ELLIS: The first baby boomers have seen a lot of change

[Laelth]

C. Jack Ellis, the former mayor of my home town, Macon, Georgia, wrote an editorial that appeared in our local paper this morning and that I think is worthy of sharing. In it, Ellis notes how far we have come while noting that we still have a long way to go:

It was 50 years ago that the first wave of baby boomers, those born in 1946, i.e. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and yours truly, turned 18 years of age. This summer we are celebrating our 50th high school class reunion.

<snip>

Many of us, including me, fought and some died in Vietnam, while others burned their draft cards to protest the war. Some, like Bill Clinton received college deferments, and others, like George W. Bush and Dan Quayle, knew they could avoid combat in Vietnam by joining the National Guard.

We got married, had children, yet some of us continued to party like it was 1999. Former President George W. Bush, is quoted as saying that he didn’t get serious about life until the age of 40. Although, we were born and raised in a segregated South, we, both black and white, helped to transform the South from an oppressive, segregated society, where denials of such basic civil rights or the right to vote were commonplace, to a place where a little “colored” boy, the son of a sharecropper from Bloomfield, could be elected and re-elected as the first and only black mayor of Macon. The capitol city of our state is also governed by a young black man, and yes, a black man sits in the Oval Office as the president of the United States.

Indeed, the past 50 years have brought us a mighty long way. As we look back on our journey and life’s work as some of us have joined the ranks of the retired, we know in our heart of hearts that there is much work yet to be done. But, as we gather to celebrate our 50th year reunion, we can honestly say that our city, state and country are much better off because we fought against the ills of our nation, and we will keep fighting until there is truly equal opportunity for all. Happy 50th reunion.

http://www.macon.com/2014/08/27/3270049_ellis-the-first-baby-boomers-have.html?sp=/99/203/&rh=1

I agree with Mayor Ellis that we have, in fact, come a long way. That's important to remember when we see continuing and pernicious problems in this country that drain our energy and invite us to despair. Progress happens, and it will continue to happen. We, here, on the left made it happen, and we will continue to do so.

To all my allies on the left, cheers!

-Laelth

[brer cat]

1. Thanks for posting, Laelth.

I am a 1946 front line boomer and GA native. We have, indeed, come a long way. I have been very depressed recently about our country. Maybe I need to step back and reflect on what we have managed to accomplish: the glass half-full is better for depression than the glass half-empty.

[Laelth]

5. My pleasure.

As bad as things are, I still think this is about the best we have ever been.

Here's what I can say that might be useful.

Believe it or not, the people of this country have more power now than ever before.

Peace, fellow Georgian.

-Laelth

[brer cat]

19. Wow!

Thanks for the links. I had missed both of those...great writing and points made. I will bookmark to reread when I am feeling down.

[Sancho]

2. I'm a boomer; raised mostly in SC and GA...

and I can completely identify with this post. I burned my draft card, fought for 18 year olds to vote, and almost didn't speak to my Army Major father for a couple years in the 60's.

The small towns I lived in were completely racists, and are better now but still troubling. School integration was a mess when I was a student. We never saw the ERA ratified.

I wish the HS and college students that I see today were as passionate as we used to be about the world (Earth Day), achievable peace, and politics. They don't appear to have the same desire to speak out that we did...

march on brothers and sisters!

[Laelth]

10. I am quite pleased with the younger generations.

They are vastly more tolerant and vastly more liberal than my own Generation X. The younger generations are killing the Republican Party. They may not march in the streets, but they communicate a lot--often through social media facilitated by the internet.

We didn't know what we were doing when We, the People, of the United States created the internet and then gave it to the world for free, but we should be proud that we did so, and we are only beginning to see the ways in which the internet is changing the world. That's how the younger generations are affecting the world they inhabit, and their strategies may prove to be more effective than any protest march could ever be.

-Laelth

[Sancho]

16. Maybe...we'll see.

Right now in Florida, there is awareness through social media, but many don't vote or take an active role. That's particularly true of college students.

I hope the millenniums become as active about issues of the military, environment, and education as those in the 60's and 70's. The main topics that are hot are gender equality and drugs, but after that the energy trails off...

In the 60's we didn't have the internet, but we were very aware of the power of communication. Haha..we used CB radios during protests to keep track of the cops, there were lots of homemade flyers, and newsletters!

It was amazing what an impact music and theater like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar had on the boomers. TV changed dramatically with the Smothers Brothers and Rowen and Martin's Laugh-In, which were quite similar to the Daily Show and Colbert if you break down the satire. Television could no longer control content as the boomer generation demanded less censorship.

[JustAnotherGen]

3. Kick!

My mom was born in 47 -

Truthfully - I'd like to sit down and have a strongly worded discussion with Brokaw about who this Gen Xer feels was the 'Greatest Generation'.

But my race and gender and current career . . . My opportunities came from Boomers - so I tend to think that group is filled with awesome sauce!

[Laelth]

13. I certainly admire the Boomers for the social progress they fostered.

I have my gripes about them, however, in regards to how they have failed to maintain broad prosperity in the United States. I will never forgive them for Ronald Reagan.

Increase the minimum wage!



-Laelth

[Gman]

4. Yet, those who supported segregation having lost that battle

continue to fight back in different ways. Ferguson is the best current example. I suspect they likely will never relent.

[Laelth]

14. None of them are arguing for a return to slavery.

The people who supported segregation are dying off. On the social issues, at least, much progress has been made and further progress seems inevitable to me. Yes, we are dealing with the backlash at the moment, and that backlash is real and deadly, but it will not last.

On the economic issues, however, our country is in deep trouble. I hope we can right our ship of state soon on income inequality and economic justice. That's where my concerns lie.

-Laelth

[Gman]

20. I don't think they're dying off

Their kids and grandkids carry on the tradition

[Laelth]

21. Some will.

Over time, though, I think their numbers will continue to dwindle until they are politically irrelevant.

-Laelth

[Romulox]

6. The boomers left their children (and theirs) a country in ruins. You shouldn't be proud. nt

[Laelth]

8. On the economic issues, I agree.

If we don't get our economic house in order soon, I'm going to have to seriously consider moving to another country.

Increase the minimum wage!

-Laelth

[raouldukelives]

11. Aside from aligning themselves with corporate interests and turning a blind eye to its destruction

I think they did OK.
Of course, the planet may be now locked in an unrecoverable death spiral because of all the "good work" they did on behalf of Wall St but heck, take a mulligan on that one.

[Romulox]

12. That they could sell out to corporate interests and still be "liberal" is their central lie. nt

[enough]

7. Pre-boomer here (born in 1944).

One major change is in the expectations/opportunities for women and girls in every area of life. I know there's a long long way to go, but looking back the change has been nothing short of revolutionary.

Another (for better or worse) is the pervasive presence of electronic tech in every area of life. I grew up in a house with NO TV till I was in high school. I knew a few people who had them at home, but not everyone did. We had one telephone, hooked to the wall of course. This wasn't because of poverty or backwardness, just that the new stuff wasn't seen as that interesting or important to my parents back then.

[Laelth]

15. Well noted.

Thanks for the response.

-Laelth

[Skidmore]

22. I heartily agree with you.

Most homes now in the US have multiple electronic gadgets bleeding power all the time. I know we have more than I would like in our home and we're nowhere close to being up with the latest gizmos that people feel the need to own. The expectation has become that all people be hooked up some way and many of our problems are created by that type of connectedness. A need to know instantaneously all things comes with a terrible price.

[WinkyDink]

9. My 90-year-old mother has seen a heckuva lot more.

[Laelth]

18. No doubt, and more power to her. n/t

-Laelth

[snooper2]

17. Good thing Generation X ended up tasked with the technology boom and the Intertubes

Could you imagine Cisco Routers being this color?