A Wry Look at Boomers

I don't normally read the columnist Ellen Goodman, but I did today and really got a chuckle out of her column in this morning's Boston Globe.

She presents a humorous angle on the schizophrenic view of the boomer generation's imminent shift to retirement and its implications for business and society. I strongly agree with her assertion that people make too much of age and generational differences and that it is not really possible to meaningfully characterize an entire generation - after all as she points out polar opposites such as Bill Clinton and George Bush are of the same generation.

Which reminds me of a generational quirk in America's popular culture that I find slightly mean-spirited. For some reason we love to build up the image of people, so that we can knock it down. This behavior plays out strongest in the entertainment field where for example today's musical star becomes tomorrow's object of ridicule, at least to the contemporary generation. The Rolling Stones present an interesting example. To people of my generation growing up in the 60's they are legends. Yet to many younger people they are an odd freak show type of spectacle - old geezers still trying to get it on. Although I must admit Keith Richard at any age seems the perfect specimen for a freak show.