Post by Naselus on Aug 19, 2006 19:46:46 GMT
The BBC website has been running a series of articles looking into the Baby Boomer generation recently, and it's mentioned a few issues I thought might be worth discussion here. Here's a couple of choice quotes:
Any comments?
They gave us rock 'n' roll (which might explain the recent book, Baby Boomers and Hearing Loss), mod cons, the space race, computer science, and a rebellious disregard for the stiff-upper-lipped attitudes of earlier generations.
But did the baby boomers also leave behind a negative, even destructive legacy?
With their thirst for "stuff" - bigger houses, better cars, tastier grub - did they give rise to a culture of selfish consumption?
And by challenging old-fashioned moralism, did they inadvertently nurture a climate of promiscuity - even fuelling the spread of STDs?
But did the baby boomers also leave behind a negative, even destructive legacy?
With their thirst for "stuff" - bigger houses, better cars, tastier grub - did they give rise to a culture of selfish consumption?
And by challenging old-fashioned moralism, did they inadvertently nurture a climate of promiscuity - even fuelling the spread of STDs?
They're probably best known for opposing the Vietnam War, having a relaxed attitude to sex 'n' drugs, and trying out less authoritarian methods of parenting.
But they're also, says US newspaper columnist Lewis W Diuguid, the "greediest generation".
"I am a baby boomer, born in 1955. My generation typifies today's excessive consumption," he says.
"We live in oversized homes in the suburbs, drive an excessive number of miles to our jobs in the cities, and we go on extravagant vacations. My generation wants it all, whatever the cost."
Diuguid says his generation has a worrying "sense of entitlement".
"My parents' generation lived in the Depression; they ate sparsely and recreated spartanly. But the Boomers think they should be given everything on a platter."
But they're also, says US newspaper columnist Lewis W Diuguid, the "greediest generation".
"I am a baby boomer, born in 1955. My generation typifies today's excessive consumption," he says.
"We live in oversized homes in the suburbs, drive an excessive number of miles to our jobs in the cities, and we go on extravagant vacations. My generation wants it all, whatever the cost."
Diuguid says his generation has a worrying "sense of entitlement".
"My parents' generation lived in the Depression; they ate sparsely and recreated spartanly. But the Boomers think they should be given everything on a platter."
Any comments?