Posted on: Sunday, October 6, 2002

Building ties between generations key to our future

By John Griffin

I try to inoculate myself against Elderly Columnists Disease (EDC). A symptom of that malady is an irrational hatred for anything that was not around when the columnist turned 21.

(Andy Rooney, the chronic complainer of TV's "60 Minutes," suffers from EDC, according to Jon Carroll, the San Francisco Chronicle columnist who may have invented the term.)

Yet I also feel generations are important in measuring where our society is going. Not only do they show differences between age groups, their study helps promote harmony between them.

So, since this is national Intergenerational Day, let me again update the age groups, starting with the oldest:

• The G.I. generation, now often labeled the "Greatest," is people born from 1901 through 1924. This cohort is headed for the sunset, although many remain active in senior and other community affairs. They also remain widely appreciated for standing up to crises they faced with the 1930s Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War.

In Hawai'i, this plantation-bred generation sparked the 1950s social revolution that brought the Democratic Party to power, a legacy that both is fading and persisting this election year.

• The silent generation, born 1925 to 1942, is the least-acclaimed, even if it did fight the Korean War and staffed the civil rights movement and early Peace Corps (and early Vietnam War). The silents never produced a president, but they did give us aides, including Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Think about that.

In Hawai'i, former Gov. George Ariyoshi and Ben Cayetano are at different ends of the silent-generation spectrum. I am among the journalists it spawned.

• The boomer generation, born 1943 to 1960, is our largest, most assertive and most controversial. (More on that later.) It has produced two very different presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Take your pick.

In Hawai'i, Democrat John Waihee was our first boomer governor. Next month's election will bring forth the second, and the first woman in that office.

• The generation born between 1961 to 1981, most often called generation X, maybe didn't deserve the "slacker" and "aimless" designations it first got.

But, as its members climb to some power and prominence in politics, business, entertainment and in today's military, it remains in the huge shadow cast by the boomers, as the G.I. generation overshadowed us silents. Generation X is a group that will have to struggle for power and influence, including in a Hawai'i where oldtimers sometimes stay forever.

• The millennial generation, born 1983 to the present, is still largely in school and slowly coming into focus. But some — like social researchers William Strauss and Neil Howe, who write books on the generations — say it would be a mistake to liken millennials to their parent boomers or big brothers and sisters of generation X.

In fact, Strauss and Howe labeled the millennials as "The Next Great Generation," one akin to the sainted G.I. generation in numbers, attitude and potential. And that was before the trauma of the 9/11 attacks and the War on Terrorism.

What about the impact of 9/11 on all this?

At first, the shock and tragedy blurred generational lines as it did those between racial groups. Remember that TV spot where a dozen or more diverse faces appeared to proclaim "I am an American"?

But the 9/11 impact has been fading. We see, for example, fewer flags and more violence back in the media. The Bush administration has upstaged the still-missing Osama & Co. with its threat of war on Iraq.

At the same time, though, national economic troubles have been growing as the stock market barometer heads down in synch with public confidence.

Some liken the 2002 mood to that of America in 1930, the beginning of the Great Depression which followed a boom decade, and also a time when clouds of a great war were on the horizon.

History doesn't repeat itself in particulars, and tracing it is more art than science. Still, some historians do see cycles and rhythms of ferment, change and crises. Such cycles are said to be both brought on by and influencing generations as they pass through their life cycles of 70 to 100 years.

Thus, if you couldn't predict 9/11 in detail, a time of crisis could be foreseen. If so, it's at least possible that our nation is in more serious trouble than many Americans realize.

Now the question is: Who will lead us out of it?

I truly hope the millennials are the generation of greatness we need. But we can't wait for them to grow up and take over.

So the answer is everybody must do their part — and that's one reason why groups like the Hawai'i Intergenerational Network are important beyond just the worthy role of nurturing feelings between children and grandparents.

And yet I also see the boomers as bearing a special burden in our society by virtue of their numbers, leadership positions and their own up-and-down history — a history which some would say calls for group redemption.

The main criticism is that this is a generation that too often sold out its own dreams and early accomplishments that included the Freedom Riders, Woodstock, calling the mistake in Vietnam and driving Richard Nixon from office.

Still, all is not lost for this massive generation that includes some of my family and many friends.

For one thing, we all know boomers who are doing great things, regardless of whether they fit the generational pattern or are outside the mold.

And a new AARP study relates changes in boomer attitudes now, when compared to the 1970s. They may have more confidence in the executive branch and the military today, but still few believe the government is telling the truth. With reason, confidence in our education system has fallen (along with trust in corporations). They expect another war within the next 10 years.

As parents, boomers today are more liberal about sex than their parents were. And the generation gap that hit us all in the '60s and '70s is far narrower today between adult boomers and their millennial children.

So with boomers in the prime of life and in command, and maybe capable of some of the old idealism, and getting beyond their initial 15 minutes of fame, there's some reason to hope — as well as to again question where our nation is headed.

John Griffin, former editor of The Advertiser's editorial pages, is a frequent contributor.