General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It seems like there's a lot of dislike and contempt for "boomers" from "millennials" [View all]thucythucy
(8,052 posts)on the back for the good things, you need to take an equal amount of responsibility for the bad things."
Why?
This seems a rather simplistic way to view history.
Isn't it possible that some changes--ending the war in Vietnam, civil and human rights for people of color, women, GLBTs, environmental awareness--were the result of grassroots activism that faced incredible resistance from the powers that be--including lethal violence--and thus deserves credit where credit is due? While other things--the enormous increase in corporate power, the economy being tanked by 30 years of Reaganism foisted on us by the corporate elite, the absorption of media by those same elites, thus making grassroots change more difficult--were due to the connivance of the intensely powerful one percent, and thus less amenable to grassroots action, no matter what?
Saying that people should take "equal responsibility" for the good and the bad things that happen in their culture during their time on earth seems awfully arbitrary. It ignores the fact that different changes/events/developments/trends are due to widely different reasons.
And without a more nuanced understanding of history, trying to have an impact in any way at all, it seems to me, becomes that much more difficult.
Just my opinion, anyway.