The Greatest Generation Takes a Sip of Bourbon

My parents were small business owners in Akron, Ohio. They were hard working, not wealthy, but comfortable. They had financial struggles, scary ones, but my sister and I never knew about it. We always had what we needed. We didn't need that much; clothing, food, books and spending money, which we earned from jobs when we were teenagers.

My parents were part of "The Greatest Generation" as it has been labeled by Tom Brokaw, those born between 1910 and the mid 1920s. When they were born the United States was at the beginning of its ascent to world dominance in the automobile industry, communications and banking. It was a country made up of many immigrants and first generation Americans who would work hard and learn to sacrifice, first as a result of the Great Depression, then World War II.

My sister and I are "Baby Boomers", born between 1943 and 1964. The "boom" related to the sheer number of us born after World War II. We certainly weren't the greatest but we were the most expressive about whatever it was we expressed fostering a boom in music, movies, political and self involvement . There were no iPods, cell phones, laptops or any other kind of computer, video cameras nor designer clothing. When we graduated from college we were expected to make our way in the world - that's what I tell my kids, members of the Millennial Generation. We believed our generation's contribution was unique - just like everyone thinks about their own generation.

Since the "Baby Boomers", there has been Generation X, Generation Y, Millennials and Generation Z or The iGeneration. Each generation has certain traits ascribed to it, mostly of use to advertisers and marketers as they try to understand the increasingly fragmented consumer population and hope to get them to buy whatever their clients are selling.

The traits are specific enough to be enticing and general enough to be meaningless - like astrological signs. Attributes like pragmatic, self-reliant, distrust of authority, creative, attracted to finer things in life, aggressive, out-spoken appear in both astrological descriptions of personalities and generational traits. Like most things, we believe what reinforces our existing beliefs and lend significance to things we think are significant.

The main aspects that separated us Baby Boomers from our parents' generation were their sense of obedience, commitment and discipline. More than anything, there was a strong belief in our major institutions; government, banking, business and medicine. In the 1950s there were only three television networks, no internet and people were not constantly barraged with hailstorms of images and voices competing for their attention. Maintaining that image was much more easily managed. The net result was, life seemed a lot simpler. Values seemed to be more unified and intact.

I don't think any generation can take credit for being "the greatest". Things happen. History is recorded. History gets interpreted. Subsequent generations reinterpret it.

The pristine image of suburban life in the 1950s cracked wide open in movies like "Rebel Without a Cause" and books like "The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit". The civil rights and women's rights movements finally broke the surface and forced people to confront issues long ignored. Gay rights weren't even on the radar.

The significance of every generation will be examined, interpreted and reinterpreted, but in reality, the distinctions between them aren't so clear. Every generation had its leaders, creators, crooks, celebrities, innovators, rebels and deviants. It's easy to look back and ascribe certain traits to certain generations, but those categories don't have real or lasting meaning. Inevitably as time moves forward, our looks back tend to be more nostalgic.

I remember a friend's father saying as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke, "We didn't have gays when I was your age and colored people knew their place." He finished a tumbler of bourbon. "And drugs, I never knew anybody who did drugs. Take my advice, go work for an established company, put some money away in a good pension fund and let people who know what they're doing take care of the rest. You kids got it so good and you don't even realize it."

He was right about the last part, we did have it good and we didn't realize it.

I wonder what my friend's father would have thought about cell phones, the Internet. and hundreds of television stations. September 11th. The war in Iraq. General Motors, Chrysler, Lehman Brothers, AIG and Washington Mutual all going bankrupt. What would he have thought about employer healthcare costs rising more than 120% over the last ten years? China owning the majority of our nation's debt? An economic collapse second only to the Great Depression. What would he think about gay marriage? And I'd love to see the look on his face when I tell him we now have a Black President - but I can't. He believed those cigarette commercials in the 1950s. He died of lung cancer 15 years ago.

Comments

[leanandsuperfit]

Really enjoyed the article Jeff. And it's hard to imagine what our grandkids (when we have them) will be using for electronics, what they'll be facing in world politics and economics and just how different things will be for all of us in less than 20 years.

[RooneyTunes]

Excellent article Jeff! Spot on. Both my parents exemplified the Greatest Generation­....immigr­ant parents, 10 children, father a WWII vet (Europe), mom a nurse cadet & RN...made every sacrifice for their children, community and country. I and my siblings are mindful of that and thankful. To Jeff's point....they did not face the day-to-day issues that all Americans face today...global economic competition for jobs and U.S. college entrance, affirmative action, race, gender and sexual orientation equality that all are noble goals and mark the maturity of a progressive society.
I don't fault my parents' generation in the least, but I'm hesitant to say that their generation should be considered the 'greatest generation'. They say that "the times make the President"...I believe that applies to generations as well. They didn't desire the Great Depression nor entry into World War II...but they didn't shy away from dealing with these two great events and they deserve all the credit in the world.
The Baby Boomer/Generation Jones will be judged fairly years from now as slowly as those adopting, embracing and creating a far more progressive and diverse well-functioning modern American society (and raising kids to embrace these changes) in the late 20th/21st century U.S......achieved day by day...not amid a great global and historical event like WWII. That is something that I will be proud of and die contented with whether or not Tom Brokaw writes a book in our honor!

[masservices]

There is no question that each generation has unigue figures who have made great contributions to society and mankind.
The key question is whether we are going in the right direction as a group as a society?
Each generation should be judged on whether their group possessed characteristics that transcend time periods.
What percent of the population has the following characteristics.
The highest % in total wins.
1. Take responsibility for their own lives.
2. Consume responsibly.
3. Practice humility
4. Loyal to family.
5. Time spent in productive endeavors; adding value to society
6. Practice a principled life, confronting challenges

It is a simple scoreboard. that relates to conduct and philosophy, not whether we can out ipod our neighbor.
All of the comments are valuable, but are we on the right path, going in the right direction?

[Margie Gulmi]

We did have it very good. Times are different, but I am sure that we feel that our kids and grandkids also have a good life. Different, yes. But very good. Aren't we glad that things do change? It would be great day to go back to the 60's for just one day or two----but I don't think that I want to give up my computer. I can do without the television because it can all be seen and heard on the computer. Oh, the years have gone by too quickly, but in our hearts we will always be "kids". Isn't that what keeps us going each day? Memories cannot be repeated, but only copied. Thanks for another memorable article, Jeff. Love to read your work.

[whyzer]

Thoughtful and insightful essay. Kudos. But it’s missing an important part of the equation: Generation Jones, born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and Generation X.

Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten a ton of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. The Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009.

It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. Many experts now believe it breaks down this way:

DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978

Here is an op-ed about GenJones as the new generation of leadership in USA TODAY:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090127/column27_st.art.htm

Here's a page with a good overview of recent stuff about GenJones:
http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html