Sandwiched somewhere between 80 million baby boomers and 78 million millennial’s , Generation X ( loosely described as anyone born between 1968 and 1983 ) has just 46 million members – making it the dark horse of our current political race. Imagine this situation as it’s beginning to resemble a case of national “sibling rivalry”. We have the spoiled, naive “me-me-me” baby played by the millennial’s, the self-righteous, arrogant first born child played by the boomers, and the earnest, often overlooked rantings of the middle-child.
We are the Generation of the yuppies, Kurt Cobain, the stock market crash, the dot-com bubble. While the baby boomers got “free love”, we got AIDS. Times had changed, and we didn’t believe in the same things as our flower-toting parents – you couldn’t fool our generation that easily. Our eyes were open – the wall fell, the Soviet collapsed, we watched Seinfeld and OJ, and we saw Affirmative Action. And as much as each generation boasts about leaving the world a better place for our children, as Gen X approaches it’s 30’s and 40’s, I think it’s safe to say ours was a meek inheritance.
And yet, despite the notion society engraved in us that we were a lazy generation, one that disrespected our parents, and never found it’s voice, we somehow managed to muddle through enough to allow the millenials the luxuries often afforded the spoiled baby in the family. To those who said we accomplished nothing – I say Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, Magic Johnson, Patrick Tillman, Tiger Woods, Live Aid, and The Three Tenors ; to those looking now to the baby – I say Paris, Britney, Lindsay, IPod’s and Blackberry’s, labels and logos, reality TV and American Idol.
Not to say that this generation hasn’t it’s voice – it’s rebelling loud and clear – against all the things the grunge-rocker and spiritually-awakened older children had to say. They have succumb to ads and media, embraced all things money and status, and turned their back on fighting the fights their older siblings lay before them. In a way, I wonder how we can blame them, how we expected to make sense out of what we could not? The self-indulgent youngest siblings are more focused on Face-book and My-space, unlike their elder siblings who just now seem to be getting settled in with Colbert and Stewart. Maybe that’s why we have only now begun to see the baby pay attention.
Obama’s youth-factor is still a hot issue, at least to republicans. Whether you think ready or not oldest-children, your younger siblings are standing by this “Jr. Senator”. Maybe simply because he does not seem parental, talks on our level (and make no mistake - that level is not lower, just as yours was not then). And as an early Gen-X’er himself, he understands the consequences of under-estimating our youth. As a result, the youth and aging youth alike have teamed up in one resounding voice to proclaim, “Yes. We. Can.”, giving Obama a 23-point lead over McCain among voters aged 18-24 and doubling the number of Democratic party delegates younger than 36 ( 2000 – 9% ; 2008 – 16 % ) according to the Young Voter PAC.
After what seemed like decades of waiting, the once underestimated generations of our time have shown up to the party. All it took was the recognition of existence, the faith in ability, and the outstretched hands of a politician, not poignant thumbs and clenched fists. If you’ve taught us anything big brothers and sisters – you taught us that you get more bee’s with honey. So while some of you mock our newly united message of hope and change, we become more confident, and stand firmer in our new shoes. If Generation X was once thought of as the lazy misfits, it now is proving to have aged with maturity and wisdom, while still holding on to the ideals it never had the chance to fully voice. Ours is a generation once counted out, but clearly not down for the count. And for the first time, we will accomplish what no previous generation has – the full embodiment of an underestimated youth that is finding their voice. Maybe that’s why we never had our message – we were simply preserving it, refusing to let our voice become lost in the halls of bureaucracy.
