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It's the most common cut-off generally - but there really are no rules.
The youngest of WW2 vets in 1946 were age 20.
Most of them would be finished procreating by age 34 (in 1960).
The older vets would have stopped before then.
What? Some didn't even start to procreate until they were 34. Some were that age and a little older when they got out and weren't even married yet.
When I was in the 4th grade the teacher asked how old our father's were. All the kids said 47,48, 50, 51 and numbers around there. One kid said 29 and the kids laughed and laughed wondering how you could have a dad that young.
In my family the WW2 vets had their last child in their 30's and 40's. Most had their first in their 30's. My friends and neighbors father's were about the same.
David Brooks is a pretty conservative guy so I might dispute his grades a notch or two in places. The point made about political choices is pretty much correct but the leaders reflect the times. Some lead and some fumble. I wonder if our best and brightest came forward to be selected as our leaders in more recent times. Looking at Congress has me more than a bit concerned.
Report cards aside, I had an experience last night that made me wonder if we Boomers are dumber than our parents. I was with a mixed group of people (mostly retired but from all over the US) chatting at a restaurant table when a young dad from a nearby table came over and offered the leftover pizza that they were eating. He and his wife and three small kids had ordered two pizzas and could not eat even half of the order. The guy spoke with an accent and someone asked where he was from. The family was visiting from the Netherlands. Shortly after that, a discussion ensued at our table as to where the Netherlands was located. I was amazed and speechless at the places people were suggesting - nobody seemed to know. One guy said it was a British colony in the South Pacific near New Zealand and another said no, it was somewhere near the Philipines. Only one person thought it was in Europe near the English Channel. Finally, to settle it, a couple people got their cell phones out to look it up. Sure enough, there it was. But they had to resort to their cell phone and Google technology to be informed of the location. That was a bit sad. My parents could have settled the question right away and I suspect some other parents could as well without technology. Now, I don't commit as much to memory as some might because I know where and how to find that information in a minute or less. But generations before us didn't have that option and had to know and be able to recall things that we haven't bothered to remember.
I was born in 1948 and my mother was 45yrs old. Both parents were born at the turn of the century. I had two brothers born in the early 30's. They were grown by the time I came along.
I feel I witnessed so much in my lifetime. Vietnam, Civil rights, womens rights, birth control, the Beatles, space travel. My father died 6 yrs after I was born. I was raised by my mother with help from my brothers. Father was a WW1 Vet who was injured during the war and my mother had a pension from his service after he died.
I credit my mother for being such a strong woman who raised me to be one. I remember we didn't have health insurance but had a doctor who made house calls and my mother would bake him his favorite pie. He gladly came and would thank her. She had no money but I never realized it growing up. My mother and I lived in a small 1 bedroom apartment in NY which she always kept so pretty. She sewed and baked, was the best cook. She was always taking care of stray cats and we always had a dog. No Vets in those days. If they got sick, she nursed them back to health.
I never knew we were poor.
I think it was a great generation. There was so much change and I was a part of it. Great time to be alive.
I’ve always read that the boomers were from 1954-1964.
The boomers were the baby boom that occurred after the forces returned home after WWII, so from about 1945 till...? I'd say to the end of the 1950's since Kennedy & the Beatles were such huge elements in our psyche I'd think one would have to be born & aware of the world that existed outside one's home by then, at least a bit.
A quick look at wikipedia puts the end of the baby population spurt, "boom", by 1961, thus the differentiation in early/late boomers I guess. That's the "scientific" definition I guess. I always considered the split to be between those who were already teens before Kennedy's death & the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (11/63 - 2/64). Early boomers were Elvis fans, greasers, do wop, sock hops, hot rods & late boomers were The Beatles, hippies, Vietnam vets/protesters, pot, rock concerts.
Thinking about it, each decade of youth rebels to some degree to the decade preceding them, not everyone of course, just the cultural spirit. I can't disagree with a lot of Brooks analysis & grades.
I am an old Boomer. But today for the first time, I realized that my sister, born 5 years before me missed the Boomer age by 1 year. We were raised together by older parents and have basically the same lifestyle and values. I would think we are very similar despite not being in the same "generation". So I guess the boundaries of the different generations are fuzzy and people fit in one or the other maybe because of their upbringing.
I don't think we Boomers ruined anything. It was a time of great great change in the world.
David Brooks is a pretty conservative guy so I might dispute his grades a notch or two in places. The point made about political choices is pretty much correct but the leaders reflect the times. Some lead and some fumble. I wonder if our best and brightest came forward to be selected as our leaders in more recent times. Looking at Congress has me more than a bit concerned.
Report cards aside, I had an experience last night that made me wonder if we Boomers are dumber than our parents. I was with a mixed group of people (mostly retired but from all over the US) chatting at a restaurant table when a young dad from a nearby table came over and offered the leftover pizza that they were eating. He and his wife and three small kids had ordered two pizzas and could not eat even half of the order. The guy spoke with an accent and someone asked where he was from. The family was visiting from the Netherlands. Shortly after that, a discussion ensued at our table as to where the Netherlands was located. I was amazed and speechless at the places people were suggesting - nobody seemed to know. One guy said it was a British colony in the South Pacific near New Zealand and another said no, it was somewhere near the Philipines. Only one person thought it was in Europe near the English Channel. Finally, to settle it, a couple people got their cell phones out to look it up. Sure enough, there it was. But they had to resort to their cell phone and Google technology to be informed of the location. That was a bit sad. My parents could have settled the question right away and I suspect some other parents could as well without technology. Now, I don't commit as much to memory as some might because I know where and how to find that information in a minute or less. But generations before us didn't have that option and had to know and be able to recall things that we haven't bothered to remember.
I don’t think any of my boomer friends would have much trouble placing The Netherlands on a map. It says more about the education level of the people at the table and their intellectual engagement in life.
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