The New Generation Gap
Be the change you wish to see in the world. Gandhi
With the Republican nominee decided and the Democratics yet to find consensus on a candidate, the Presidential primaries have offered some interesting revelations:
- Women are not all voting for the only woman running.
- Blacks are not all lined up behind the one Black candidate.
- Experienced Senators are having trouble getting credit for long careers of hard-fought accomplishments.
- New young voters have turned out in record numbers for a candidate who seems young.
- The buzzword has been “change.”
What is going on?
I would suggest that we are experiencing the early pangs of a syndrome we, Baby Boomers, should recognize:
A Generation Gap!
Yes, there is growing evidence that the country is divided along generational lines with a disconnect between old and young. Think about it:
Hillary Clinton was the candidate expected to sweep the female vote. Instead, after making speech after speech with several members of the old Democratic guard standing behind her, polls showed she was not connecting with young women. Her answer was to insist on the value of her accomplishments for women and her progressive record, a tactic that affirmed older Democrats who share in her sense of purpose, but did not resonate with young audiences for whom feminism is reminiscent of protesters and experience in Washington means corporate connections.
Another version of a new Generation Gap came in the controversy over whether Clinton or Obama can best represent Black Americans. Again, a surprise from voters. In what had been framed as a strictly Black and White issue, there was a huge generational disconnect. Older Blacks favored Hillary Clinton; younger African Americans have been excited by Barak Obama. Why? It seems that, for older voters, Blackness is often defined by the honor of the civil rights struggles of the past hundred years and Black Leadership denotes those who supported Martin Luther King. On the other hand, for younger minority Americans, including Obama and his peers, economic and global concerns are much more critical than what they see as outdated complaints. There seems to be a gap between those whose consciousness includes America’s history of discrimination and those for whom tired 1960’s race rhetoric is irrelevant and even irritating.
It’s an Even Wider Issue!
With gender and race, maybe we have come full circle to the infamous Generation Gap we, Boomers, faced in our youth, only this time from the other side of the divide. Now, we are the Older Generation! The irony is that many of the revolutionary issues we were so passionate about–civil rights, gender struggles and race discrimination–are now old-fashioned ideas. Voters in their twenties and thirties don’t want to hear about all that. They are more concerned with an ailing economy, energy issues, foreign policy and, most importantly, how to overcome old school politics.
This age gap has played out most visibly in the Democratic presidential race (and only because the Republicans did not have a younger candidate for comparison), but the generational disconnect is a much larger issue. With wealth concentrated in the over-50 crowd and the economy stagnant, generations are at odds within small businesses, corporations, academic institutions, non-profit groups, churches, synagogues, mosques and political groups, as well as in Congressional discussions of healthcare, foreign policy and infrastructure reinvestment.
Old vs. Young. Change vs. Experience. Wisdom vs. Hope. Wealth vs. Potential. History vs. the Future. Hunger vs. Prosperity. Nationalism vs. Globalism. Power vs. Peace.
But wait!
There is still room for Common Ground. There are issues we can all embrace: the environment, health, prosperity, freedom, tolerance. In fact, this recent political call for change may be simply the next evolution of the revolution we, Boomers, began in our youth. The world’s Greater Good will be best served if, instead of using more rhetoric, both sides can embrace the best of what we all have to offer. There is much at stake. If we can’t come together, we, Baby Boomers, may find we are the old codgers we discounted in our youth, and younger generations may slip into disenfranchised and cynical malaise.
Instead, let’s rediscover the excitement of sharing new ideas and the power of experienced problem-solvers! Boomers, we can learn to listen and affirm new approaches to the change we want to see in the world! Millenials and GenXers, you can embrace the resources of those who can facilitate the change you want to see in the world!
When we share each other’s dreams, we can be a blessing!
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April 16th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I think it is important that the Boomers remember what they went through as well, and they should be open to new ideas as you say. If the older generation could remember the fealings they held in the 60’s and 70’s for big government and the older generation. Some might just find that open mindedness and acceptance of ideas is what they needed then from others and what they can now provide. Your generation was defined by change, and the Obama generation doesn’t want to steal away the evolution of our society, just further it.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Wow! Thanks for your comment and especially for your last thought…”the Obama generation doesn’t want to steal away the evolution of our society, just further it.” Nothing could be better for the Greater Good!
July 1st, 2008 at 6:17 am
Thanks about this for this reason it is so important for me. Thanks again
November 17th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
My second husband and I are in our early 70’s. We both worked for the same companies for over 30 years, and are now comfortably retired. But our kids, all in their 40’s now, are still looking to us for financial help. We have a beautiful custom home, and an income that allows us to decorate, travel, entertain our friends in our home, and to live a little of that good life we worked so hard for. But how can we enjoy our vacation knowing our 50 year old daughter cannot afford to pay for necessary dentistry. She is a public school teacher, has a good job, but she does not know how to budget, and then she makes us feel guilty for enjoying what we worked our whole lives for. When are we free of the guilt?