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My problem with the baby boomer generation is that it seems as though they were happy to rely on the laurels of their parents.
The baby boomers parents fought WWII, sent men to the moon, built the greatest auto indurstry in the United States, and many other accomplishments.
However, what did the boomers do? I can think of little that they accomplished on their own, other than the PC. The PC is huge, don't get me wrong, but that is just one aspect of our lives.
They extended the lifew of man further than any generation;they continued space trqavel to where its rouitne almost;they invented the greatest infomation age ever;they made even the camera and film obselete;they created the most poowerful ,iitary ever and defeat the USSR;for the first time there is only one super power;more than any generation they have retiured. Most important like evry genration they have advanced the standard of living. this generation maybe the first to lower it if they don't quit feeling sorry fore themselves and relying on others thru government.
95% of ALL walk in abortions are due to sexual hedonism gone (further) wrong according to the statistics .
This is a complicated subject. Abortions occurred in the past even before Roe v. Wade. In the past, these things were kept a tighter secret than they are now. I'd question the methodology of "95% of all walk in abortions". No question more abortions occur today, but if it results in fewer cases of child abuse and neglect that may be a positive thing.
It has been objectively determined from science that life starts in the womb upon fertilization of the egg from the sperm..and a person with ALL of its genetic makeup starts to advance.
You know, you social conservatives have gone 'round and round' this merry-go-round since 1973 and you've made virtually no headway. The DNA in our genes certainly contains the blue print for our lives, but this leaves out a host of environmental factors. I personally accept the notion of life that the Supreme Court used in Roe v. Wade. If an organism can survive on its own outside a mother, I would call that a living human being. If a fetus isn't viable and can't survive on its own I don't think it occupies the same status as a person. Rather, it is a potential human being and no more. The fetus is certainly not in the womb reading a magazine now is it?
It is always wrong to murder another human being. It all started with intercourse .
I dispute that a non-viable fetus is a human being and if its not it can't be murdered.
Further, improper sexual mores have led to a militant agenda of people wanting everyone to admit homosexuality is healthy and an acceptable alternative lifestyle. You said you dont want ones religion forced on you...how about the H.S. religion of unnatural sexual unions forced on you ?
You know when I was younger I held many of the anti-gay, homophobic stereotypes and attitudes that were prevalent in my generation. I've changed. Gay people and gay sexual behavior have always existed. They always will exist even if conservatives attempt to discriminate against them. H.S. isn't a religion. Its a sexual preference which scientists now believe is determined by our genes. The same argument about a "militant agenda" was used in the fifties and sixties by conservatives opposing civil rights. It was fashionable to talk about "uppity blacks" at that time. I am sick and tired of the hostile way that gay people are treated. This world is big enough for all of us. It just takes a willingness to tolerate others who aren't harming you. You certainly seem ignorant of and on the wrong side of history.
Further, the sexual immoral explosion is directly responsible for : Increased sexual assault of women to the rate of 1 in 4 , increased child molestation of both genders,
Whoa, whoa, whoa......I want to see your numbers on this. And, before you get them out remember that there is an increase in the reporting of sexual crimes these days simply because we don't stigmatize and shame victims the way we used. There is no correlation between H.S. (as you call it) and child molestation at all. Its a vicious lie. Molesters are generally heterosexual.
the catalyst of every vile song ever published where women are degraded, the increased view of men looking at women as an exploitation often worthy of stalking, the increase of women wanting to be sexual predators the same as men, and young children being groomed to use illicit sex as a means of getting what they want.
Most of what you are seeing is simply behavior that is now being reported. Things like this have always occurred. Newspapers didn't cover the stories. Victims didn't report the crimes out of shame. I was sexually molested by someone over thirty years ago. What do you think I did? I kept it to myself. I couldn't imagine telling anyone about that I felt so shameful about it. I am grateful that much of that stigma has vanished.
Not a pretty picture is it ? Sexual issues are directly tied to social ills that have caused MUCH emotional and physical turmoil in lives.
What you don't understand is that there is a difference between a society that is honest and attempts to bring problems into the open to try to fix them and a society that believes in shame and secrecy. Societies that live in shame and secrecy will always look better to people who focus on appearance and first impressions. Its just if you dig deeper, you'll see how sick and twisted that sort of behavior really is. Further, you'll see the price that all the people who live in those societies pay in terms of depression, mental illness, and repression. I prefer an honest society that brings it ills out into the open and exposed to the sunlight so that they can be dealt with. What a revolutionary concept for you, huh?
We advanced human liberation. The "hippies" / progressives opened eyes whether people wanted a revolution, or not. We tried to incorporate the best from each generation, at least the people I associated with, did. As a result, I am healthier, more self sufficient, and less likely to conform to the expectations of the status quo. And I won't be blowing a lot of money on a fancy funeral, thanks to people like Jessica Mitford.
I'm not going on a guilt trip for anybody. I paid my dues, and did the best that I could with what I have/had. I wouldn't trade places with anyone. I was born at the right time, and in the right family.
Great thread and a lot of great posts! Here is my $0.02.
I think the greatest negative change that came about during the Boomers reign is a complete lack of community. There is now basically separate households within a Corporate structure. Living in Corporate Developments, shopping in corporate malls, eating processed foods made by corporations, getting a corporate paycheck to buy goods that were NOT created in their community or country. A lot of keeping up with the Jones'.
Is the atrocity known as "play dates" a Boomer thing? Or- is this Post Boomer?
Location: West Los Angeles and Rancho Palos Verdes
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The hippie-types have been one of this nation's worst generations ever. Instead of remaining vigilant and protecting this nation, they instead chose to smoke pot and reject all the previous wisdoms bestowed upon them for allegedly being "uptight" or "uncool". Now, we've got this polyglotical, discombobulated nightmarish patchwork quilt of a nation, with everything the boomers stood for turning out to be our death knell. Thanks a lot...
They extended the lifew of man further than any generation;they continued space trqavel to where its rouitne almost;they invented the greatest infomation age ever;they made even the camera and film obselete;they created the most poowerful ,iitary ever and defeat the USSR;for the first time there is only one super power;more than any generation they have retiured. Most important like evry genration they have advanced the standard of living. this generation maybe the first to lower it if they don't quit feeling sorry fore themselves and relying on others thru government.
No, it was still the previous generation that defeated the USSR.
(President Eisenhower Born 1890, President Kennedy born 1917, President Johnson born 1908, Richard Nixon born 1913, Gerald Ford born 1913, Jimmy Carter born 1924, Ronald Reagan born 1911)
All of these Presidents were born pre boomer. Actually Clinton would have been the first boomer President, and he had little to do with the fall of communisim.
Seeing as the baby boomer gen didn't come to major political and managerial power until the late 80's, I'd say they were at the slowing down of the space race. Seeing as boomers are all now in charge of NASA and the government, and most corporations right now, and they are talking about cutting the space budget in half, that will be the boomers generations legacy in space.
I give them credit for the PC, however, the internet was invented primarily before their time. Leonard Kleinrock was the first to write a study on packet switched data, which gave birth to the idea of DARPA, which gave birth to the internet, he was born in 1934.
And while they did advance the standard of living, their investment practices and raping of the American economy has led to one of the greatest wealth gaps in this countries history, with the systematic destruction of the middle class, thanks to the baby boomers.
Don't worry, the members of the Jones Generation haven't faired any better. Gen X created the internet market place, creating the single biggest world economic engine ever seen by man, but they have been slow out of the gate. Gen XY is just getting started, my generation.
Trust me, I'm a history buff, I give credit where it is due. The people here during and after WWII had the drive, the intelligence, and the shear will to make the United States the greatest country in the world for about 30 years. Their children let them down, and simply lived on what their parents had built, instead of building new themselves.
Before we get too excited about the "Greatest Generation" we need to talk about some of their weaknesses and shortcomings too. They had a few of their own.
1. They lived on credit. The Great Depression (their era) is what brought about deficit spending by the government. This continued through World War II and into the postwar era. It was not just something government did. There was expanding consumer debt all through their lives. Its how they functioned. They went to college on credit, they built businesses on credit, they bought their homes on credit, and credit cards came about during their working years.
2. They had little concern about overpopulation or the environment. There was a "baby boom" precisely because this generation came back from the war and had big, big families. These big families are now turning into a social security nightmare as we age because there would be enough young workers to support us when we retire. This population "blip" should never have occurred and never did occur during any other generations. The environment became an issue as the Greatest Generation bought cars by the millions and polluted waterways as they built factory after factory and had waste to dispose of.
3. This generation may have given us Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy as President. However, it also gave us Richard Nixon, a totally amoral man who was willing to subvert the entire system of justice in this country to serve his own ends.
4. For all their talk of a work ethic, they did some things that were very destructive. They were believers in unions even when those same unions became non-competitive and ran the automobile industry and the steal industry right off a cliff. Most of them wanted to retire early and you can find all kinds of examples of members of the "Greatest Generation" who stopped working at age 55, 60, or 62 expecting to be supported by retirement benefits and social security for another 20-30 years. This was just unsustainable and everyone should have seen it.
I'm not saying this generation was bad. What I am saying is that sometimes we idealize people that we should not. The Greatest Generation was both good and bad. Scholars should look at it them and take the good where we find it. However, we should also see the bad and reject it too.
Our generation, the Boomers, is no different. We had our good and bad both.
Yea, it's their fault. It's ALWAYS been my parents fault, for as long as I can remember.
Despite Parents best attempts at training up their children with good morals, ethics, and values....once they get out on their own, they almost always choose to go the way of the prevailing Cultures destructive and irresponsible lifestyles which are alll centered around the promotion of Egocentricism/Hedonism/and Narcissim (thru a plethera of resources , most of all, ones genitals ) .
Before we get too excited about the "Greatest Generation" we need to talk about some of their weaknesses and shortcomings too. They had a few of their own.
1. They lived on credit. The Great Depression (their era) is what brought about deficit spending by the government. This continued through World War II and into the postwar era. It was not just something government did. There was expanding consumer debt all through their lives. Its how they functioned. They went to college on credit, they built businesses on credit, they bought their homes on credit, and credit cards came about during their working years.
2. They had little concern about overpopulation or the environment. There was a "baby boom" precisely because this generation came back from the war and had big, big families. These big families are now turning into a social security nightmare as we age because there would be enough young workers to support us when we retire. This population "blip" should never have occurred and never did occur during any other generations. The environment became an issue as the Greatest Generation bought cars by the millions and polluted waterways as they built factory after factory and had waste to dispose of.
3. This generation may have given us Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy as President. However, it also gave us Richard Nixon, a totally amoral man who was willing to subvert the entire system of justice in this country to serve his own ends.
4. For all their talk of a work ethic, they did some things that were very destructive. They were believers in unions even when those same unions became non-competitive and ran the automobile industry and the steal industry right off a cliff. Most of them wanted to retire early and you can find all kinds of examples of members of the "Greatest Generation" who stopped working at age 55, 60, or 62 expecting to be supported by retirement benefits and social security for another 20-30 years. This was just unsustainable and everyone should have seen it.
I'm not saying this generation was bad. What I am saying is that sometimes we idealize people that we should not. The Greatest Generation was both good and bad. Scholars should look at it them and take the good where we find it. However, we should also see the bad and reject it too.
Our generation, the Boomers, is no different. We had our good and bad both.
Oh I'm not saying they were perfect, far from it. They were to quick to respond to communism with war, instead of conversation. (at least some, I give JFK credit for trying at least).
I've never called the "greatest generation" just that, I call them the pre boomer generation.
However, I feel that our current economic situation, or current loss of jobs, our current decline in space exploration, and the unravelling of the United States middle class lies solely on the shoulders of the baby boomer gen, and the Jones Gen.
For better or for worse, depending on your leanings, we opened up the playing field for American society as a whole. We prevented a fascist society from taking root after WWII. When the Nat. guard was called out to shoot people on the campus at Kent state it was the line in the sand for us. We made it possible that all things could happen for anybody.
We demonstrated that government was far from perfect and could be challenged. You didn't need to lock step to a larger power. We assumed control of ourselves rather than be controlled by the stated dogma of the time. All the far right should be proud of us for the ground we broke. We demonstrated the concept that the far right and the far left meet around the back door. I know this bothers many. Even in this thread.
Last edited by mohawkx; 09-03-2009 at 07:08 PM..
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