Baby Boomers: A New Life-Construct -- From "Invisible to Invincible!"

Have you ever had a pivotal moment in your life? A piece of news delivered in a split second... just a heartbeat... that will stick in your psyche forever? You'll always remember where you were and what you were doing when the news was delivered. One of these significant "moments in time" for me was when I heard of the drastic reduction of America's credit rating by Standard & Poor. Not only was it a "moment in time" it was a moment of shock, a slight state of panic, and a million bombarding thoughts about our retrenched future. I immediately envisioned myself as a homeless senior sitting on the sidewalk asking a passersby to drop a dime in my once coveted designer handbag!

Transfixed on every news show, I watched hours of programming and journalistic-politico debates. It was as if I was watching a competitive sporting event! It was all about who won this point -- who lost the other. Anchors argued President Obama was the biggest loser. Others said, "No! It was Congress and the Republicans." In all this time I never once heard any of the "authorities" mention Baby Boomers. Wait a second... I did hear an echo of inevitable lowered benefits for the disabled and elderly. Yup! That's us: the elderly grouped with the disabled. And another mention of us as an "ageing population who will put a terrible strain on the government's finances." For those of us who contributed to Social Security, Medicare and dutifully paid our taxes all our adult lives, that is truly insulting!

So I ask you, what about US? We're watching every second-half life construct we grew up believing and expecting -- crumbling, disappearing and evaporating. Is anyone out there wondering, like me, who's building a new Life-Model for us? Isn't it time we start to defend and champion ourselves rather than be labeled as a liability?

Honestly, I think as a generation Baby Boomers have developed amnesia! Once we were the biggest, loudest, clearest voice in America. Then we grew up and went silent. We need to remember who we are, or rather what we were, and bring the essence of US back to the present tense again!

We must revise our Life-GPS to address our new reality. We are working well into our 70's and living well into our 80's. As we age, what are our opportunities for employment? What industries will be best suited for a mature workforce? And, what direction should we take as we watch Social Security and Medicare fade away? Bottom line -- what do we do as we see our savings shrinking while our life span extends? At this moment I may not have the answers -- though, I am posing the questions that I know we as a community are asking ourselves.

And let me be the first to say, when we do take to the streets, the Capitol, the airwaves and the Internet, I expect our boomer flag to be just as individual as we are. Give me a flag comprised of strawberry fields and purple haze. Let's paint it black with a whiter shade of pale! We need to reconnect and revive! Step out alone, you're invisible. Go further together. We become invincible!

 

Comments

[Rhonda Greer]

01:16 AM on 08/26/2011

There are many baby boomers, myself included, who need to come up with a plan ASAP. Who wants to live on handouts while waiting for the Social Security check to arrive? Some of us can create our own income opportunities since no one is hiring older people.

[SisterAnn]

07:24 PM on 08/24/2011

Is being retired like being retread?

[vietveter]

05:26 PM on 08/25/2011

HOW MANY people do you know that are really retired?

Not old and unemployed, but living their life on a plan.

It is far better than being a ''retread''

[highlyunlikely]

05:34 PM on 08/24/2011

hi, Diane. I commented on your debut post, informing you that you are not actually a Baby Boomer. I noted that, by your own description, you were 65 at the time (that is, before your recent birthday), which means you were born in 1945. The Boom began the first day of '46, stretching way longer than it should have thru '64. I'm sorry you're therefore disqualified to declare yourself one and even more sorry that you are not entitled to redefine the era to suit your needs, whims, and business purposes. That Baby Boomer Club selling point is certainly a brilliant one.

At this point you can announce on HSN that you have been misstating the facts out of a mistaken belief or to sell jeans, you can revise the line slightly to refer to yourself as an inspiration to Boomers - like Bob Dylan and the Beatles, you know, an honorary Boomer - or you can continue to disregard the stubborn truth. In any case, in my communication to your first blog entry I sent a Wikipedia link to the description, and will gladly do so again upon request.

Meanwhile, where are the size 0 pants?

[SisterAnn]

07:26 PM on 08/24/2011

What are a few months?

I really am only 22, I just look older.

[highlyunlikely]

07:47 PM on 08/24/2011

Me too! Born in the 50s but I use my own math. Anyway, I'm a purist, in case you haven't figured it out.

[vietveter]

05:29 PM on 08/25/2011

I was born in 1 9 4 6

thank you

[highlyunlikely]

09:04 PM on 08/25/2011

Uh, you're welcome? Uh, you're Diane Gilman correcting the record, in which case I apologize for the calculation I made with your data? Uh, you're someone else who IS, in fact, a baby boomer and one of the first?

[Linda from Deerfield]

11:02 AM on 08/24/2011

I wonder why so quiet on this subject. I, for one, sometimes feel that we are in the grip of the revenge of the young Republicans who were resentful of all the press attention that the rest of the baby boomers got in their youth. George Bush is a baby boomer whether we recognize him as one or not, so those who try to blame our generation for so much are not far wrong. The tea party still is not largely populated by them, though, but rather it is apparently mostly the last generation who had any semblance of an employer pension and could still believe in the Social Security 3rd leg to see them through their retirement. It's so odd to see them fight to destroy institutions that have served them. I never was silent, but my voice has been ignored for decades. Advertisers have insisted that I was somebody else, too. Even young progressives think I'm not on their side, but they're not listening.

[SisterAnn]

05:41 PM on 08/23/2011

We sure get blamed for a lot. They say it is the boomer's fault for the stock market going down. Some think we will cash our stocks all out at once. More than likely many will take out about 4% a year.

Some of us will fight to keep our wrinkles, but others will spend a fortune to look like we are 20, at least with our clothes on.

Some of us will probably create a lot of jobs. Some of us will travel the USA and keep the RV salesmen and restaurants happy. Other boomers will travel the world and take a lot of cruises. Many of us will have time to spend with our grandchildren, if we want :-) We can volunteer to help the community or we can paint or write a book.

One third of boomers say they can't afford to quit, another one third say they don't want to quit and the other third plan to quit for various reasons from sickness to wanting to give their job to a younger worker.

I am retired. So far, I am happy to waste time on the net. I don't have any money and I spent that:-)

I wonder if DC is prepared for all the boomers that will have more time to focus on the elected government. That should be very interesting.

[SisterAnn]

04:36 PM on 08/23/2011

I lthought 'yea' when I read the title and I laughed when I read the first paragraph. I have to go back now and read the rest.