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Looking back. There are a number of current news stories looking back at the legacy of John F. Kennedy, who was killed forty years ago. His assassination was one of those generational watershed events; supposedly everyone significantly older than forty today remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. The Kennedy legacy - Christian Science Monitor Assassination Forever Fresh To Those Over 50 - Blairsville Dispatch JFK took America from gray to bold - Albuquerque Tribune Reading these articles, we get an impression of how admired Kennedy was, unlike his immediate successors - who were from the same generation, but generally reviled. In a sense, his tragically shortened presidency represents the promise of what G.I. generation leadership might have been, somehow - at least in the imaginations of contemporaries. Realistically, he surely would have suffered the same grief over the Vietnam War that Johnson eventually did. Whatever Boomers and older generations choose to make of that fateful day in Dallas, their connection to the event is not shared by those younger than them. A new generation feels little link to JFK - Philadelphia Inquirer Posted by Steve Barrera at 12:42 PM
Generations and politics transforming. The stark political divide in America today, a legacy of the Culture Wars fought over the past two decades, is generally thought of as a liberal-conservative gap, or as a Democrat-Republican gap. But something bigger is happening as the nation moves into its next era - when its civic order will transform profoundly. A sign of this transformation is possible realignment of the political parties, as they seek to form new voting blocs from the remnants of crumbling alliances. This is something which plainly happened in the 1930s, when the Democrats changed from the party of the Jim Crow South to the party of the downtrodden working man. The Republicans, once the progressives, became the reactionary old guard. Dave Belden describes these events in an intriguing article at openDemocracy, and goes on to posit a similar realignment occuring today as Republicans succumb to inexorable social liberalism. Another indication of the Republicans realigning is the rise of so-called neo-conservatism, supposed to be the doctrine of the current Bush administration. Uriah Kriegel explains it at the Washington Dispatch, using the old-school conservatism of Pat Buchanan as a foil. Jonathan Rauch at National Journal goes so far as to compare Bush with FDR, who presided over the Democrats' radical transformation in the Depression era. "New conservatism" is a misnomer for this emergent politics, tying it to its Culture Wars origins - after all, there is nothing conservative about nation-building in the Middle East, or countenancing the labor market upheavals caused by outsourcing and immigration. So where are the neo-liberals? The Democrats, alas, are stuck in the past. Most of their prominent members, like Senators Edward Kennedy and Joseph Lieberman, are from the Silent generation. This is the generation responsible for the diversity and sensitivity politics which have been so discredited by a modern conservative backlash. Boomer Democrat Howard Dean, who has been successful at tapping young voters' feelings, is labeled a maverick. One consequence of political realignment will be new cultural regimes which mix elements of red zone and blue zone values, and are embraced wholeheartedly by the rising young adult generation, who bear far less Culture Wars baggage than their elders. Belden actually lists some examples at the end of his article. For instance, evangelical environmentalism combines Christian social gospel with nature conservation. This sounds like a philosophy tailor-made for church-going, sandal-clad Millennials. Posted by Steve Barrera at 12:39 PM
The vitriolic generation. Here's a good piece on Boomers in politics, which emphasizes their confrontational stance, and touches on the culture wars phenomenon. It's from Michael Barone writing for U.S. News. Posted by Steve Barrera at 10:05 AM
Who's winning the culture wars? Writing for City Journal, Brian C. Anderson happily proclaims that it's the red zone. The liberal worldview has taken a pounding in popular media, he notes, thanks to the rise of the Internet and cable television, which have eroded the power of the opinion elites in broadcast television and printed news. And so a new conservative age has dawned. Anderson mentions the phenomenon of the "South Park Republican," typically a young male with conservative beliefs with regard to politics and economics, and liberal beliefs with regard to social issues. Such a person might support few regulations on business and a strong national defense, but also the legalization of pot and acceptance of gay marriage. So what about the whole red zone-blue zone theory? The explanation is generations. Those fanatically devoted to one extreme in the culture wars are likely to be Boomers, like Alabama judge Roy Moore with his Ten Commandments monument, or atheist Michael Newdow, suing over the mention of God. Just like the creators of South Park, the libertarian-leaning Republican with a more sensible attitude is probably a Gen-Xer. Posted by Steve Barrera at 7:16 PM Background information expanded. I added some info to the background popups (the links in the upper right corner of this page) explaining the concept of the culture wars between the red zone and the blue zone. Figured this would be useful since I've used those terms in posts, though probably most readers are already familiar with them. Posted by Steve Barrera at 7:06 PM |
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| Lost | 104+ |
| G.I. | 80-104 |
| Silent | 62-80 |
| Boomer | 44-62 |
| Gen-X | 23-44 |
| Millennial | ?-23 |
| Homeland | ? |
| High | 1946-1964 |
| Awakening | 1964-1984 |
| Unraveling | 1984-? |
| Crisis | ?- |
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Where noted, background information on generations theory is copyright 1996 Broadway Books. All other content on this web site is copyright 2002-2005 Generation Watch and Steve Barrera. All rights reserved. |