Stop Blaming Boomers. It's the Greatest Generation That Ruined America. - By Kevin Drum

[PatSeg]

13. Every generation contributed both good and bad

to society. As a Boomer, I was inclined to blame my parents' generation for many things, but as I get older, I think I can understand them more. They were better in many ways than their parents, who were better than theirs. When I started doing genealogy, I was able to see a bigger picture and appreciate those who came before me in a different light.

In many respects, I am biased as I witnessed so many positive and transformative changes in the late 1960s and 1970s. I was disappointed when my children's generation seemed so disinterested in the same social and economic issues that defined mine, but they have been catching up.

We have a tendency to put tags on people and generations, when life is far more complex than that. I understand now how the Great Depression and World War II shaped my parents and their friends in the 1950s. What we viewed as superficial materialism and shallow lifestyles was in stark contrast to the hard times they endured for the previous two decades. I took "peace and prosperity" for granted then, but to them it was gift paid for with hardship and loss.

So it is probably healthier not to look to place blame on some other generation, but appreciate what they gave us, while always trying to move society forward.