Relations between the generations
The Millennials say to us Boomers: “You’re bequeathing to us a world that sucks and we assume it sucks because you screwed it up.”
Very short-sighted.
The extant problems go back a very long time. In fact, our generation had a song: “It’s been a long time coming, it’s gonna be a long time gone.”
Kudos to the Boomers for recognizing such. That “Greatest Generation” of the forties certainly did not. They were the generation intent upon realizing The American Dream. There’s an endeavor that really did suck.
Attributable to activists of our generation: Civil rights, anti-war, anti-imperialism, women’s movement, gay liberation, environmental protection, extended (participatory) democracy, egalitarianism, disdain for gods and irresponsible authorities. But if you don’t happen to appreciate any of that, there was one profound new thing that’s now recognized globally. It dates from 1970. It was a product of the Sixties ferment:
On their web site:
“Get Inspired. Take Action. Be a part of the green revolution.”
The green revolution will eventually be recognized as the greatest legacy of our generation. Ecology, voluntary simplicity, bioregionalism, communitarianism, regenerative praxis, environmental justice, eco-socialism, Green politics.
1970 … The Greening of America: “There is a revolution coming. It will not be like revolutions of the past. It will not require violence to succeed, and it cannot be successfully resisted by violence. It promises a higher reason, a more human-scale community, and a liberated individual. Its ultimate creation will be a renewed relationship to society, to nature, and to the land.”
It was the start, just the start, of a profound cultural transformation that is incrementally showing the way forward.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/744517
Hey, Millennials: WE started to turn the ship of state from all those extant problems you blame us for. Sorry you’re so naive as to think we should have implemented all the solutions in one generation. We HOPE you’ll continue the effort. We KNOW how you’ll feel when you’re old and gray: “It’s been a long time coming, it’s gonna be a long time gone.”
