The baby boomers vs. the greatest generation
The legacy of the baby-boom generation may not be as great as some boomers like to believe it is, says Gary Kamiya, executive editor of the online magazine.
This he writes in response to the new book The Greater Generation (St. Martin's Press, 2006), by Leonard Steinhorn, an associate professor of communication at American University. In the book, Mr. Steinhorn argues that even though it was the boomers' parents -- often referred to as "the greatest generation" -- who dragged the nation out of the Great Depression and helped win World War II, it was their children who ultimately achieved a better society.
Mr. Steinhorn touts the narrowing of the racial divide as one of the boomers' many great achievements. While Mr. Kamiya, a boomer himself, acknowledges that the United States is far less racist than it was in the 1950s, he reminds readers that there is still a division: "America continues to be profoundly segregated, and people of color are still the poorest and least educated members of society."
He writes that much of the progress achieved by the baby boomers had been set in motion by members of the previous generation. He points out that most leaders in the civil-rights movement were born before 1945. Even the leak of the Pentagon Papers, he notes, can be credited to the older generation.
Mr. Kamiya does praise certain boomer achievements and says that today most Americans subscribe to "the core boomer values of tolerance, equality, and individual choice." Indeed, he writes, many aspects of the boomer legacy are "so deeply ingrained in our culture that we simply take them for granted." Ultimately, however, "comparing the virtues of succeeding generations is a dubious exercise, especially when their members lived through periods as radically different as World War II and the 60s."
The article,"Talkin' Bout My Generation," is available at Salon.
Read entire article at Summary in the Chronicle of Higher Education
This he writes in response to the new book The Greater Generation (St. Martin's Press, 2006), by Leonard Steinhorn, an associate professor of communication at American University. In the book, Mr. Steinhorn argues that even though it was the boomers' parents -- often referred to as "the greatest generation" -- who dragged the nation out of the Great Depression and helped win World War II, it was their children who ultimately achieved a better society.
Mr. Steinhorn touts the narrowing of the racial divide as one of the boomers' many great achievements. While Mr. Kamiya, a boomer himself, acknowledges that the United States is far less racist than it was in the 1950s, he reminds readers that there is still a division: "America continues to be profoundly segregated, and people of color are still the poorest and least educated members of society."
He writes that much of the progress achieved by the baby boomers had been set in motion by members of the previous generation. He points out that most leaders in the civil-rights movement were born before 1945. Even the leak of the Pentagon Papers, he notes, can be credited to the older generation.
Mr. Kamiya does praise certain boomer achievements and says that today most Americans subscribe to "the core boomer values of tolerance, equality, and individual choice." Indeed, he writes, many aspects of the boomer legacy are "so deeply ingrained in our culture that we simply take them for granted." Ultimately, however, "comparing the virtues of succeeding generations is a dubious exercise, especially when their members lived through periods as radically different as World War II and the 60s."
The article,"Talkin' Bout My Generation," is available at Salon.