Generation X

There's been a lot of talk about Generation X lately, after being ignored for so long with all the focus on Millennials. There was a recent article in the New York Times about what a "mess" the generation is, and how all it knew was that it didn't want what it was told to want. There's also a recent article in Vanity Fair which, I think accurately, states that Gen X might be the last hope of saving us in these dark global times. 

We are the children of the Baby Boomers, and while we have thrown out so many of the bad values of that generation, we are linked to their past, which has shaped us in knowing certain things that are important. One thing that I think is often overlooked is that the culture of Millennials has been shaped by the inventions of Gen X'ers, and our overthrow of many conventions of the past. We are the shapers of the new progressive movement. We are the ones who made the internet and mass communication possible. Millennials have only taken hold of these things after the flood, and for the most part, have sort of allowed them to run amock because they may not understand the place from which these things were born.

When you look at 90's mainstream culture, it was bland and boring. But underneath that mainstream culture, thriving sub-cultures abounded...cultures created by Generation X. The 90's were a boom for counter-culture, even beyond that of the famed 60's. The "shocking" elements of those counter cultures are nearly forgotten because most of it has become mainstream. Tattoos, piercings, marijuana use, shunning formal work attire, caring about the environment, acceptance of homosexuality, damning big business and exaggerated consumerism...these are all hallmarks of Generation X. Our vision of the world hasn't faded, if anything, it's being propelled forward.  As the selfishness of the Baby Boomers begins to die off, I think we'll begin to see that Generation X's vision for the world is a much better model. Let's just hope we can survive the damage that's already been done long enough to see it take hold.