the growing generation gap

Of all the side stories related to the democratic primary, the one that interests me the most is the very distinct generation gap between the baby boomers and generation x/y. This was clearly represented early on in the primaries, where poll numbers showed a definite obama/clinton split between young and old. Where does this come from? It mostly seems rooted in older peoples' nostalgia for bill clinton's administration, along with a feeling of relation: these clintons were involved in the great social and political conflicts of the the aging baby boomers. While this is diminishing due to Obama's increasing momentum and the Clinton campaign's slow self-destruction, the trends are still there.

don't get me wrong - it's great to see people the keep bearing the torch for the issues related to the the social progress of the 1960's. a lot of society's nasty iniquities were dismantled. we all know. anyone who paid attention in history class heard plenty about king's march on washington, young people tearing up draft cards, the my lai massacre, the summer of love, and so forth. of course, this leaked into the popular consciousness, cementing them as the defining moments and events for that entire generation. we grew up among the symbols of this self-fellating generation's pride in their accomplishments: forrest gump. the beatles. story after story about the summer of love.

seriously guys, shut up already. if you were never in sncc, never was a freedom rider, and never protested the vietnam war, shut the fuck up about your generation's accomplishments. as time goes by, the baby boomers age, the flattering self-created portrayals of their generation are starting to lose their luster. maybe i'm just misunderstanding history, but it seems to be that about .01% of people in that generation actually participated in these grand protests. the rest were just looking to dodge the draft so they could party. The best and most romanticized example of this self-celebration is Woodstock. Sure, you went to a killer concert festival, did a ton of acid, and hendrix did a killer rendition of the national anthem. ok...where's the social effect? isn't this just a big crazy party?

if i get to be 60 years old and glorify my college-age partying as some sort of social statement, i want anyone who is reading this to shoot me in the head. i dunno about you guys, but i party to get fucked up and have fun. I'm not changing the world.

call this an irrational tirade, but it's time to call out most of these people for what they really are: greedy, self-centered, and constantly focused on making themselves feel good. They're burning through our resources at a record rate, vote for notorious deficit spenders, and are overseeing a medical and pharmaceutical establishment that pumps anyone full of expensive designer drugs when they show the slightest sign of "attention deficit disorder," "pmdd (it's different from pms", "seasonal affective disorder", or "restless leg syndrome".

maybe their parents' generation were a little too self-sacrificing for their liking. maybe they were disillusioned with the uniformity and repression of the glimmering new space-age suburbs many of them were raised in. i'm not sure why, but it seems to be a prevailing trend in their generation, especially compared to - and probably in spite of - the amazing things their parents did in the fight for democracy itself. the knee-jerk youthful rebellious response is going to be to focus on personal happiness and pleasure provided by the society that their parents saved.

is this why this country is so unaware or unconcerned about the world around them? is this why we're going to war for cheaper oil, despite the horrible effects to economic stability, national and global security, and america's diplomatic high ground? are they really that full of themselves? are younger people more likely to see the serious problems with america's foreign and domestic policies, along with the politicians of their generation? or are we all just self-centered rebellious hedonists like them?