Generation X - roughly born 1965-1980 - is a small generation sandwiched between two giant ones. As someone born in 1969, I experienced first hand how Boomers culturally, and starting in the last 1980s institutionally, dominated America. Generation X witnessed how the Boomers, especially the early cohort Boomers born prior to 1955, enormously benefitted from American society while pulling the ladder up after themselves and passing along a more dysfunctional society to their descendants.
Ironically, the list of attributes that have supposedly shaped Gen X for the better (grew up before the internet, for example) almost entirely applies to the Baby Boomer generation.
It is good to know that no one younger than the Baby Boomers are driving attacks on free speech, etc. Pardon the sarcasm, but the scapegoat thinking is quite tiresome and childish.
"This mentality today manifests itself in independent thought and an unwillingness to go along to get along - or feel inferior about doing so - just because major institutions and Boomer leaders say or do something."
This certainly describes me -- I had thought it was just my personality, but perhaps I have been more shaped by my generational environment than I was aware.
I think the early internet was beneficial until we got to the smartphone era where young people no longer wanted to learn facts or soft skills like reading a map, because they could look up whatever they wanted. The ability to communicate and learn outside of approved media was critical to breaking the information control practiced by the establishment. Gen X was critical in breaking through on this and not following the Boomers in their respect for TV news especially, which was so naive it was almost pathetic. You can still find Boomers who think Walter Cronkite gave them the whole story in an unbiased way. You can still see this in social media, although the younger generations are Boomer like in how easily they are manipulated, not because they are more trusting, but because they don't really know that much.
Ironically, the list of attributes that have supposedly shaped Gen X for the better (grew up before the internet, for example) almost entirely applies to the Baby Boomer generation.
It is good to know that no one younger than the Baby Boomers are driving attacks on free speech, etc. Pardon the sarcasm, but the scapegoat thinking is quite tiresome and childish.
"This mentality today manifests itself in independent thought and an unwillingness to go along to get along - or feel inferior about doing so - just because major institutions and Boomer leaders say or do something."
This certainly describes me -- I had thought it was just my personality, but perhaps I have been more shaped by my generational environment than I was aware.
I think the early internet was beneficial until we got to the smartphone era where young people no longer wanted to learn facts or soft skills like reading a map, because they could look up whatever they wanted. The ability to communicate and learn outside of approved media was critical to breaking the information control practiced by the establishment. Gen X was critical in breaking through on this and not following the Boomers in their respect for TV news especially, which was so naive it was almost pathetic. You can still find Boomers who think Walter Cronkite gave them the whole story in an unbiased way. You can still see this in social media, although the younger generations are Boomer like in how easily they are manipulated, not because they are more trusting, but because they don't really know that much.