In Obama, many see an end to baby boomer era »
Posted By ameliog 10 months ago in Political NewsWhen George W. Bush lifts off in his helicopter on Inauguration Day, leaving Washington to make way for Barack Obama, he may not be the only thing disappearing into the horizon.
To a number of social analysts, historians, bloggers and ordinary Americans, Jan. 20 will symbolize the passing of an entire generation: the baby boomer years.
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ameliog
If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are equal ...
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mulberry10 months ago
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Obama IS a boomer. The writer of this article stereotypes based on age. No one age group has the corner on selfishness or the "ruin" of America. I'm not all bent out of shape about it but it's kind of inflammatory. Further more, I'm a boomer as you can tell, but I'm more than 20 years away from retirement so I don't think I'm going anywhere too soon. Shame on the writer; not the submitter.
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memestryker10 months ago
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Yes!!! This is funny. And Obama stands for everything the Boomers have been for!
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The Boomers get a bad rap, but they helped push through rights for blacks and women that have lead to an avalanche of opportunity for both groups, which I think is an amazing historical achievement. They've also had a major role in the development of the worldwide web, cleaning up waterways and air that used to be even more polluted from factories, slaughterhouses, and the like.
It is inflammatory, but I've seen a lot of it going around. Blame seems to be chronic in this world. -
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chevydog10 months ago
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Like every other classification system, this one can fall down when one gets to the edges. A generation sort of implies shared experiences and a sort of shared outlook. The Boomers were generally the children of those who fought in WWII and often grew up during the Depression. They sort of grew up with television, the space race, and VietNam.
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A boy who graduated from high shool in 1944 might enlist and end up in the Pacific War until discharge in maybe October 1945. He'e come home, get his orientation back, and then get marrried to a girl typically 1-2 years younger than him. Their first child might be born in the second half of 1946. If the girl was 19 at marriage, she might have children until she was 36 or 1963. Quite a spread. But one can legitimitely question whether a child born to a returning GI/wife has the same outlook as one born in later marriage after that couple may have achieved some economic stability. The "year" criteria is there, but others are missing. Birth order makes a difference, familiy economics and stability, and other things as well.
As it turns out, Mrs. Chevydog is only about a year different in age from me. But I was a first child to a very young and rather poor couple. They wanted economic security badly, and after they got it they settled down quickly. She was the last child to an older couple (both around 40) who by occupation (career Army) moved frequently. Either of her parents could chronologically have been my grandparents. So in spite of our being about the same age and having experienced many of the same things, we have some very different reactions to them.
As I understand Prez-to-be Obama's background, he doesn't qualify as a Boomer. But, in spite of all external influences, people usually turn out to be what they are. Classification by age group is nice and convenient; but it can't always explain everything. -
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scott426110 months ago
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"It may be technically correct to call him a boomer," says Douglas Warshaw, a New York media executive who, at age 49, is part of whatever cohort Obama is in. "And it's in the Zeitgeist to call him a Gen Xer. But I think he's more like a generational bridge."
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Douglas Warshaw is correct. I like his assessment.
I will be 48 in less than 3 months. Born in August of 1961, President-Elect Obama is four months younger than I am.
We are what some call "shadow boomers" ...born in 1961, we fall in that window of 1961 - 1964...some older boomers would say is not a part of their generation....however, the generally accepted timespan for the baby boom generation are those born 1945 - 1964.
Anyway, I remember when the Beatles broke up and the death of John Lennon was one of the more significant memories of my life....I guess that means I'm a boomer...
But I digress...
Obama is President for the entire country and I think it's only fitting that he - like I - has one foot in the baby boom and the other in Gen X.
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As I'm writing this, Bush is giving his final press conference...
I keep muttering under my breath, "Only eight more days!"
This seems like an eternity!
Only 8 more days!
Hallelujah! -
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ameliog10 months ago
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I never understood how these things break out anyway. Why does it start and end in those specific years. Would the new year's baby in the year of a generational change grow up to identify with the previous generation or the newer one?
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Being born the same year as Obama, I always felt more in common with the emerging generation than those born right after WW2. It's overlap - being on the cusp - and on an individual basis we usually never resemble the broader characterization, although I personally have resembled the worst attributes of each generation, at various points along my way.
My (small) issue was with the statement that Obama came of age in the 80's. He'd have been in the same age group as the characters portrayed in "That 70's Show" so his coming of age and influences would have come from that decade. The 80's would have shaped him too, but we can all say that about each decade we go through.-
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scott426110 months ago
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I agree, ameliog. He would have been 18 in 1979..just as we were. And if you'll remember, in many states - in 1979 - that was legal drinking age....
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And the reference to "That '70s Show" is spot on! My high school years WERE that show.(....especially the basement part! LOL!)!
Oh, wait....
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In all seriousness, I beleive an Obama presidency represents a shift in thinking and a broader view of the world. I believe the sooner that we move out of this myopic foreign
policy pile of poo Bush has left for Obama, the sooner we'll see the world change. I'm cautiously optimistic because Obama's cabinet choices are showing him to be governing from the center. That means foreign policy will remain hawkish....but hopefully it will be moving away from war....I trust we'll get out of Iraq....Afghanistan / Pakistan scares me.... ....as I said, CAUTIOUSLY optimistic. I already knew Obama is more conservative than I am when I decided to vote for him. But jeez, that's ALWAYS been that way with the Democrats for me. Only this time, Obama sold me on ideals I fundamentally believe in...namely, a restoration of integrity and CONSTITUTIONALITY of our government. And an end to a war Bush should never have started.
I'm hoping that the momentum of the shift - brought on by We, the People - will keep his eye on the ball... I expect a new New Deal that leads to a green technology and energy boom (I beleive that we WILL see this)and our infrastructure to provide jobs and get the economy moving again. I expect an end to the Iraq war. And I expect some form of national health care. If he can do these things, he will have my vote for re-election in 2012..... -
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chevydog10 months ago
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The years are arbitrary; but they tolerably well correspond to the life of a young returning WWII vet. It's amazing how well-defined some of these breaks are. In my little rural high school in central PA, my graduating class (1965) was by far the largest they'd ever had. The next year, it dropped by some 20%; and it took another 10 years and lots of population growth before it reached the level of my year. Many of us were first children, very much wanted; and, to the extent it was possible because of the age difference, we and our parents sort of grew up together.
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Poulenc10 months ago
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I was born in 1945, so I'm an almost-boomer.
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But these broad generational classifications are of dubious value, I think.
Obama's generational ID seems to me only tangentially character-defining. The class into which he was born, for example, would be more to the point.-
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memestryker10 months ago
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Yes, the late 40s boomers were very different from even the early 50s boomers in their music, dress, focus, etc., although that overlapped and was partially based on geographical location. I think people were shaped by various wars, technology breakthroughs (television, air conditioning, roads available for travel, etc.), and social achievements (racial integration, women's expanded employment opportunities, etc.).
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dudeabides909Comment removed: Spammer
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doppich10 months ago
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I feared - once the Boomers moved into the presidency - that a succession of these spoiled brats over several decades might ruin the country. Instead, it only took the second Boomer president - with a little help from his Boomer pals in corporate America - to devastate the country.
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Ratskii10 months ago
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Can't say as I take generational analysis too seriously. I'm an early boomer by this reckoning. My older sister was a WWII child. She and I have much more in common than I do with many fellow boomers. My closest friend is a Gen-Xer. Same thing. Every generation has such a variety of people in it that it is senseless to attempt to pigeon hole them.
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ellsworth-tooheyComment removed: Hard Banned
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