Working at a library, I see a lot of books. Some of them worthwhile, some not so much. Anyhoo… today I came across two nonfiction books that seem to illustrate the difference between Generation X and Boomers.
First, the Gen X book titled Against Happiness, by Eric G. Wilson.
And then the Boomer book titled Dancing with Life (it has a lengthy, windy, annoyingly feel-goody subtitle but it nauseated me so much I decided, fuck it, I’m not going to include it. If the author had a fucking beef he can let me know), Phillip Moffitt.
From the my impression of the content (I’ve not read either) to the authors (I don’t know exact ages or anything but I’m pretty confident, based on what I’ve read of each, that Wilson is a Gen Xer and Moffitt is a Boomer) to the titles to the dust jacket art, these two books set side-by-side illustrate the difference between Gen X and the Boomer sensibilities.
I’d have included a Mellinnial book but there wans’t one. Perhaps they exist, but I’m not really interested in seeking them out. Suggest one, if you don’t like it.
Incidentally, I’m only reading Wilson’s book. I have precious little time to read, and if I want to read about Buddhism, the Dhali Lama has several books of his own authoring.
6 Comments
April 21, 2009 at 1:58 am
I hadn’t thought about Eric G. Wilson in these terms, but it makes sense to me. There is a picture of him on his website. Assuming it’s recent, he looks to be in the age range of a Gen Xer.
There does seem to be such an extreme contrast between Boomers and Gen Xers. Boomers grew up in a time when the US population was confident in its national pride and optimistic about its future. Boomers as a large generation have a sense of self-certainty and righteous idealism. The much smaller generation of Gen Xers have been forced to respond to this in order to create their collective identity. Gen Xers can’t rely on large numbers to have an impact and so seem more reserved. Acceptance, rather than idealism, is the attitude of Gen Xers.
April 21, 2009 at 7:53 am
Thanks for the comment, Ben. Much appreciate. These generational differences are something I always enjoy discussing, except of course when some self-righteous Boomer has to start lecturing me blah blah blah on what I do and do not understand, what I should and should not believe etc. Hope you’ll return and offer more of your thoughts.
April 21, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Generations is one of my favorite topics. It seems to explain a lot in society. I hadn’t thought too much about generations lately, but it came up in a recent discussion and so I was looking around at WordPress blogs. I’m sure I’ll stop by your blog again.
April 21, 2009 at 2:30 pm
I suppose I like it as more of a pop culture study, not to diminish it’s value in any way.
Do come back. I haven’t been as active recently as in the past but perhaps your input will renew my enthusiasm.
April 21, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Some of it is just pop culture study, but some of it is based on demographics and sociological research. The problem is that much of the info out there is merely opinionated fluff. You have to be discerning about this kind of thing.
April 23, 2009 at 11:01 pm
You’re right on about that, Benjamin. I like the pop culture aspect of it mosty, and happen to think that pop culture plays a fairly significant role in shaping people, especially collectively. These things are floating out there like connectors for people that don’t even know each other. But of course the more sociological research element is important to. You have to take them all together, in a way. And while it isn’t hard science it is worth noting, depending on circumstances. I note the differences constantly.
Some people, I have found, get way too hung up on exact ages to define generation. I consider that to be more of a starting point. Especially in terms of Generation X, which is most importantly about a way of looking at the world. Of course, i’ve been shot down many in regards to this attitude, mostly by Boomers. But that’s pretty much what I expect from their ilk.