The
subject of Baby Boomers most often comes up on this blog when I feel
like objecting to us being blamed for every damn thing that has gone
wrong with America in the last fifty or sixty years. To read the
click-bait about those greedy-ass Baby Boomers, you'd think that we
have been totally in charge of the world since we were grammar school
students. I hate that shit; it's totally unfair. Today, however, I'm
turning the j'accuse lens back on us. It is simply wrong for us to
forget or deny the many advantages that we have had over not only
generations that came before, but also over generations that have
come after us.
For
people my age to say that, “we worked hard for everything!” is a
truism. We did work hard. Everybody in America must work hard. It
has always been thus, since those first ill-fated settlements in the
early 17th Century. America is a tough town. If you don't
work hard, you are left to die by the roadside. But for Baby Boomers
to suggest that we did not enjoy huge benefits from having been born
in our narrow range of birth-years would be disingenuous.
For
some Baby Boomers to suggest, as some do, that, “nobody ever gave
me anything,” would be a colossal self-delusion. The government,
and historical circumstances, gave us tons of stuff. We entered the
work force with close to a living wage. Everything from cars and
houses to a day at Disneyland was very affordable. We were all given
free Blue-Cross/ Blue-Shield medical insurance policies with almost
any job, easily transferable to the next job because it was the same
insurance company. We were given free university educations. We were
given meaningful interest on savings at the bank. Those of us who
were seriously injured in our generation's stupid, meaningless war
were pretty well taken care of, with high-quality health care and
meaningful financial compensation that enabled the sufferers to live
well on the benefits. No, my fellow Baby Boomers. We did very well
when it came to free stuff.
It's
harder to pin-down the financial demographic for the “I worked
hard!” group. Most seem to be retired Baby Boomers whose apparent
prosperity may be fraying a bit around the edges.
And
who are these people getting “free stuff?” The chorus repeating
this refrain seems to take its cue from certain so-called
“conservative” political interests. The beneficiaries of the
mysterious “free stuff” turn out to be identifiable groups of
low-income Democratic voters. Minorities, immigrants, the usual
suspects. Double-dippers get special attention. Groups like “Somali
(black; Muslim) immigrants” will receive special mention,
especially if they vote one of their own into the House of
Representatives. Remember “Obama phones?” That was a good one.
I'm sure that every reader has seen all of the memes on Facebook
about how, “illegal immigrants get free medical care and $4,000 per
month while our veterans are homeless!” It is very sad that many of
my age-mates seem to believe every word of this complete bullshit. In
truth, illegal immigrants just keep their heads down and work hard!
Duh!!! If they ask for “free stuff,” all they'll get is a free
trip over the southern border, minus their possessions. Here's a news
flash: illegal immigrants pay taxes, including Social Security, but
they get zero benefits. All of that money subsidizes Social Security
payments to Baby Boomers! Y'all should really be more appreciative.
Many
older Americans, including many Baby Boomers, are also fond of
complaining about Millennials. Are Millennials also in the “free
stuff” club? That would not jive with my observations. Don't let
those fashionable young people drinking Starbuck's coffee fool you.
Those people work for tech companies and their high salaries are
driving up your rent if you live anywhere near them. Most Millennials
can barely make ends meet. They double and triple up in over-priced
apartments and work two or three jobs in the gig economy. They live
without health insurance, hoping against hope that they don't come
down with something expensive. I'll bet that they are, as a group,
very careful crossing the street. They are one broken arm away from
living under a bridge.
The
patience of these long-suffering young people reminds me of the
centuries of brotherly tolerance exhibited by American blacks. Both
groups have suffered, and continue to suffer, the insufferable with
quiet dignity. I am humbly grateful for their forbearance.
And
speaking of grateful, wake up, Baby Boomers! We should all offer
sincere thanks to God or to fate for hitting the chronological
lottery! When we were starting out in life, we had the world served
up to us on a half-shell. We had advantages that today's young people
can only dream of. Now we have huge TVs and Netflix, and the time to
enjoy them. And hey, here's a helpful tip: the Internet is good for
many things other than joining in today's Two-Minute-Hate. Back away
from the Hate Hillary memes. Go to the websites of famous museums and
look at some famous paintings. Read poetry. Take a virtual tour of
Kuala Lumpur and discover that much of this big, wide, wonderful
planet has joined the First World since the last time you checked.
Learn some history. Find some new music to love. What the hell, go
nuts and study a foreign language! Learn a few hundred Chinese
characters and impress your friends by reading a Chinese language
Menu! The Internet is like having a good library on your desk, and we
all have monitors as big as Dallas these days so it all looks great.
And
leave those poor immigrants alone. If you read a bit about why they
take those extreme risks that they do to get to America, first you'd
hang your head in shame, because America is responsible for a lot of
their misery, and then you'd take it easier on them, and maybe even
do something to help them. They're not getting any free stuff, and
they're not riding on your coattails. All they want is a chance to
bus your table and pick your damn strawberries, for crying out loud.
I
for one am very happy to have been born in the post-war Baby Boom. I
am grateful for all of the advantages that I benefited from. For a
while there I was fully occupied with raising my boys and trying to
make a living, but for the last thirty years I've been trying to make
repayments on my good fortune in life. I've been working on my
compassion skills. I can't tell anybody what to do, but it's worth
thinking about.
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