WoahDan said:
It didn't actually happen that way though, what happened is that the Boomers were so much bigger than the Silent Generation that the Silent Generation didn't have much choice in the matter.
Well, yes. Obviously the Boomers have the force of numbers - not only are they are product of a baby boom, they follow a generation that had its numbers reduced by wartime. At the same time, the Boomers saw a growth in wealth and technology like never before. Especially in the realm of medical technology. So, the Boomers have longer, healthier lives, and they can afford to enjoy those lives much longer with money to spend on their passions.
Having said that, the previous generation did not give up on power easily. John McCain (born 1936) ran for President as recently as 2008. Strom Thurmond
(born 1902) was a US Senator until 2003. So, no, pre-Boomers were not just handing over power to the younger generation.
WoahDan said:
Which is probably what's going to happen to Generation X, the Millenials are the biggest generation since the Boomers so mainstream culture is going to gravitate to them ASAP, Gen X won't have the luxury of holding on to the reigns for as long as they can like the Boomers did.
Of course. "Generation X" was a "baby bust" generation, and has always been at the fringes of political and social power. "Gen X" were even a minority in their own generation. For example, Sarah Palin (born 1964) is solidly in the age bracket of "Generation X" - but she demonstrates none of the social and cultural traits that are supposed to typify Generation X (cynicism, rebellion, nihilism, anti-corporatism, etc.)
So, really, Gen X is completely misunderstood, and is essentially mythical. There's a reason that Generation Xers (of which I include myself) cling to pop-culture nostalgia so strongly - because they (we) are ultimately rather powerless and ignored. The stereotypical "Gen Xer" was actually a minority amongst a bunch of yuppies and conformists in their own generation. The only reason we even got that name was because of a little-known novel by Douglas Coupland.
My generation invented Boomer-bashing. That's why I can see now, having grown up, that it is so misguided. This narrative that Baby Boomers are evil powermongers is mostly false. Which is why I am so opposed when younger generations like Millenials jump on the Boomer-bashing bandwagon. A lot of the things they are blaming Boomers for are actually the fault of previous generations. And of course, the Boomers had the exact same opinions about their elders -that they were geriatrics clinging to power and holding them down.