Guard stint that kept him home bound. These two Presidents succeeded a trend line of World War II vets that began with JFK and ended with GHW Bush. This was, as Tom Brokaw calls it the "Greatest Generation."
In the election just past, Barack Obama ran against John McCain, a pre-boomer, a step back in time generationally. Often called the Silent Generation, McCain fought in Vietnam, but as an experienced officer, not a fresh faced recruit. Had he been elected, we would have stepped back generationally one last time (and McCain's generation, which came of age in the 1950s, would have had its lone Presidential representative.
So, along comes Barack Obama. At age 47 he is technically a Baby Boomer, but he's at the tail end of that generation (as am I). I know that there is a vast difference between my experiences and those of my older cohorts (who are now in their late 50s and early 60s). We're kind of a sandwiched generation, between Boomers and Xers. We like the music of the 60s but we're not tied to the 60s ideologies. We watched Vietnam from our living rooms as children, rather than as participants in the debate and conflict.
So, we stand at the edge, with a representative of what some are calling "Generation Jones" at the helm. The Boomers had their day -- and will continue to have sway in retirement -- but the future lies in the hands of a new generation. And maybe that's a good thing!
For more on this, check out this article I found in the Winston Salem Journal entitled "Hello Obama, Goodbye Boomers?"
The last two Presidents, Clinton and Bush, were very much Baby Boomers. They came of age in the 60s. One "dodged" Vietnam by going to England for further education and the other did a National Guard stint that kept him home bound. These two Presidents succeeded a trend line of World War II vets that began with JFK and ended with GHW Bush. This was, as Tom Brokaw calls it the "Greatest Generation."
In the election just past, Barack Obama ran against John McCain, a pre-boomer, a step back in time generationally. Often called the Silent Generation, McCain fought in Vietnam, but as an experienced officer, not a fresh faced recruit. Had he been elected, we would have stepped back generationally one last time (and McCain's generation, which came of age in the 1950s, would have had its lone Presidential representative.
So, along comes Barack Obama. At age 47 he is technically a Baby Boomer, but he's at the tail end of that generation (as am I). I know that there is a vast difference between my experiences and those of my older cohorts (who are now in their late 50s and early 60s). We're kind of a sandwiched generation, between Boomers and Xers. We like the music of the 60s but we're not tied to the 60s ideologies. We watched Vietnam from our living rooms as children, rather than as participants in the debate and conflict.
So, we stand at the edge, with a representative of what some are calling "Generation Jones" at the helm. The Boomers had their day -- and will continue to have sway in retirement -- but the future lies in the hands of a new generation. And maybe that's a good thing!
For more on this, check out this article I found in the Winston Salem Journal entitled "Hello Obama, Goodbye Boomers?"
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