This
article from the Washington Post popped up on facebook this morning. It was a summary of Gen X and how they are now in their 40's and 50's and taking up the slack. How they vote and why, and how this affects us.
It is a bit shallow, and feels the need to constantly remind us that Trump is a boomer president (which he is), but a lot of what it says I found fascinating. A few reasons why.
First off I am not sure where I fit in on this scale. I read 1982-2000 are millennials. I was born Feb 9th 1982. Did I miss Gen X by 5 weeks? But then I hear millennials are 1986-2000 elsewhere, but Gen X is 1964-1978. So what if you were born in 1980?
Personally I do feel like I identify stronger with Gen X than millennials. I DO think millennials are kinda whiny and self absorbed. When I think of my favourite music from my teen years it is Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell. Staunch Gen Xers. I identify much more easily with a 40 year old than a 25 year old, though being 35 that might be natural in any event.
So I've decided that I'm not gonna miss Gen X by five weeks. I might have been late to the party, but you don't hear me crying about it (see, not a millennial). I'm here now. Get off me.
Seriously though.
The article sums up the number of Gen Xers who are now republicans, arguing that Gen X is attracted to that philosophy. I disagree strongly with that as when I think of a boomer republican I think of a guy with more guns than teeth and a bible he can't read. That being said, the sheer number of libertarian Gen Xers in Conservative parties across the U.S and Canada may be indicative of a point the author made:
But how is it that the new wave of the GOP was raised on grunge?
If they were angry and disillusioned teenagers in the 1980s and ’90s, in middle age they are “very naturally libertarian, very pragmatic,” says Neil Howe, co-author of “13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?,” the 1993 book that defined the generation. During Gen X’s formative years, Americans were embracing individualism, the free marketplace and unabashed capitalism.
“Gen X is a perfect reflection of that: ‘No one is going to help you. No handouts. It’s up to you,’ ” Howe says. “Particularly first-wave Xers, they’re just naturally Republican.”
Again, I think these ideals are what republicans (and Canadian Conservatives party members) wish they were, rather than what they actually are, and I think it ignores the fact that Gen X voted overwhelmingly for Obama for years. It also ignores the fact that republicans have been staunchly against women's rights and homosexual rights for decades, something Kurt Cobain would not have approved of at all :P. Their stance on the environment is also appalling. I do share this with millennials - I like breathing. So I feel very comfortable dismissing the party politics side of it.
But it does tap in to something that I do think is common among people my age. I would never say government is THE problem, but I do see it as an annoyance rather than a tool for much good. I would never call myself a Libertarian, mostly because I understand why labour laws came in to existence in the first place (ever wonder why every Libertarian you ever meet is a rich or single white guy?) but I do think that they successfully identify the problems of modern liberal democracy. Listening to Bill Maher talk about republicans and democrats only serves to remind me how old he is. The only difference between him and Bill O'Reilly is where in Ireland their families emigrated from. I am much more interested in what Richard Branson is doing for space travel than NASA. Now you'd think that would make me like Trump, but see women, gay and environmental issues above for explanation as to why I absolutely do not. Now if Richard Branson wanted to be the U.K's next P.M, that would be interesting to me. Heck, why can't Arnold just be president? The free world needs a leader who can bench more than Putin. These are the issues. Seriously though I do wonder how Bill Gates would fare with Gen X as a candidate? Better than Hillary Clinton did I bet.
I think it was interesting that, in Canada anyway, Gen X and millennials did not vote Conservative, but nor did they vote for the NDP. Statistically they voted Trudeau or stayed home. Now obviously statistics are a dangerous thing, and can be manipulated in many ways, and MANY Gen Xers voted NDP or Conservative (and a majority of both Gen X and millennials stayed home). Heck some are probably Nazi's or Marxists or whatever. But if you take a generation as stats, the guy who offered to spend money on roads and bridges so you could get to where you need to go beat the guy who tried to trick you in to thinking Muslims and immigrants were scary and the guy that offered you free handouts and claimed everyone was a victim..... by a decent margin. Not that I personally think Trudeau is amazing at all, and again stats are a mixed bag and this ignores the 45% of Canadians who stayed home in 2015. It also ignores regional issues, local representatives etc. So by no means should it be taken as fact. I just think that, when it was put to me in that way, it was interesting and I admit it has a certain appeal to me.
I also thought it was interesting the way that society affects you more than you realize, which the article touched on various times. Whether you subscribe to the Post's article, some or all of my points, or have a set of your own that are totally different, the society you were raised in affected them. Yes family matters a lot, but the society as a whole matters too. Boomers had idealists as heroes. From MLK to John Lennon. The hippies, again as a demographic, had moral certainty. An absolute belief that they could change the world for the better. This has been, to say the least, a double edged sword. Kurt Cobain never offered us that. He was staunchly against homophobia, racism and sexism and was vocal about it, but lets be honest he is most famous for doing a lot of drugs and drink and then doing himself in. Man didn't give a fuck. Eddie Vedder was a bit better, but even he went about it differently. He didn't lead mass protests against exploitative capitalism, he just insisted on not using ticketmaster for Pearl Jam shows (which in the 1990s was a big deal). Again these role models (if you can even say there is such a thing as a generational role model) leave a mixed legacy, but they affect how people think.
I see a lot of that in myself. I don't care if someone is gay and dislike homophobia in the extreme, but when I say I don't care I mean I don't care. Fuck off with the parades. You were born gay, it isn't an accomplishment. You don't like oil pipelines? What are you actually doing to change it? Oh you have a sign and are blocking traffic. Good job.....you fucking tool. You want to do something useful go study environmental engineering. You can do that with Canada's well funded post-secondary system. They are the guys making a difference. My non sexual man crush on Richard Branson can be referenced here. I regret taking student loans to pay for my BA and an angry that my family was taxed so heavily that I needed those gov't loans because there was no expendable income there (the loans being my money anyway.... I have to borrow my own money......). I don't feel appreciative, I am fucked off about it. I paid for my entire MA and teacher training myself. I am proud of that. It was hard and I was poor and I won't have the saving account my Dad had at 35 until I am in my 40's. But I'll have it, and I won't owe anybody but my family for it. As it should be.
Anyway. I do wonder how much that attitude is me, how much it is generational, and how much you can say anything is generational. I do know that my parents generation bemoan the low voter turnout among their children. I don't think it is that we are uninformed or lazy or slackers. I think it is that we'd rather fix a problem ourselves rather than wait for (or trust) the state to fix it. This does not mean that change cannot be affected at the ballot box, and some people DO need to be voted AGAINST. But for positive, proactive change I'd rather work with my friends and colleagues. I know that I can affect education and international students going to Canada with the job I have now. I know that with more experience I'll be able to do that on a much larger scale back in Canada. I am going to do that. Education is my passion, and at the risk of being arrogant I am damn good at it. My cousin is an engineer. I have more faith in him to fix our oil dependency than I do in Trudeau or some protester.
Is that Gen X or just aspects of it? I dunno. But I know a lot of people my age who feel the same way, so I am sure it isn't just me (though I certainly know some who would disagree strongly with everything I have just said). Being raised in the Pacific northwest was probably a part of that. I have referenced three Gen X icons here.... all from Seattle. I wonder how someone from Miami feels about wearing flannel and having long hair in the summer and the 'ideals' that went along with that? In any event it is a different world view than our parents, and I enjoyed the read.
