Their parents carry one of the most admired titles of the last century. Their children will carry an enormous burden. They came of age during Vietnam and Woodstock and they put down roots after the Cold War. The Baby Boomers found an America with no ceiling, and left it with no floor.
It’s hard to deny Boomers have led us astray. The sky isn’t falling on the American Dream like some would have you think, but it certainly isn’t what it used to be.
If nothing else, the Boomers have failed to invest in the next generation. They’ve spent more on themselves and less on the future. They bought second homes and third cars instead of better schools and more efficient energy. They didn’t plan for the day they lost their job or even the day they retired. They spent.
Call them, “The Selfish Generation.” The Boomers grew up in a world that never asked them to sacrifice. Their parents fought a war for civilization that claimed the lives of half a million in less than four years. Their parents had to ration at home.
The Boomers had free love and Rock and Roll. They saw a world of prosperity that asked for nothing in return. They felt entitled to success from the beginning. They didn’t have to lift a finger for America. America had already won.
Well, a comfort like that can keep a people from growing hearty. The Boomers didn’t think America could fall, so they never planned for the day it would. This nation was the economic engine of the world and the Boomers drained the rainy day fund because they wanted to spend. They forgot about paying it forward.
“The Greatest Generation” left the Boomers a country of unprecedented capacity. They gave them an incredible leg up on the rest of the world and trusted their children to do the same.
But now, as the Boomers are ready to ride off into the sunset, they’ve pulled the rug out from under us. They’ve gone back on the promise of a better country for the ones that come after. They’ve left us adrift for the sake of their own enjoyment.
It was the Age of Excess in America over the last two decades. It wasn’t wrong of the Boomers to enjoy that, but it was wrong for them to enjoy it as much as they did. It’s one thing to spend until you have nothing; it’s another thing to spend until you have less than nothing.
But, even after everything, that isn’t the part that earns them the title of “The Selfish Generation.” I don’t mind they spent, and I don’t mind they ran up a huge bill on the credit card. I don’t even mind they left us a country with crumbling schools and a weak economy. That isn’t the part that gets me.
What really matters in all of this is what they’re saying now it’s over, now they’ve done their damage.
They’re saying it’s too late. They’re telling us we can’t recover from this. They’re telling us we can’t be strong and free and great again because they dug such a deep hole, out of which no one could possibly dig. I think they’re wrong, and I think they shouldn’t tell our generation we can’t do something just because they can’t do it themselves.
They’re also saying no. The Boomers are saying no to helping us fix the problems. After digging us a hole, they’re refusing to do anything that will save us. They still won’t sacrifice for this country, even though they never did in the first place. They insist on every dollar due in their pensions and they raise hell over the idea of increasing the retirement age or reducing Social Security benefits.
But really, what matters is what they aren’t saying. They aren’t saying they’re sorry. In all the things that have been said about who we are and where we are going as a country, the Boomers haven’t said they’re sorry. They haven’t taken the blame for failing schools and broken homes. They haven’t said I’m sorry for not investing in the future. They haven’t said they could have done better. For them, it was always someone else’s fault.
We didn’t ask for much. All we asked for was the fulfillment of the American Promise, that we will be given more than our parents were.
They are “The Selfish Generation.” Their parents were “The Greatest Generation.” The question left to ponder is this: Who will we be?
What adjective will we affix to ourselves in hopes of finding a way home? A way back to the America laid out by our grandparents on the beaches of Normandy.
Perhaps the best course is to pick up where they left off. Instead of looking backward, maybe we should just make sure we leave a better nation for our children than our parents did.
Because if there is anything still certain in America, it’s this: there is always time for redemption. We may struggle, but we can always come back.
The Boomers may have been selfish, but that’s no reason for us concede defeat. Our grandparents overcame the Great Depression to become “The Greatest Generation.” Surely we can do it again.
