Another Generation Gap? God help us!

dromadus · Mar 1, 2010

The generation gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between a child and his or her parent's generation.

Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, because of more rapid cultural change during the modern era differences between the two generations increased in comparison to previous times, particularly with respect to such matters as musical tastes, fashion, culture and politics. This may have been magnified by the unprecedented size of the young generation during the 1960s, which gave it unprecedented power, and willingness to rebel against societal norms.
In the 1990s and 2000s, cultural differences concerning what should be the sexual norm, as well as new technology, political differences, workplace behavior, age of consent, age of responsibility, the education system, and many other political, cultural, and generational issues, has produced a generation gap between Generation X and Y and their Baby Boomer parents. However, many Baby Boomers grew up during the late 1960s, and can relate to their young offspring better than their parents related to them. Nevertheless, the portrayal of teenagers in popular reality television channels, like MTV, has caused concern for parents and a sense of alienation amongst teens and young adults of today.
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OK, so am I on the other side of this now? It is a shock to think so, but I have to face it. My parents gave me safety from the invasions of the fascists, and I tried to help give you safety from the social/cultural/religious fascism of the times in which I grew up. Where are you now, oh children of this renaissance?

haelmarie · Mar 1, 2010

I think that we're in for a rude awakening sometime in the not-so-far future. Our way of life is unsustainable and it's only getting worse.

I think one of the most troubling things is, which you sort of observed in your post, is the apparent apathy of most young people to our political system. Here we are, everyone with the ability to vote... something that hundreds of years of history have gone into and that millions of our ancestors have worked to secure, and Canada has something like a 60% voter turnout. This is very troubling to me.

Take, for example, last night (I'm really trying hard not to sound like a patronizing little prick here): I was going for a run down one of Toronto's busier streets, and there were dozens of cars heading down town, beeping there horns and waving Canadian flags because Canada had won the gold medal in men's hockey. Now a few months ago, our Prime Minister Steven Harper had prorogued parliament in a petty, dictatorial move to try and divert attention away from possible torturing of Afghanis by the Canadian military. There were not people taking to the streets of Toronto to protest such an blatantly authoritarian move; instead, what moves the people is a team of overpaid men hitting a little black puck into a net better than another, similar team of overpaid men.

I'm not trying to be condescending here, I'm really not. It just worries me that people do not seem to realize how lucky they are to be living in a democracy, and I fear that if we don't start to get our values into focus then we're going to be in for a rude awakening.

dromadus · Mar 2, 2010

haelmarie said: ↑

I think that we're in for a rude awakening sometime in the not-so-far future. Our way of life is unsustainable and it's only getting worse.

I think one of the most troubling things is, which you sort of observed in your post, is the apparent apathy of most young people to our political system. Here we are, everyone with the ability to vote... something that hundreds of years of history have gone into and that millions of our ancestors have worked to secure, and Canada has something like a 60% voter turnout. This is very troubling to me.

I'm not trying to be condescending here, I'm really not. It just worries me that people do not seem to realize how lucky they are to be living in a democracy, and I fear that if we don't start to get our values into focus then we're going to be in for a rude awakening.
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I understand what you are saying and I think you may be right. People don't realize what they have now, and do not remember the fight it took to get this far. But we are not there yet. This is not yet the promised land.

I found myself becoming angry and frustrated yesterday over what I see as a serious lack of perspective and interest in issues that in the days of my youth would have resulted in protests and demonstrations. Angry from frustration that nobody seemed to see this point. Complacency because of yesterday's successes will not give us new successes tomorrow, and the struggles while well advanced are not yet complete.

Is it because we have had some victories in the old fight and we think the struggle is over? Maybe I am guilty of this too and just congratulating myself for a revolution that is incomplete. I am just shocked and the depth of some of the complacency, and I think if we end the struggles, our enemies will succeed in reasserting themselves against us. They have been able to stop us quite recently in some of our social objectives. They are better organized than we are, I think, and more determined because of the successes of our past. And it seems the old revolutionary spirit is spent while the energy is now devoted to basking in the sun before struggling to get to that next party.

I think these feelings are unworthy of me and I am just tired. But I don't think I am going to say of myself "That's so gay." I'll just settle for "That's so stupid, that's so lame, that's so bogus, that's so dumb... cause for me gay = good always.

LostandFound · Mar 2, 2010

dromadus said: ↑

Is it because we have had some victories in the old fight and we think the struggle is over? Maybe I am guilty of this too and just congratulating myself for a revolution that is incomplete. I am just shocked and the depth of some of the complacency, and I think if we end the struggles, our enemies will succeed in reasserting themselves against us. They have been able to stop us quite recently in some of our social objectives. They are better organized than we are, I think, and more determined because of the successes of our past. And it seems the old revolutionary spirit is spent while the energy is now devoted to basking in the sun before struggling to get to that next party.
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It depends where you are, and you have to remember that Empty Closets brings in people from all over. I've been fortunate to live in societies and communities where nobody cares if you are gay or straight. I'm fortunate to be able to live out a normal life in the eyes of my friends and myself without having to be a gay rights activist or constantly standing up against 'them'. I mean, one month out of every year my college flies a rainbow pride flag on the main campus pole and where I live it almost seems like its straight people who are more passionate about gay rights than gay people. This is the world that people are trying to create, where being homosexual is seen like being left-handed, and this is the type of community that I'm fortunate to live in. This allows me to be uncomplacent and an activist about other things.

Another Generation Gap? God help us!

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Another Generation Gap? God help us!

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