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Enjoy the optimism. In case you missed it, David Brooks had an excellent Millennial op-ed in the New York Times recently. Brooks is a Gen-Xer who pays a lot of attention to the culture wars; he has a conservative point of view, but applies more common sense and humor to his analysis than the older, values-obsessed commentators. Posted by Steve at 3:04 PM
Wrong war, wrong generation. Here's a story from Iraq showing where ruthlessness doesn't pay off - at winning hearts and minds. If we're serious about defending democracy in the Middle East, we've got to get away from this World War Three mentality of shooting everything in sight and come up with some new rules of engagement. And if we're in it for the long haul, it will be up to the Millennial generation to play by those rules. Posted by Steve at 6:21 PM
Even their women. Here's another Generation X at war story, which tackles an issue this generation faces - that of women in combat. Plainly, women can handle the stress and can kill when required. But we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that a sweeping reform is needed which allows women entry into combat units. Assuming we do restructure our armed forces so that they are better suited for long-term nation-building enterprises, there will be plenty of room for women in peacekeeping units, and plenty of opportunity for them to test their mettle in ambushes like the one in the story here. Posted by Steve at 4:49 PM Generation X at war. I may have been a bit premature in my judgement that "our security forces don't know what they're doing." This article in the Washington Post describes an infantry company in action in the streets of Mosul. It declares that military commanders are confident that the insurgency is losing potency, as attacks have declined in recent months. All it takes to fight the enemy is a little Gen-X ruthlessness. Posted by Steve at 3:29 PM What's in store for a generation. In my Raging 2000s commentary, I state that the war in Iraq is a rehearsal for America's future role of providing security in the new world order to be established in the next era. It is now becoming more apparent that President Bush's actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan were no mere WoT reactions to 9/11, but very long term commitments to nation-building. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has declared that there is no exit strategy for Iraq, but that instead we will remain until the local security forces are trained to handle the insurgency. But let's be real here - our security forces don't really know what they're doing. This is a task that will take a generation. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's fledgling government is practically begging for a permament U.S. troop presence. Anything to prevent a reign of the warlords. We're picking up where the British Empire left off, people... Posted by Steve at 1:16 PM
Stay on top of the news. A new feature is available at the Generations and History in the Media page. You can now subscribe to a mailing list, and receive an e-mail with new stories periodically, when the page is updated. I usually update the page about once a week with a few links, so if you'd like to be alerted in your inbox, go ahead and sign up! It's free and you can easily unsubscribe if you change your mind. Posted by Steve at 8:51 AM
Build up the walls. Here's a trio of news stories suggesting a developing mood of insecurity and protectionism. First, we've got a tightening of border controls on the way. Americans will need passports to reenter the country when returning from Canada, Mexico, and Panama, and Canadians will need passports to enter America. These are new restrictions, to take effect fully in 2008. Next, we see American textile manufacturers turning to Congress to curb Chinese imports. All those imports from Honduras, Bangladesh, and wherever else are fine, I guess, but insecurity demands a focus and China will make an excellent one, I'm sure. Finally, the new FCC chair actually advocates jail time for indecency violations on cable TV. He's young-looking, too - may well be a Gen-Xer. J. Edgar Hoover would be proud. So we see what's in store for us in the future - no more Canadian tourists, empty Wal-Mart shelves, and really boring cable programming. Enjoy the fun while it lasts! Posted by Steve at 4:09 PM
Morals for the ages. You might have seen this story, or a similar one, about teens and their opinions about oral sex. Apparently they feel that it is safer and more acceptable than "going all the way," which sounds like ordinary common sense, though red zoners would probably scream "the legacy of Bill Clinton!!!" More reasonably, they might call it "the legacy of the sexual revolution," or perhaps just a Millennial generation version of modern morals, which have been with us ever since the smashing of Victorian era prudery. Posted by Steve at 12:12 PM
Alienated Millennial males and guns don't mix. My first assessment of the Columbine school shooting tragedy was that it was a "last gasp" by Generation X, a kind of a finale to the Xer-driven 1990s era of social dysfunction. But with stirrings of copy cat behavior continuing through the 2000s and now this second shooting in Minnesota, this looks like a phenomenon we can fit squarely with the Millennial generation. It's connected with pressure to succeed, the need for conformity and the price of lack thereof, and the inability of male Millennials to cope with emotional stress. Congress better do something fast about the slippery slope of gay marriage. Posted by Steve at 11:12 AM |
| Lost | 106+ |
| G.I. | 82-106 |
| Silent | 64-82 |
| Boomer | 46-64 |
| Gen-X | 25-46 |
| Millennial | ?-25 |
| Homeland | ? |
| High | 1946-1964 |
| Awakening | 1964-1984 |
| Unraveling | 1984-? |
| Crisis | ?- |
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Strauss & Howe Generations Sites
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Where noted, background information on generations theory is copyright 1996 Broadway Books. All other content on this web site is copyright 2002-2007 Generation Watch and Steve Barrera. All rights reserved. |