The changing of the old guard. From boomers to Gen Z.
It has been well stated that our current leaders including the president are old codgers (Silent Generation that are not silent) that have no business in governing today. The question is who are electing them? Or, is it a matter of who runs against them? Five generations will be able to vote in 2022 & 2024 and the demographics are a changing as the Millennials are creeping toward overcoming the boomers while Gen Z is fast becoming a force to recon with.
What does the future hold?
A well written powerful article opening at least my eyes, though is lengthy. Yet, there are plenty of graphics that gets the point across.
America's Electoral Future, The Coming Generational Transformation by the Center of American Progress (Oct 19, 2020)
https://www.americanprogress.org/articl … -future-3/
“As millennials and Gen Z become the largest voting bloc, their values and participation provide hope for the future and also a sense of urgency that our country must address the pressing issues that concern them,” said Mark Gearan ‘78, Director, Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.
“What we see in this year’s Harvard Youth Poll is how great the power of politics really is,” said John Della Volpe, the Director of Polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. “With a new president and the temperature of politics turned down after the election, young Americans are more hopeful, more politically active, and they have more faith in their fellow Americans.”
Another interesting and informative article; Harvard Youth Poll (2,513 participants) April 23, 2021. A very well laid out article highlighting 10 points with a graphic for each to get the point across.
https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/spri … youth-poll
Should Boomers and Gen X be talking with the Millennials and Gen Z as to what matters to them?
How much does each generation trust the other generation? Or, does it matter when it comes to politics with emphasis on party platform and ideology?
Do you know what your kids are thinking or their friends? What about the young person checking you out of the grocery store? Is politics in a sense hereditary passed down from one generation to another? Is that disrupted by education, the influence of social media, or even the influence of peers/friends?
Is there a changing of the old guard?Interesting, with the coming demographic changes, it helps to explain why the GOP in order to avoid its extinction must employ every dirty trick in its "Dick Dasterly" tool box. But as all the stats show, it will be futile to try to keep the sun from rising in the east and setting in the west. As the disparity in political allegiances increase, nothing will save them. Eventually they will have to lose and I hope I live long enough to see that day arrive.
I hope that it will be a better world when the old GOP guards finally shuck their mortal coils.
Yes, there is a change, I just wish that it would occur faster.
I pick up a lot resentment from younger people that seem to say the boomers took all the "good things", leaving nothing behind for them. The boomer generation has been the richest and most entitled. The times are such where younger people do not do as well as their parents. Do you realize how many young adults live with their parents when back in the day you were shown the door at 18?
We mustn't have this rivalry between us as we need each other. Policies to make it easier for younger people to attain to education and technical training to prepare for the challenges of the future should be among our national goals. Because without their vitality and productivity, where will us oldsters be?Thanks, Stephen, this attitude of "every man for himself" will have to disappear if we are all to survive and prosper.
So will the concept that some can live off the "fat of the land", requiring others to provide for them rather than doing so themselves.
"The boomer generation has been the richest and most entitled."
With this I would disagree. We have never seen a generation more entitled that the one currently entering adulthood. They have been given everything they want, with little to no effort on their part, and it shows.
Yes, they see all the "good things" that a lifetime of effort have given the boomers...and want the same thing, right now, without that effort. They want to start at the top of the ladder, they want the nice cars, phones and toys that the older generation has accumulated, right now. They want it without any particular effort because they have gotten it their whole lives."Yes, they see all the "good things" that a lifetime of effort have given the boomers...and want the same thing, right now, without that effort. They want to start at the top of the ladder, they want the nice cars, phones and toys that the older generation has accumulated, right now. They want it without any particular effort because they have gotten it their whole lives."
------
The difference now, Wilderness, is that regardless as to what they want, the wanting is not the having.What does that mean; "the wanting is not the having"?
Aren't their actions—driven by their wants, the point?
GAWell, the wanting is there but the means of obtaining it is much much diminished ... Maybe Credence can explain why this is.
"Well, the wanting is there but the means of obtaining it is much much diminished"
Is it? I would disagree.I would disagree as well.
Those that want to work, those that put in the effort, those that are determined can succeed in today's America as easily as ever...
Today a person with almost no money can trade stocks online through apps on their phone, this used to be reserved only for the entitled that had plenty of money.
Today you can run a business online with almost no capital investment required to begin.
You can buy products and sell them on eBay. Make products and sell them online, you can mow lawns, plow driveways, there are plenty of ways to make money... If the effort is there.
I remember as a kid when one of us said I want this or that my dad would ask "How does it feel to want?"
And why is that? Because they simply sit back and cry that it will never work? That they cannot have it now?
Personally I do not find that the old adage of hard work produces results has died out - only that there is less and less willingness to do that and more and more demand for everything right now. You're right - the wanting is not the having, and that is where the problem lies. It takes effort to produce the having and we are seeing, IMO, less and less of that effort."You're right - the wanting is not the having, and that is where the problem lies. It takes effort to produce the having and we are seeing, IMO, less and less of that effort."
That is why with the attitudes you say are common among the younger generation, the penalty is to be restricted to just wanting what they can never have and enjoy.Hopefully that will always be the penalty for refusing to put forth the effort to get what you want.
Unfortunately we are moving steadily in the other direction; when over half our population is deemed too disabled to support themselves, and thus get what they want anyway, that penalty for non-performance no longer applies.There is truth to this as well.
There are restricting factors that did not exist 50 years ago...
I watched my dad build the first two houses we lived in, he rented the equipment, poured the foundation, framed, wired, plumbed, sheet-rocked, painted, tiled, etc. almost entirely on his own and with help from friends.
That can't happen in most places today, most of those steps require a licensed professional and multiple permits and inspections to complete.
The costs for land and materials is prohibitive as well.
Still, for the doors that have been closed others have been opened. Buying a home already in existence and "rehabbing" it can be done without licensing (wink wink) and the variety of ways one can make income in todays world dwarfs what existed for most people 50 years ago.
So the emphasis needs to be on effort of the individual. With people being considered "kids" these days at age 26 (you can be a student and on Mom&Dads insurance until then thanks to the ACA) is it any surprise there is no driving effort in young people these days to accomplish anything for themselves?
Hey if you can make it to 26 without doing anything to support yourself, maybe you just have to wait out a few more years until the old man kicks the bucket and you inherit his wealth...
Its a far cry from the days when you were drafted and had to serve your country and your family expected you to be out of the house and on your own by age 18.My dad didn't build his homes, but he did buy really run down ones and "rehab" them. Several times he did that until he bought his final one. For cash.
You can still work on your own home everywhere I've been and could probably build as well...subject to getting permits and inspections. A homeowner can do the work, but it still has to pass code, at least where I have lived.
Yeah. Kids expect to live off of Mom and Dad for years past the time we were expected to be out (or kicked out if we didn't leave). For my own kids, they were welcome to live with us as long as in school (post graduate never raised it's head) and both left soon after that period.There was this old documentary:
The Mouse Utopia Experiment
Very interesting results, after a few generations society collapsed, we've seen similar examples throughout human history.
Same thing in regards to the saying: hard times make strong men. Strong men make good times. Good times make weak men... Well for "Western Civilization" we are definitely in the Good Times stage.
I'll have to do some thinking about this, tsmog. You have posed some important questions and given us a lot to digest. Thanks for the links - very interesting.
" this attitude of every man for himself will have to disappear if we are all to survive and prosper."
"every man for themselves" or independence "will have to disappear."
Q. And in its place, W h a t ? ? ?
A. Social democracy.
____________________________________
The article despite all the research was inconclusive.
The authors had no way of really predicting the generational or demographic effects on future elections. It would be more helpful to refer to human nature.
Humans thrive on freedom and will always resist overly high taxation, extreme regulations and economic restrictions. Eventually, people figure out what is preventing them from attaining their own homes, the ability to give themselves, their children and their family members good educations, fuel for transportation, electricity, natural gas, good food and clean water. They will determine what is bad and what is good in their world and vote accordingly.
I believe the youth have an instinct to "change the world." As young adults, they naturally work to to realize their dreams and expectations, based on the mere fact they are HUMAN. They do know what they want. They will try to attain it. It may take trial and error and lessons learned from the school of hard knocks, but they will figure out a way toward freedom, independence and a good prosperous life which is based on both hard work and play.
For instance, today's youth will be able to determine how beneficial liberal agendas are in the long run. They will learn from this little experiment of putting a guy in the White House, as president, who can't even run his own life, let alone a nation. In fact, allowing the liberals to run amok, will teach us all, including the following generations and demographics, just fine.Off the cuff I was going along supportive of what you felt about our younger generations until you went off kilter with the BS in the last paragraph when you spoiled it ha-ha
Not knowing if you actually read the previous linked articles or not here are a couple more enlightening ones if interested.
The GOP’s Demographic Doom: Millennials and Gen Z are only a few years away from dominating the electorate by the Atlantic (10/23/20)
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/ar … ns/616818/
Why Some Socially Liberal Gen-Z Voters Aren’t Leaving The GOP by Five Thrity Eight (Aug 23, 2021)
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/wh … g-the-gop/
I can't really talk about the United States because I am out of touch with current thoughts there. However, speaking to young(er) people here in Spain and in Britain, I find that they tend to feel distanced from politics and the politicians that represent them - or don't, as the case might be.
In most countries, two parties dominate. If it's true that the young feel left out, I think we will see a drop in the number of people voting and a rise in membership of special interest groups. We will see tomorrow how many young French people voted in the first round of their presidential election. We can't extrapolate from one example, of course, but the mainstream parties are going to have to work very hard to convince the coming generations that they are worth supporting.So . . . the Millennials are the future . . . They don't know how to take a joke either.
"A Jew, a Black, and a Redneck walk into a bar . . . '
Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rule – Learn How to Take a Joke
C'mon now that bit was funny and true.This Gen Z thought must have been a micro-trigger for me.
Somebody toss me a lifeline, I'm drowning in confirmation bias.
Judd Apatow to Direct George Carlin Documentary
You don't have to like or trust the messenger, just consider the message. It's worth the watch, but to the thought about the direction Gen Z might take, look at 7:34 to about 8:29.
GA
You know, before we all start bashing Generations: millenials and Z, maybe we all need to remember that we were there once too, yes the Boomer Generation. The Silent Generation and the "Greatest Generation" as my forebears, hassled me about my Motown and Rock and Roll music, endlessly nagging me about about getting a hair cut.
The Beatniks, the hippies, the counter culture, only we understood and made sense of it all. Our music, mores and manner of dress were uniquely our own.
I am reminded of this ancient Cole Porter ditty, (Anything Goes) by my late aunt that used to speak to me about life during the Roaring Twenties....
Times have changed
And we've often rewound the clock
Since the Puritans got a shock
When they landed on Plymouth Rock
If today
Any shock they should try to stem
'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock
Plymouth Rock would land on them
In olden days, a glimpse of stockings
Was looked on as something shocking
Now, heaven knows
Anything goes
Good authors too, who once knew better words
Now only use four-letter words
Writing prose
Anything goes
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today
And black's white today
And day's night today
When most guys today
That women prize today
Are just silly gigolos
So though I'm not a great romancer
I know that I'm bound to answer
When you propose
Anything goes
The previous generation is always criticizing the next one . We are on this this turnstile focused so much on the person on the rung ahead of you when you will be in the same place in a second or two. It is as a dog chasing its tail, it is all futile as you are going to die anyway. Can you not depart without saying something nice about your progeny?
Consider that the Social Security benefits that we all enjoy currently are being sustained by younger people. So instead of criticism, perhaps we need to grease the skids as much as possible because ultimately, their prosperity is our own.
Every generation has its challenges. Today, it is even more competitive, young people have to be better educated, smarter and resourceful today, as so much of those monoliths of expectations that we took for granted, when I was where they are now, some 50 years ago, have disappeared.
They lament over the fact that time honored formulas and nostrums from old folks have far more nuances today, and are not as cut and dry. Yes, our generation worked hard, yet is not fair to dismiss succeeding generations as lazy, when this current society does not resemble the one I faced with its own challenges half a century ago.
Here is a little ditty from Billy Joel in salute to the Boomer generation:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542gIn case anyone would like to see more about the documentary Ken is referring to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgGLFozNM2oThe Original version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z760XNy4VM
I think a society that has no purpose is doomed to falter.
China's purpose is to surpass America and it has been united in that effort for decades now, hence their incredible growth in under 50 years time.
China has a lot of problems, but, it went from a backwater 3rd world nation with no international presence to speak of, to the world's most powerful industrial nation and leading economy in our lifetimes.
We as a society had goals and agendas that united us in the past, particularly WWII and the rebuilding effort that followed, the effort to go to the Moon, the effort from the MSM to schools to politicians was pretty united up until the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement shifted the focus and we began questioning... everything... that questioning turned to condemnation for past events as a nation... in the 80s began the growth of Corporate Might... since the 70s Unions have lost power, workers have lost power, Corporations have become massively powerful (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Exxon/Mobil, Insurance, Big Pharma etc.) and hold far more power over the direction our laws and our regulations take than voters do.
International Corporations don't care about the wellbeing of any particular nation or state, they are wealthier and more powerful than all but a handful of Nations.
Too many people in America today have no purpose, combined with many of them having a sense of entitlement... to everything.... without working for anything. The fractures in our society are so plentiful one cannot see how fractured we truly are, we cannot see the forest for the trees.The problem as I see it, is that we have become so darn technologically advanced. Everything is done for us and we expect every convenience everywhere we go ... even water from faucets with the wave of our hands in public restrooms, (which is so irritating, when you put your purse in the sink ...)
Today, the spirit of "doing it oneself" may be shut down from the time a child is born. At some point, a child needs to learn how to relieve his own sense of boredom and work on ways to NOT be weak, inexperienced, ignorant, shy and lacking confidence.
To become strong, experienced, knowledgeable and confident, a child needs to experience various intellectual and athletic activities. Through participating in sports, games and intellectual pursuits he will develop many skills, including coordination, strength and the ability to focus/concentrate. Through his own interest and ambition, a child needs opportunities throughout childhood and teenager-hood to develop strength in body, mind and soul.
Today, so many kids sit, sit, sit. There are so many distractions to self-fulfillment and NO ONE to guide them. Mom is at work, Dad is at work ... because buying a house requires two incomes. Parents hope their children's teachers are teaching, motivating and guiding them sufficiently, but little do they know how confused today's teachers are, teaching chrome-book lessons to already hyper students who come to school after spending entire evenings in front of screens, watching shows/movies/videos and playing video games. Furthermore, from what I hear, so many kids don't even help in the kitchen or sit down to family meals anymore! Instead, they are served TV dinners in their bedrooms sitting in front of TVs or PCs.
Who will teach, lead or guide today's youth to higher activities toward worthwhile goals, enabling them to become strong and confident and able to take on the world?
Why is there so much bullying going on in schools and on-line today?
Because deep down, they are all afraid and insecure on so many levels ...
and they all know it.
Well, I hope not "all."There is a lot of truth to this.
The young generations today have plenty at home to entertain them and occupy their time. Video games that are more exciting than reality, movies on 60' tv screens that have higher quality than movies we used to watch in theatres 40 years ago... and of course Social Media sites where you can chat with other people online rather than in person.
So yes, children today and for the last 20 years have had different stimulus at home than prior generations did. Prior generations had no reason to stay home, there was nothing there to do... unless one had friends over... there again is a difference, socialization, activity probably sports or table top games was done with others in person, not online.
Parents as well were different 50 years ago, today whether a household has one or two parents chances are both work fulltime jobs trying to maintain a standard of living they may have grown up in, where only one parent had to work to maintain it.
Unless of course, they are Americans that survive on government support, which lends itself a majority of the time to a family without a father figure.
Thanks, I have written a few Hubs on such issues in the past.
Nice thing about having those is you can look back at them and see if your position had any merit, or not. Some of them, while updated, are half-a-dozen years old and have stood the test of time fairly well.
Kids are addicted to phones, iPads and such. And many parents don’t mind because it’s a babysitter. The real problem is, once they are adults, these kids will need to rely on government programs for survival. They will be our liberal voters.
Independence takes self-sufficiency, self discipline, training and education. It also takes joy of life and the will to live it according to the way one chooses. If today's youth are not given freedom to experience, experiment and explore the concrete world, on their own terms with their own interests and inner motivations, they will never know true enthusiasm for life! They need freedom and opportunities within common sense boundaries and not just screen-time.
Parents need to to see the bigger picture. They need to raise conservative voters!Hi Kathryn. I agree with much of what you say. Just a couple of observations. We don't really know what the impact of tech will be on our futures and kids have always found some way of escaping the humdrum. Amongst the young people that I know, I don't see any real differences between my generation and theirs.
We don't need to raise conservative voters as such. We need to raise people who care - let them sort their own politics out.Yes, time will tell. I guess I was painting with the broad brush, which is a
no-no.
Also, remember that freedom must be preserved and fought for
... and can be lost in one generation.
I am with you. I don't like the idea of "raising" anybody, let people do their own thinking and derive their own conclusions and direction.
It certainly can be quickly lost, I agree. But what is freedom?
Picking up on a couple of your points, and speaking from a British perspective:-
1. Yes it can be hereditary, but not always. My maternal grandfather was a staunch Labour supporter, as was my mother, and as I am; so parent’s attitudes can have an influence on the attitudes of their children. But also, there was a phenomena most prominent during the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s whereby children rebelled against their parent’s values e.g. the hippy era during the 60’s and young adults of middle class parents rebelling against their parent’s life style!
2. And there certainly is a lack of trust between the other generations; and it does it matter when it comes to politics with emphasis on party platform and ideology? This was most prominent during the 2016 Brexit Referendum where the British people voted only marginally in favour of Brexit; with the millennial generation blaming the Baby Boomers for condemning their future to not being an integral part of the Europe: 73% of the under 25’s voted to remain within the EU, while 60% over the age of 65 voted for Brexit.
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