Are Baby Boomers Whiners?!

Today’s Sacramento Bee (Thursday, July 17, 2008) has an article originally published in the Washington Post by Monica Hesse - a commentary piece based on a social and demographic trends survey released in June by Pew Research Center. (Pew Research Baby Boomers Survey) The basic premise of the article is that the survey, which interviewed 2,413 adults in various generations, studied negativity, discontent and general curmudgeonly behavior. Baby boomers, officially, those born between 1946 and 1964 (presently 62 to 44 years of age) complain. A lot. There are legitimate concerns. Rising cost of living, changes in the standard of living and increased demand on our money and time are justifiable gripes. We are considered the sandwich generation, taking care of aging parents who live much longer, and for what is called boomerang children, who finish college (or not!) and come home to live because of THEIR cost of living expenses. So why are we being called whiners? Babies? Sissies? (BTW, I was born in 1952, so I am definitely a baby boomer by any definition. My husband, born in ’44 is not.)

We are being called all these not-so-nice names in part because past research has shown that it looks as if our generation was NEVER happy! For example, a U of Chicago sociology study compared surveys done in the last 30 years, and has ascertained that very point. In 2004, 28% of the respondents born in 1950 considered themselves “very happy” compared with over 40% of those born in 1935.

I agree with the perspective of Ms. Hesse Monica Hesse and Mary Furlong (who runs a Bay Area consulting firm specializing in advertising focusing on that demographic – baby boomers... Mary Furlong) that perhaps we are not so much bitchy as we are disillusioned. We were optimistic for our place in history; we maintained an idealistic viewpoint about the sustainability of peace, a longing for more intimate connections with our fellow human beings, and symmetry to our lives that included cultural, social and spiritual evolution. It didn’t happen as we had hoped. In fact, we are restless, rather disconnected and disassociated, and with our large numbers (76 million) a concern to pundits and researchers alike. Massive numbers of books have been written about us as a generation, and about our chances as powers with which to be reckoned.

Oh, and the bad news isn’t over! Apparently, this malaise is a cyclical one. The older generation (of which some of you reading this article may belong – those born prior to 1946 – aged 63 to?) is considered the residents of the “Greatest Generation” who rode into town on the American Dream. Somehow, the children of that extended generation grew up with a misshapen sense of entitlement. We found our childhoods (for the most part) easy and comfortable, and from that developed the thought that happiness was our due. As Gomer Pyle would have said, “Surprise, surprise!” Because of the sheer numbers of people in that baby boomer time, we had lots of opposition for limited numbers of openings in schools, for jobs, and for American resources. Because of that competition, we did not live up to our own elevated expectations, or that of our parents. We felt pressured from all sides to perform at a certain level, based on the experiences of past generations. However, apparently we were fighting against the tide. The cycle follows many generations born after times of crisis. The generation after American Independence, and the one after the Civil War also battled similar disillusionment, and comparable struggles for place and power. According to author Neil Howe (Neil Howe Books) famed for theories of generational behavior, states, “People born in times of cultural renewal tend to take an overt attitude of pessimism.”

Sigh. So what is a generation to do? It depresses me to see how pessimistic my generation is supposed to be, and I can only say, I don’t know about you, but I intend to be the exception that proves the rule – and live my life with as much spirit, enthusiasm, and, yes, happiness, as I possibly can. So there!