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Baby boomers getting back to the 'scene'

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(@citizennoir)
Noble Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 1247
 

When my own teenage children carry on about never being able to buy a home because of the 'greed' of boomers I remind them of the hundreds of dollars they waste each month on cigarettes, alcohol, mobile phone bills, computer games, playstations, mp3 players and the list goes on (yet, they still have the cheek to complain about being bored!).

Where the boomers did seriously go wrong is they have produced two generations of very selfish, self-centred and greedy children who expect everything given to them with the least amount of effort on their part. The western world is way too-centred on youth who haven't earned their place in it yet.

Okay - First off; I don't hate my dad.
He happens to be a Boomer.
And like me, a hard working bluecollar guy without a penny in his pocket.

Niether of us have ever been overseas.

In my first place, I had a piece of rotten panneling on top of some plastic milk crates for a table, and some garbage picked chairs.... one of which didn't have any legs on it.
No TV at all.... and for the most part, not even a radio.
At one point, I lived on popcorn for about a month.

An 8 yr old car!
I have a 17 yr old car with 250,000 miles on it!
For you Boomers that went to college - That's a trip to the moon!
I on the other hand did not attend college.

I don't own a home, nor have I ever.
And I probably never will.

Not that I would want to spend my hard earned money on one of the energy wasting cracker boxes that are being passed off as housing these days.

I don't waste hundreds of dollars each month on cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs as I don't use any of them.
If you have TEENAGED children who do....???? :shock:

I don't have an Mp3 player, playstation, or play computer games.
In fact, I can't even tell you the last time it was that I rented a movie!

And I'm rarely bored.

I live in an economically 'challenged' part of the country, based on tourism; which is not doing well this year at all.
If I told you how much I grossed last year, I'm sure even the 'Depression' era generation would gasp!
And I don't live on any kind of 'public welfare' either.

I spend about $50.00 to $70.00 a week on groceries, and that's for me and my son.

I work a very physically demanding job, and bring nothing except water.
I do not buy a lunch.

I eat one meal a day. And I'm thankful for that.

I had a pretty good job and had to give it up because they wanted me to transfer two hours South of here.
Couldn't do it because of my obligation as a father to my son.

So, I went back to being an underpaid/overworked peon.
That doesn't stop me from doing the best job that I can do though.

And because of my hard work; I was offered the best job I would've ever had.
And as desperate as I am.... I turned it down because it was again too far away for me to be a good father to my son.

Yes, I have a US Strat.... I bought it brand new back in 1988.

I have a tendency to take care of my things.... I like high quality items.
I just got back from town.... I wore a pair of shoes that I've had since 1985!!!!

Yes, I have a cell phone.... the lowest package that they have, and I think that is a rip off!!!!
I don't have a land line because I can't see paying for that as well.
If I did.... I have a pre-war (WWII) rotary phone with a Bakelite reciever.... Best phone I ever saw!

The cell phone makes Co-Parenting with my Ex-Wife much easier.

I have a Step Daughter.... My ex's. I treat her as my own child still.

And I give what ever I can to my ex wife.

I'm a Gen-Xer.... Selfish, Self Centered and GREEDY!!!!....????

Maybe you should turn that mirror on yourself sir!

Ken

ps

I don't have a TV in my 'room' now.... and didn't have one when I was a kid.
I am old enough to remember TV's that had actual turn knobs on them, and was perfectly happy watching one of the FIVE channels that were available.

"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway

"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles


   
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(@bluezoldy)
Reputable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 329
Topic starter  

And you've proved the idea I'm trying to get across.

The generalisations I made above about gen x and y are just as off-orbit as are the generalisations which we seem to be constantly bombarded with in the media these days about boomers. The article in the first post is an example of this.

Peace.

♪♫ Ron ♪♫

http://www.myspace.com/bluemountainsblues


   
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(@grungesunset)
Honorable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 342
 

Where the boomers did seriously go wrong is they have produced two generations of very selfish, self-centred and greedy children who expect everything given to them with the least amount of effort on their part. The western world is way too-centred on youth who haven't earned their place in it yet.

Wrong. Where the baby boomers went wrong is painting younger generations with the same brush.

The other day, my neighbour, an older gentlemen was talking to me as I was going to work. He was giving me crap for leaning my bike on his fence wrecking it. He said he wasn't going to put up with my crap anymore. Interestingly enough, I do not own a bicycle. I own a car. Well, I can't say that. I lease a car which ends up costing me through the nose in insurance because I am, you guessed it, young. But I'm young so of course I must have had something to do with wrecking his fence...........

I worked hard at my job to which I was assigned a special project for 6 months before being promoted to management. It was not handed to me. Other people on my team where fixing on average 45% of their customers issues while I was averaging 98%. You may be surprised to know this but a lot of them were at least twice my age.

I am a self-serving, ambitious individual. I'm about earning my way through life and not others. I want a lot out of life, am not ashamed to admit it and will do what I have to do to get it. That sounds like earning my place in the world to me.

"In what, twisted universe does mastering Eddie Van Halen's two handed arpeggio technique count as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?!" - Dr Gregory House


   
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(@chris-c)
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Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3454
 

So what did those d@mned boomers do for anyone anyway?

Well we (admitting to it) took our comic book and Saturday morning cartoon dreams and turned them into PCs, satellite TV, cellphones, the Web, hybrid cars, iPods, satellite radio, flatscreen TV, laptops, HDTV, high speed trains, WiFi, AOL, IM, Word (FinalWord!), PowerPoint, Excel (VisiCalc for those that remember), First Lisa then Mac, My So Called Life, CoolEdit, Trash80, Space Invaders, Pixar, Starwars (the movies, not the idiot weapon sh#t), Miata, Bluetooth, CDs, DVDs, Tivo, Twin Peaks, the Space Station, ...

Love it or hate it, it hasn't been all about just buying and greed. Some of use have been building our visions.

Too right! And I'd agree that some of us having been leading reasonably ethical lives too. :)

Also, don't forget that, by dint of sheer weight of numbers, we boomers paid more total tax than any other generation, thus providing services for the previous generations in their old age, numerous amenities and infra-structure improvements for all generations to use, and we also stumped up for food, clothing, education, toys and general nose wiping and bottom cleaning for the next lot.... :wink:

Post war inflation and general health care needs pretty much wiped out any chance that my own parents had of passing on much of an inheritance to my brothers and me. Dad inherited a farm from his father, but it was long gone by the time he died. I got some of his old clothes and a few dollars when he croaked. My real inheritance was the education they paid for, the values they brought me up with, and the character traits they passed on in their genes. It's been more than enough, thanks. :)

Making sweeping generalisations about any generation is pretty pointless. I know some fantastic boomers and some arseholes. I also know some terrific young kids coming through school and some who look set to be duds. That's the way it always is. Anybody who thinks that one generation or another has it all wrong simply displays their own ignorance, insularity, and narrow range of friends. Music cuts across all ages and boundaries so we, of all people, should be more aware of how much decency and talent there is across all generations . :mrgreen:

Chris


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I am a 'tweener. (locked blissfully away between the Boomers and the X'ers.)

Yup, Chris. Same old song and dance. I was lucky enough to know my great grand parents back in the day. This goes on and on and on.

Great Grand Parents: "Kids these days ...... ugh!"
Grand Parents: "Kids these days...... ugh!"
Parents: "Kids these days...... ugh!"
People My Age: "Kids these days...... ugh!"
People even 10-15 years younger than me: "Kids these days...... ugh!"

The best is yet to come for some of you. Just wait until you wake up one morning and discover that maybe, just maybe, you could have put a little less emphasis on some priorities and a little more emphasis on things that maybe you under-estimated it's value.

A writer once wrote a line something to the effect of "One is only truly wealthy when one finds wealth in their surrounding environment." (I'm close in this quote, but not exact) I use it as a sort of lesson to make sure I enjoy life as it is when I can. That's part of the reason I'm normally in a good mood despite being laid up out of work for damned near a year due to a health issue that I did nothing at all to cause. I digress.

Funny enough, though, is that I can say with a fair amount of certainty that some of you older people had the same mindset and ambitions as Grunge does now, only to modify it later in life. In fact, I KNOW for sure that some of you older types did. You've all but admitted it in other discussions. (not picking on anyone, but just illustrating a point.....I'm one too)

Nope. Nothing changes. The tools we use to live life, yes, but that's about it.

X'ers will be taking over soon. There are some residual messes that need attending to. I'll send a list to you if you're the one hopping on it. Boomers inherited messes of their own and did a fairly decent job. Looks like their swan-song will be the energy crisis thing will no longer able to be ignored. If time, a true fix to health care for all. Not likely to happen. This will be the first test for the X'ers.

On a lighter note, does this mean that some people are guilty of "Generational Profiling" ?

I better stop therre. My medical cocktail is setting in really nicely amd I should stop talking. Before I go, though, I will say this, Make sure you find a way to enjoy the ride.

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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(@quarterfront)
Reputable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 225
 

Below, the text of an email I sent to our local PBS station re. a program they were running. This pretty much sums up my whole POV. For the record, I'm 43; right in the rut between the boom and GenX. That said, I was born after Kennedy died and I've always found myself feeling more X than Boom. If I'm a baby-anything, I'm a baby-buster.

```````````````````````
message: Since my subject choice is "General Questions", I'll state this in the
form of a question? My question is, "Can you please give BOOMERS - REDEFINING
LIFE OVER FIFTY the ol heave ho?".

Just gotta' say it. I'm way over hearing boomers talk about themselves.
Pretty much my whole life I've been hearing boomers tell me how great they are
and how they've redefined everything from soup to nuts and frankly I'm well
beyond ready for the boomers to give their collective navel gazing a rest.

If you can't cut the show from the lineup alltogether, please move it to an
evening slot, around 9pm, right after the kids go to bed. That way it can
become a drinking game like the Bob Newhart show; kind of like drinking every
time somebody says "Hi Bob", viewers can drink every time some boomer on the
show says "Boomers". Hardcore players could make the game more involved (and
ironic) by doing shots of a nice imported Pilsner on the word "Boomers", and
shots of a crisp yet refreshing Chardonais on the word "redefined".

With tongue placed squarely in cheek,
Shane


   
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(@grungesunset)
Honorable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 342
 

Great Grand Parents: "Kids these days ...... ugh!"
Grand Parents: "Kids these days...... ugh!"
Parents: "Kids these days...... ugh!"
People My Age: "Kids these days...... ugh!"
People even 10-15 years younger than me: "Kids these days...... ugh!"

Nope. Nothing changes. The tools we use to live life, yes, but that's about it.

The whole purpose of life is to perpetuate itself. We value the whole having a career and family as a place in the world. You go to school, to get a job, to raise a family so your offspring can have an eduction, to get a job and raise a family so their offspring can have an education..................you get the idea.

Each generation repeats a lot of these cycles. This one is hard to break but others are under our control to stop but we don't and I don't understand why. Take for example the older generation going on about the good ol days and their music was better and today's music is crap. We won't go into how valid this is but I would imagine that the people that say this had the generation before them take a similar view. There are many examples of this but it all boils down to the older generation looking down on the younger generation for doing the same things they did when they were young and saying their way was better. It drives me crazy and I'm sure it drove the previous generation crazy but no generation seems to want to stop the whole "kids these days" mentality. It's all within our power to stop but we don't and I'd like to find out why.

I'm not sure about the rest of my generation but when I'm 50 I won't be knocking the new music calling the music of my day as 'real music.' I'll be too busy in the house I own with no noisy neighbours, being paid ridiculous amounts of money for very little work, driving my hydrogen fuel cell car laughing at anyone who thinks a small apartment, working hard for no money and paying a small fortune for gas is the 'good ol days.'

"In what, twisted universe does mastering Eddie Van Halen's two handed arpeggio technique count as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?!" - Dr Gregory House


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

I'm not sure about the rest of my generation but when I'm 50 I won't be knocking the new music calling the music of my day as 'real music.' I'll be too busy in the house I own with no noisy neighbours, being paid ridiculous amounts of money for very little work, driving my hydrogen fuel cell car laughing at anyone who thinks a small apartment, working hard for no money and paying a small fortune for gas is the 'good ol days.'

Take away the hydrogen car and you've just regurgitated (unknowingly) what we said 20 years ago. I could have written this word for word. Now, before you reply, do an eye roll. There. Feels better, doesn't it? We did that too. See, it's not just a "kids these days" mentality. It's two sided.

Oh, and memory is sometimes selective. I can remember some good 'ol college days and get lost in happy thoughts. What I choose not to remember is the end of April grind before finals and summer, and other things like that. So, if some old couple living in a big house with the big car decide to sell it and buy a condo, maybe they're trying to grasp some simpler life styles. (no yard, less house to clean, etc)

Now, as far as the "The whole purpose of life is to perpetuate itself." comment. There are glaring holes in your arguments. No, not just your arguments. Your actions too. If this statement was true, would raising a family not be an absolute priority? It isn't. I refer to an earlier comment you made, "A lot of it has to do with the fact that when you're young you are trying to start a career, further yourself in your career, get married, have a family and equally flawed things that society values as suceeding in life." You sounded like you had it figured out, but then you wrote many career-centric things. Your one nesting-instinct episode away from wanting kids. My wife and I have been through all of that too, as did our parents and their parents.....

I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm only trying to show you two things, and prove a point. My point is simple. You are very much part of the cycle. (no, you never denied it explicitly, but I felt you implied it a time or two)

The two things I'm trying to show you are:
#1: You will change. Experiences will make sure of that. Priorities are not life-long constants. They have a way of changing, thereby changing you.

#2: The cycle cannot break, and we do not have the power. Until everyone is born with a whole platter full of life experiences, there will always be young people wondering what the hell an old booger is talking about, and there will always be old boogers forgetting their pre-life-experience mindsets wondering why young people don't get it.

I close with this redundant thought. Experiences mold and shape our lives. There's no possible argument against that. Next time someone someone does or says something that makes you think to yourself, "What is she thinking?", ask yourself this. "I wonder what experience(s) caused her to think that?".

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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(@twistedlefty)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 4113
 

"If you would know the road ahead, ask someone who has traveled it."
~Chinese Proverb~

#4491....


   
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(@jwmartin)
Noble Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 1435
 

I'm firmly in the Gen-X category, although I never really saw myself as part of that group. While all my peers were slacking in coffee shops and wearing flannel, I was working my @ss off to provide for my son. My only complaint about Boomers is all these new financial commercials targeting them. These money management companies are using counter-culture icons (i.e. Dennis Hopper) and 60's rock music while talking about managing wealth and buying yachts to retire on. This is the generation who said "screw the establishment" and sat around smoking dope while talking about giving away all their worldly possessions and "dropping out"?

For the record, I have no complaint about them making money. I am a firm believer in capitalism, I just think it's ironic to use symbols of a movement that was anti-capitalist to sell wealth management services.

Bass player for Undercover


   
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(@grungesunset)
Honorable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 342
 

Now, as far as the "The whole purpose of life is to perpetuate itself." comment. There are glaring holes in your arguments. No, not just your arguments. Your actions too. If this statement was true, would raising a family not be an absolute priority? It isn't. I refer to an earlier comment you made, "A lot of it has to do with the fact that when you're young you are trying to start a career, further yourself in your career, get married, have a family and equally flawed things that society values as suceeding in life." You sounded like you had it figured out, but then you wrote many career-centric things. Your one nesting-instinct episode away from wanting kids. My wife and I have been through all of that too, as did our parents and their parents.....

The whole point of having a career is to raise a family. We place value on the things we do in between jobs and reproducing but we are the only species on the planet that does so. Our cycle is a lot more complex than say an ameoba dividing but the principle is the same.
I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm only trying to show you two things, and prove a point. My point is simple. You are very much part of the cycle. (no, you never denied it explicitly, but I felt you implied it a time or two)

I'm aware of this and want out of it. How exactly I plan to do this I can't say due to the rules of this forum.
Oh, and memory is sometimes selective. I can remember some good 'ol college days and get lost in happy thoughts. What I choose not to remember is the end of April grind before finals and summer, and other things like that. So, if some old couple living in a big house with the big car decide to sell it and buy a condo, maybe they're trying to grasp some simpler life styles. (no yard, less house to clean, etc)

I'm with you on that. The main point of my previous post was people carry the myth that things are getting worse when it's quite the opposite. I believe it is for the reason you stated. People remember the good stuff and not the bad stuff.

I still believe if your parents did things to drive you nuts, you do have the power to chose not to do the same things to your kids.

"In what, twisted universe does mastering Eddie Van Halen's two handed arpeggio technique count as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?!" - Dr Gregory House


   
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(@chris-c)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3454
 

This one is hard to break but others are under our control to stop but we don't and I don't understand why. Take for example the older generation going on about the good ol days and their music was better and today's music is crap. We won't go into how valid this is but I would imagine that the people that say this had the generation before them take a similar view. There are many examples of this but it all boils down to the older generation looking down on the younger generation for doing the same things they did when they were young and saying their way was better. It drives me crazy and I'm sure it drove the previous generation crazy but no generation seems to want to stop the whole "kids these days" mentality. It's all within our power to stop but we don't and I'd like to find out why.
Can't you see that you're doing exactly what you're complaining about? You are branding the entire "older generation" as all having one attitude and one way of behaving - which is precisely what you profess to dislike when you're on the receiving end of that sort of stereotyping. :)

It's a standard joke that when you get old you start making comments about "what's wrong with the young of today" just as it's a also a joke that young people haven't a clue about the real values and motivations of older people. But the point is, they are jokes about an aspect of some people, not some kind of universal truth about everybody. I'm lucky enough to have many friends across all generations, and we get on just fine. In the group that I play with the oldest musician is a guy well into his seventies, and the youngest is in his mid twenties. I know people who are broad minded or narrow minded, bright or dumb, generous or selfish, across all generations.

As Roy said, I can recognise many of your comments and attitudes from when I was young. We also wanted to change our world and invent our own rules. To a certain extent some of us did too. But along the way you find out a lot more about why previous generations made the choices that they did. You find out that many chose similar paths to each other - for perfectly good reasons. You also find out that there have aways been others who chose different paths, and what the cost of those choices were. Because there always are costs. Various forms of anarchy sounds great when you're viewing it from the point of view of throwing off a bunch of rules that you see as restricting you - being able to do what you want. But it's not so great when you get there and find that it means that other people can also do as they please too, and that some of them are a lot meaner, stronger and nastier than you are and don't happen to share your particular viewpoints....

You discover that you can't have any rights if nobody also takes on responsibilities and duties, and is willing to look after the dull stuff that keeps the world together. Of course, you can decide to be entirely selfish and hope that everybody else will look after all the things that you don't like, or you can start contributing real effort, not just words. We can all do this in many ways, from our family and friends, to our local community, and on to the nation and the earth as a whole.

I didn't hop straight onto some sort of corporate gravy train when I was young. I tried all sorts of shared living styles and arrangements, and some worked better than others. I also looked at all sorts of working and general economic models. Again, some worked better than others. But everything turned out to have some merits and some drawbacks, some pay-offs and some costs. And the costs were paid in various ways - money, time, effort, adopting various ethical standards, gaining or losing certain freedoms, or whatever.

I didn't marry until my mid thirties, but when I did I knew WHY I wanted to - and it wasn't because some imaginary "Society" was pressuring me to do so. "Society" is a convenient scapegoat for those who don't have the energy or imagination to go their own way, but mostly other people don't care what you do, provided you don't give them a hard time about it. I got married because I met somebody that I wanted to make that sort of public and private commitment to, and who felt that way about me. After living together for a while, we were legally married, by a civil celebrant, in front of a group of friend and relatives, in the garden of my wife's parents house. That was 26 years ago, and it has proved to be a great decison which neither of us regret. It's the same with having children - you can choose to or not - and either decision has its costs and its benefits. It's up to you.

It's the same with work - you can choose to jump on an existing bus, or walk your own road. Mostly I did the latter. I worked my way around various parts of the world, doing jobs ranging from menial to managerial, but for the majority of my working life I ran my own businesses. I like shaping my own life, even down to building my own house and landscaping the garden, but I also enjoy getting involved with the wider community, and people who leave different lives to me. For the last few years my wife and I have even done what might once have been seen as a 'role reversal' - she had her career, and I looked after the home and family side of things. So I've tried most things out. And guess what - they can all work if you put the effort in, but none of them come without their pluses and minuses. :D
I'm not sure about the rest of my generation but when I'm 50 I won't be knocking the new music calling the music of my day as 'real music.'

I'd be surprised if you don't have some critical opinions about the music of the future. I certainly admit to thinking that much of the music today is of pretty poor quality and little lasting value - but that was equally true of the music of any other era I've either lived through or looked back on. Lots of forgettable stuff, a few gems, and a collection of bits and pieces that weren't all that great musically but will always be special to some of us, because they meant something at a particular time that we lived through.
I'll be too busy in the house I own with no noisy neighbours, being paid ridiculous amounts of money for very little work, driving my hydrogen fuel cell car laughing at anyone who thinks a small apartment, working hard for no money and paying a small fortune for gas is the 'good ol days.'

:mrgreen:

Well, I don't know how much of that you'll actually get, but I managed some of it. The house and land with no noisy neighbours - we've certainly got that one. No hydrogen car yet, but we can afford to pay for the fuel for the cars we do have, and I have a bicycle and a pair of working legs that carry me about too... As for being paid ridiculous amounts of money for very little work - no, I can't claim that one. Instead, we have enough money in our joint kitty to both lead the lives that we want to lead, which is not all about money. Mostly it's about choice. We do the work we choose to do, we have chosen to be involved in our local community in certain ways, and so on.

Good luck with your journey, and handling the ups and downs of the choices that you make. :)

Cheers,

Chris


   
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(@wes-inman)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5582
 

Chris, that was an excellent and well-thought-out response.

Don't know what I can add to this except that I might be a little different from many baby boomers. I really didn't go for the extreme idealism of the 60s and 70s. I guess I am an old fuddy-duddy, but for the most part I trusted my parent's generation and realized that through life experience they knew a lot more than me.

Funny, when I see one particular candidate for President I see that idealism of the 60s again. For the first time since then I see a unity of young people and a zeal. It is 1967 all over again. :D

The 60s and 70s was a great time for music, because it was a very turbulent time. Maybe the music was great, but not everything else was. When you saw our cities in flames from riots, when you heard of another assasination, when you crawled under your desk to prepare for that nuclear attack, that wasn't very good at all as I remember.

And you know, it is very similar now. Gas driving prices up, terrorism around the world, this stuff shakes people up. And the young people look for an answer. So this renewed idealism looks just the same. You young people are just like us.

But as Chris said, get a little experience under your belt and suddenly your parents seem like geniuses. How did they know??
Well, they found out just like we did, hard knocks. And the present generation will find out the same way.

Don't know about others, but I don't think life is simply about reproducing. I am a pretty religious guy, I think we are put here for a purpose greater than ourselves. We are supposed to live a good life and be an example to others. Life is about being the good person we were intended to be. Doesn't matter how much money or possessions you've got if you don't like that face in the mirror. And experience has shown me that the more wrong you do, the less you will like that face.

There is one song that I think captures the 60s and 70s perfectly, Ball of Confusion. This song is incredible, even the music and sound effects show the great confusion of that time. And today is getting to be exactly the same. Give a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrihp7g0bgs



1, 2... 1, 2, 3, 4, Ow!

People moving out, people moving in. Why, because of the color of their skin.
Run, run, run but you sure can't hide. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Vote for me and I'll set you free. Rap on, brother, rap on.

Well, the only person talking about love thy brother is the...(preacher.)
And it seems nobody's interested in learning but the...(teacher.)

Segregation, determination, demonstration, integration, Aggravation, humiliation, obligation to our nation.
Ball of confusion. Oh yeah, that's what the world is today. Woo, hey, hey.

The sale of pills are at an all time high.
Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky.
The cities ablaze in the summer time.
And oh, the beat goes on.

Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul.
Shooting rockets to the moon, kids growing up too soon.
Politicians say more taxes will solve everything.
And the band played on.

So, round and around and around we go.
Where the world's headed, nobody knows.

Oh, great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Just a ball of confusion.
Oh yeah, that's what the world is today.
Woo, hey, hey.

Fear in the air, tension everywhere.
Unemployment rising fast, the Beatles new record's a gas.
And the only safe place to live is on an Indian reservation.
And the band played on.

Eve of destruction, tax deduction, city inspectors, bill collectors,
Mod clothes in demand, population out of hand, suicide, too many bills,
Hippies moving to the hills. People all over the world are shouting, 'End the war.'
And the band played on.

Great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.
That's what the world is today, hey, hey.
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya, let me hear ya.
Sayin'... ball of confusion.

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

The whole point of having a career is to raise a family.
Nope. Having a career provides us with the financial means to acheive our goals. There's a difference. A goal can be family raising, or it could be to skydive (randomly selected arbitrary item) as much as possible.....anything. You choose it. We choose it. Conscious decision. That's the beauty of it. You do what you want. Sure, social and legal boundries exist, but that's splitting hairs.

You're going to see something else in management now that you are promoted. People don't share your goals. No, they are not lacking ambition. They just want something different than you. Some people just do the 9-5 thing so that they have a means to support, financially, their journey towards their goals. They may want to be the best mom, or a great golfer or a motorcycle rider seeing the world or whatever. Having an income is all they need. Do they want to climb the ladder? No. Does it make them less ambitious? No. It makes them less career-centric than you and more focused on something that means a lot to them. So, when you're on someone's case about not being dedicated or not trying hard enough, realize that they may not really care the way you do. Different set of priorities. They are laughing at you just as you laugh at them.
We place value on the things we do in between jobs and reproducing but we are the only species on the planet that does so. Our cycle is a lot more complex than say an ameoba dividing but the principle is the same.
Nope. Other animals play or recreate. Reproducing is the result of a bioligical urge. A true accident, except that it's nature's (or your chosen deity's) way to keep the species going. The bear in the woods, in his mind, is just getting himself some, not keeping a species going. To him, it's right up there with scratching his back on a big pine tree. They place as much value on non-reproducing activities as most humans.

and in closing.....

OK, so something to try sometime. Don't do this at work. Imagine you're at your own funderal and you get to hear people give the eulogy. What would you like them to say about you? THAT, my friend, is what's really important to you. All's I can say is this. I sure as hell don't want someone to sprout off something like, "Roy really knew his database schema...".

Live life like you're writing your eulogy and you win.

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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(@stormymonday)
Reputable Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 429
 

I know people who are broad minded or narrow minded, bright or dumb, generous or selfish, across all generations.

I just read this thread and was thinking this the entire time. I always hate hearing about generational differences because it's all crap. I mean, sure, advances in technology and everything else has helped change the way people live, but I don't think human nature has changed one iota in the history of mankind.


   
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