There's that saying that says "people are the same wherever you go." I've never believed that. Even if you look in one place, you'll find a diverse fabric of people – from weirdos to dullards. Maybe I'd be more apt to believe that "people are the same whenever you go."
It still irks me that my generation was dubbed "Generation X" because, according to the adults at the time, we were uncertain of our futures and were an unknown factor. That pretty much describes every generation of teen-agers. Instead of the Teen Years, let's just call them the X Years.
Further, I find it silly to blame past behavior on the decade in which it happened. For example:
• 1960s
"Dude, it was the Sixties, everybody was dropping acid and into free love to protest the war, man. That's how I lost half my brain and got herpes."
• 1970s
"Yeah, it was the Seventies. Nixon, Carter, the gas crisis and my bellbottoms weighed heavy on my soul. That's why I robbed seven liquor stores and started wearing women's clothing."
• 1980s
"It was the Reagan era: big money, power brokers, greed and Iran Contra. That's why I stepped on every little person along the way and sold guns to my neighbors."
• 1990s
"Back then was a time of rediscovery, and I found out I'm a slacker. That's why I bought an SUV and did nothing but eat Doritos® and listen to Nirvana until 1999."
• The New Millenium (2001 and beyond)
"After all those drugs and lovers in the Sixties, runaway inflation and wardrobe malfunctions in the Seventies, 'Me Generation' politics in the Eighties and junk food and SUVs in the Nineties, I've decided to go low carb, buy a hybrid vehicle and stop shopping at The Gap."
Popular culture is what shapes these attitudes. Many who survived the turbulent Sixties – war, civil rights marches, assassinations – never invested into the images those of us who didn't live through it are now fed by the cultural machine. The same goes for each decade. People are people, and you'll find those from every era who lived their lives timelessly by not bowing to the latest trends, fads and ridiculous fashions that ultimately fade away. It's OK to like some of the stuff, but don't become the stuff. Be you.
If we let popular culture define us, we're fluid and can change at the whim of that culture. An undefined life doesn't have much purpose, except to feed that machine.
Too heavy for a Monday? I'll blame it on the weather: it's rained so much lately that my allergies have put me into a fog.
t-bone ...
you're not part of generation x ... but since you have a blog you can be part of the Content Generation or generation c.
I think anyone born 1965 to 1979 is considered generation X. I work with a "Generation dubber".
He's a "Baby Boomer" who likes to blame everything on "Generation X".
I had to remind him we are the product of his generations philospy of we want it all and we want it now.
I guess you could say, "we are a product of our environment." Another favorite term.
Ahhhhh chew. Me, too!
Each generation must find its own identity. Unfortunately for my generation, it was Viet Nam. Most defintely a shaper of our coming of age. Sadly, some of my era like to haul that war out to prove how much "different" (read superior, champions of human rights, environmentalists, etc.) we are than any other generation. Baloney. We were/are no better, no worse than any other. I will say our generation faced unique challenges, but then again, maybe not so unusual. We didn't have AIDS or a World Trade Center tragedy, but our fears and tears were no less real.
"Don't become the stuff. Be you."
Excellent! Thank you very much, the world needs more people who know that.
I derive tremendous enjoyment from reading your blog. And I learn a lot from your entries. Thank you.
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