Boomers Going Out With A Bang
Boom. Boom. Boom. Hear that bell? It tolls for you, baby boomers. On New Year’s Day, the first wave of boomers turns 50. The oldest of the generation (born between 1946 and 1964) have now put in a half century of living.
What have they contributed to society? Mediocrity, whining and narcissism, says Christopher Hitchens (a boomer himself) in the January issue of “Vanity Fair.”
He writes: “In the 50 years since the first boomer uttered the first wail, the wailing has never stopped. Will there be enough Social Security when it’s my turn? What about my retirement fund. Who’s gonna take care of me?
“I see them at the gym. Puff, puff, puff … For what are they saving themselves? So they can go back to the office? Or keep the shrink appointment and talk again about what’s ‘appropriate’ and what they are ‘comfortable’ with?”
Hitchens says the boomers haven’t created one lasting book, movie or piece of art. (Has he seen “Schindler’s List”?) Hitchens article is so depressing it will make you reach for several glasses of Chardonnay (the boomers’ favorite drink, he says).
Have the boomers failed so miserably? No.
First of all, generalizing about 76 million people is always dangerous. There is as much diversity among boomers as there is among the parents of boomers, a group Hitchens idealizes. (“The predecessor generation experienced Depression, War … and managed to reconstruct Europe and Japan as well as America. They also felt enough confidence to unbutton and reproduce.”)
And second, at each milestone, boomers challenged assumptions about society. Their protests in the ‘60s over Vietnam paved the way for the recent honest discussions about sending our troops to Bosnia. Boomers also questioned the old, restrictive roles for women and men. Now women add their creativity to workplaces, and many men participate in the day-to-day raising of children.
Instead of whining about the boomers, Hitchens should welcome the assumptions they will challenge about growing older. The boomers won’t retire early without a fight, predicts author Gail Sheehy, and this might change the current corporate ruthlessness toward older workers. One futurist predicts boomers will play Beatles albums in their nursing homes, if they have nursing homes. The boomers might think up a better way to spend their oldest years.
Neither total failure, nor total success, the boomers are a force for change, some good, some not so good. Here’s a toast to their 50th birthday.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rebecca Nappi/For the editorial board