On The State of Baby Boomer-Gen X relations...

Alright, I had a conversation with a friend in the local congregation (and a former employer actually), and a large part of the conversation related to the difficulties between communication between Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. He, a late cchort Baby Boomer (born in the same year as my mother, and Sputnik), is seeking dates (in the Church, of course) with women between 25 and 35 years of age. These women would all be members of Generation X. The younger ones would be in my cohort (at least to the extent that I am considered a Gen Xer), and the older ones would belong in the first cohort. His attempts have not been very successful, largely because he is a typical Baby Boomer (more on that later), and they are more-or-less typical Gen Xers. Those two generations get along like Hitler and Stalin, or cats and dogs, or oil and water. You get the picture; it's not pretty. And why do the generations not get along so well? Well, I wrote about 40 pages on the subject in my "Generations Study" paper. Many more illustrious scholars (with a better ability to speak dispassionately on the subject) have also written extensively on the subject. In particular I enjoy reading the books from Strauss and Howe.

The typical qualities of Baby Boomers are a moral zeal that overcomes all rational sense, a certain smugness towards youth (who are never as mature as they are), an arrogance about their importance and place in society, and an implacable hatred towards that which falls short of a pitilessly impractical ideal. In short, Baby Boomers are idealists (as a general rule), and leave others (see Generation X, the Millennials) to pick up the pieces of the inevitiable moral/physical/economic breakdown. Wherever Baby Boomers go, and they always seem to go in mass, destruction and gridlock seems to follow just as surely as night follows the day. This isn't to say that Generation X is a perfect generation either. As a matter of fact, I myself am a cusper, and as a practical consideration, I tend to claim whatever generation is the least popular at time time (sadly, this a common Gen Xer trait). Gen Xers are usually bitter about their fate, and I can't blame them (obviously, I sympathize and empathize). Gen Xers are the perfect foils for Baby Boomers, and vice versa. Gen Xers often show a complete lack of concern for the ideal, and gain a well-earned reputation for immaturity, materialism, bitterness, lack of self-esteem (if you were constantly upbraided by Baby Boomers, it would happen to you too), survivalism, cynicism, lack of respect for authority, and so forth. Since Baby Boomers are the quintessential implacable moralists, and Gen Xers loathe hypocrisy and seek the easier road (in general) of avoiding the appearance of morality than striving after the reality of it, the results of Xer-Boomer interactions are often tragic. My friend ought to rethink his dating interests. Sadly, the perfect match for a Baby Boomer is the Millennial, but I would not suggest that option to my friend, given the age disparity. Come to think of it, I have a great level of appreciation in the virtues of young ladies of the Millennial generation. That said, my friend should stick with the Baby Boomers. Unfortunately, it is the curse of Baby Boomers to not get along so well with other Boomers. Putting two equally self-righteous, smug, hypocritical, and arrogant individuals who disagree on "values" (*cough,* as I loathe that term) is an especially rewarding sight for those with bullet proof vests and helmets, and who happen to be behind barricades of some impenetrable kind. Come to think of it, that sounds like loads of fun. Unfortunately, many Baby Boomers think I am "very bright, but need to mature." This is undoubtably true. However, it might charitably be pointed out that the same is also true for them, as it is for us all. If we were perfect, there would be a host of other theological issues we would have to deal with. Life would also be much less amusing, or frustrating for that matter.