The Pessimistic Generation?

First off, I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my most excellent Mom! I tried calling earlier today and they must be gallivanting around. I swear, they have a busier social life than Ken and I do. I hope to talk to her later today. Love you lots, Mom!

I've written before about how my family has always talked politics, and an interest in such matters was always encouraged. During the election, I talked with my folks about things that were happening, especially with my Mom, but it became increasingly clear that Dad and I were on opposite sides of the court. After the election, we didn't talk much about it, but Dad would drop little hints about becoming a "socialist" country, although he said that although he doesn't like the President's policies, he (Obama) is his commander-in-chief and he will respect him as such.

A while back, Dad and I were talking on the phone, and what was it that came up...oh, it was health care, surprise, surprise. We got to talking, and things became heated. Of course, I love my Dad, and I know he loves me, but as you all know, I am quite passionate about the subject of health care reform. We eventually agreed to disagree, but I felt bad that the conversation had gotten beyond the normal bounds of civil discussion. (I'm sure plenty of people would have heard this and thought, "What? You think that's bad? You should hear my family!" But we're an easygoing bunch, and even just raising one's voice is beyond the norm for us.) Later that evening, I called up and apologized, and Dad said it's okay, honey, and we exchanged "love yous." A week later, I was talking with Mom, and she put Dad on the phone saying that he wanted to say something to me. He apologized to me, saying that he felt bad that I felt bad, and doggone it if I'm not choking myself up here! Anyhoo, bottom line is we're cool as cucumbers, we know that nothing can ever come between us...but it's probably a good idea if we don't get into further discussions like that!

One of the things that took place in the discussion was that Dad feels that he's witnessing the end of our country. I asked how he could think that, and he replied that he's seeing us becoming more and more socialist, and that republics such as ours typically last a couple of hundred years and then fail. After asserting that we are far from socialist (the free market still reigns), I wondered what he thinks has happened with England, France, and other countries, ones that are much more left-leaning than ours, but are still going strong. After discussion in this vein, I finally said that I guess that's the difference between us, because you are pessimistic about our future, and I am optimistic. I still feel that we have great things ahead of us, discoveries to be made, challenges to be met.

As I pondered this discussion later, it surprised me that my Dad, someone who is a part of the Greatest Generation, would feel this sort of pessimism. After all, he and his fellow WWII veterans (here and around the world) and those who stayed at home and kept things running, pretty much saved the world from a despotic dictator. When they returned, their hard work turned our economy into the powerhouse that it is (or was), and their belief that all things were possible if you worked hard enough is what put a man on the moon. I realize that there were problems to be dealt with concerning civil rights and women's issues, but there is no denying that the Greatest Generation did great things...why the pessimism now?

The only thing I can think that it might be is the vast social changes that we've witnessed in the past few decades. I would say that folks in my parents' generation were, by and large, a conservative bunch. I suspect that the changes we've seen in the social fabric of our country are quite jarring to many of them. My folks are pretty cool, and quite tolerant people, but these are profound changes that I'm sure make them and others feel as if their entire world is different, and not one that they entirely understand.

I'm on the tail end of the Baby Boom, on the cusp of Generation X (as is our President). We are definitely a more socially liberal group, kids when the sweeping social changes set our country on its ear. I was too young to remember a lot of that, but did some research on it as I got older. I never felt that there was anything I couldn't or shouldn't do because I was a woman, and I never felt any sort of fear or hatred of minorities, and that was thanks to my parents. I find it interesting that although they may have felt some unease at what was happening, they never imparted any sort of ideas to me that any of it was wrong.

This may have had unintended consequences. As we broke down the walls between us and the rest of the world, and as communications improved, we came to see that we were part of a global economy, and it was no longer a matter of "my country right or wrong." Events of the previous eight years have shown a disastrous foreign policy that has led to widespread hatred of the U.S. in many countries. I choose to see us not as the moral arbiter of the world, but a country that can lead by example (including taking care of our own when it comes to their health care needs) and can exhibit a humanitarian attitude that wishes for the betterment of all.

I think this is where I differ with my Dad and some others of his generation: it is no longer just about us. It is no longer about how wealthy we are or how powerful we are. We do not stand alone in this world. Environmental practices on the other side of the world affect our entire planet and pose as much of a risk to us as they do to anyone else. We certainly have a moral obligation to help those in need in our own country, but we cannot focus merely on that and ignore the rest of the world. As Roland the Gunslinger says, "The world has moved on." And we are part of it, whether anyone likes it or not.

I'll close with a song from one of my favorite bands, The Rainmakers.

Spend It On Love

You tell of man who took a hundred dollars
Spent it on lottery tickets and beer
Won a couple of million, left his wife and children
Lived himself to death in a couple of years

Should have spent it on love
Spend it on his children
Spend it on the ones who need it the most
Take your little bundle put her in a basket
Leave her on the doorstep of her future home

I hear of an army taking lots of money
Spending it on guns and rows of barbed wire
Blew it all away
Their homeless and their hungry
Had to bite the bullet
Taste the bloody war

Well Johnny in the belly of a billionaire,
Swallowed by the music he played
Gonna have to ride that camel through the eye
Of a phonograph needle someday

I hear of a country
Where they say the city's all have pretty streets
That are paved with gold
They may not be gold
But they were built by people
Paying heavy taxes for a dream they still hold

Spend it on love
Spend it on the children
Spend it on the ones who need it the most
Take your little bundle put her in a basket
Leave her on the doorstep of her future home