Why do you think baby boomers are labeled the "me" generation?

Also the philosophical age in the late 19th century had an impact on the rejection of authority. I mean the BIG authority, God. “God is dead” attributed to Nietzsche was a profound look at how a more universal, and personal freedom based philosophy was gaining popularity. By the time the turbulent 60's and 70's arrived many of us left the church and found a different connection with the universe.
 

feywon said:
What's in bold is quite true i think. Tho some of us just approached things differently. I was born in 1946, to what would later be termed 'working poor' family. My Dad actually instilled the ideals regarding environmental concerns and social injustice in me, but my parents also instilled a strong work ethic snd sense of responsibility for myself.

So i was a VISTA first year of its existence (3rd training group), did behind the scenes work for various movements during my 'off' hours. Winter of '65-'66 I practically lived on beef broth and rice to save up so i could go participate in voter registration, etc summer of '66. In '68 my best friend got us a ride to Woodstock (we were living in NYC) but i declined because wasn't arranged until that Thursday night and i wasn't about to bail on my job that way.

I got criticism from all sides-- the straight arrow 'fulfill your role in society and don't question anything' folks and the full on 'counter culture' folks because i lived according to my own values and those were (still are) a mixed bag that didn't meet anybody's expectations.

My younger brother was a late Baby Boomer born 1/1/63. Different and mostly absent/distant father--but between Mom and me he acquired a strong sense of responsibility for self & to family and good work ethic.


'.
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You should be proud of what you did. Heck, I'm proud of you. I disagree with my son on politics but I really admire the way he spends fall Sundays trying to get people to vote for the candidates he supports.
 
(I haven't tried to c/p anything in a long time, so I hope I don't make a mess of this):

Are we, as a generation, failing?​

I wasn't sure whether to word the title in past tense or present tense, but chose the latter. I'll explain the reason in a few minutes.

I was fortunate to have known many, many people from the WW II generation. Looking back, there are similarities and differences. An example of both: long ago, when I approached some of the older folks with questions about Civil Rights, asking why no one had actively participated, I received two responses. I was told they did not know what to do; and I was told most people were busy raising their children and doing their jobs. The difference, though: at least most individuals were aware of the problems. Even if they didn't know what they could do, and were busy with their families, they at least knew about the goings-on.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for myself and people I've known the longest in my generation. While we, also, generally settled into nice middle-class lives, raised children, did jobs, there has been too much that simply slid by, unnoticed. The last few decades have brought disaster after disaster, but it was not so much the inability to do anything, but not noticing these changes were occurring.

The age group I am referring to is known as the second wave of Baby Boomers. There were differences between us and people included in the “first wave.” For us, there were changes in federal laws and some states that granted us full legal, adult rights upon turning 18 years of age. Ours was also the first age group for whom higher education was available to nearly all students. And, for us, the military draft no longer existed, and the Vietnam war was officially over.

The most disturbing difference, though, has been the ways in which the generations are perceived. For individuals in the older generations, virtually everyone recognized “average middle-class folks” were, indeed, the majority. But while that fact has not changed, fewer people today recognize it.

While most of us do not want our generation misrepresented in history books, there is another, more pressing issue. Not only do we have adult-aged kids, most of us also have grandchildren. Because of this, we need to take a good, hard look at “the way things are these days,” and decide without any doubt that the younger generations deserve better.

Why did I choose the present tense? Because, as Yogi Berra said: “It ain't over til it's over.” Whether they directly participated or not, the older generations knew wrongs could be changed and mistakes could be un-made. If individuals in previous generations were capable of making changes in the best interest of themselves and future generations, so can we. At the very least, we have the responsibility to try.
 
Paco Dennis said:
I can't understand why. Everyone I have ever met is nourishing themselves first and foremost. So what have we done that makes us stand out as being self centered?
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I disagree. You are describing Generation X which was the generation after the boomers. The boomer generation taught us discipline, respect, manners, a work ethic, not to be entitled like today's generation!
 
I think being a bit selfish and tempted to strive for things brings on advancement. If generations just tend to sit back and do nothing we would not be sitting here today on this forum talking about any of this because there would be no internet to do so on. Were those people who developed the internet selfish because they were tempted to start some new technology revolution? No they wanted advancement. The same with any other generation. With advancement you have to take risks.
 
True @bingo Reducing us all to a cultural stereotype from a small segment of our population is just dumb. And I wouldn't even describe that small segment as being a "me generation" either. They gave us the best music, art, peaceful demonstrations for things that actually mattered, etc
 
Well, I am of the silent generation, but as I recall, we were rather noisy. Outside playing all the time. No one I knew really had it tough, even during the depression. All my friends fathers were working, we dressed and ate just fine. We had a great time using our imagination for everything under the sun and creating our own ideas to share. The war years saw some sacrifices such as rationing but we kids weren't too affected by that either.
One thing we were not, demanding, selfish or hateful. We all accepted each other for who we were and if you didn't fit in one group, you found one where you did.

We laughed a lot and just had unmitigated fun on a daily basis. School days excepted.
 
Me...Something I'd not heard used but now see it was from a 1976 New Yorker magazine article rather late and doubtless ignored by West Coast counterculture persons. So what that was about per below link lest a common word in a very narrow sense be broadly misinterpreted. That sociopath article label was broadly laughed at. What he was really talking about is a New York thing again...yawn. Some of those Ivy League MBA grads that went to Wall Street adopting into $$$ foulness . Yeah could argue some leeches and sociopaths. No generation is monolithic in attitudes and ours was no different.

The term "'Me' Decade" describes a general new attitude of Americans in the 1970s, in the direction of atomized individualism and away from communitarianism, in clear contrast with social values prevalent in the United States during the 1960s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_"Me"_Decade_and_the_Third_Great_Awakening

snippet:
Wolfe asserts the disappearance of the socioeconomic class he calls the "proletariat", in parallel with the concurrent appearance of an American "lower middle class". He cites the economic boom of postwar America as affording the average American a new sense of self-determination and individuation associated with the widespread economic prosperity. Wolfe describes the resulting abandoning of communal, progressive, and New Deal-style politics as "taking the money and running". He traces the preoccupation with self and self-development back to the aristocratic European gentry. Wolfe states that the "chivalric tradition" and the philosophy behind "the finishing school" are inherently dedicated to the building and forming of personal character and conduct.

Wolfe believes that the counterculture of the 1960s and the New Left school of thought promoted a recovery of the self in a flawed and corrupt America, a philosophy extended in the 1970s with a spreading idea that use of the drug LSD, commonly known as "acid", would unveil a true and real self. He describes the revelatory experience of hallucinogens as similar to, even competitive with, religious ecstasy, transforming the religious climate in America. Wolfe chronicles the American periods of Christian revival known as the First and Second Great Awakenings, to which he analogizes the 1970s and their dominant social trends. He argues that the "Me" Decade of the 1970s is a "Third Great Awakening".
 
bingo said:
we all get the blame...for what was done during that time.
..no prayer in school...
..free love era...
drugs..
.riots against authorities ..
there's more...we all weren't a part of
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You've hit on one of my top complaints, if it'd be called a complaint.
"This is the way our entire generation will go down in history books.." and unfortunately, many younger people already believe it.
 
What? The *Me* Generation was 1980-2000.

1960-1980 was called Gen X.

1940-1960 was the Silent Generation. We were called that because we just did as we were told or as had always been done or as our parents had done.
 
Births Start Births End
--------------------------
Lost Generation 1890 to 1915
Greatest Generation 1901 to 1926
Silent Generation 1927 to 1945.
Baby Boomers 1945 to 1964
Two sub-sets:
revolutionaries of the ’60s and ’70s
career climbers (Yuppies) of the ’70s/’80s. The “me” generation
Generation X 1961 to 1981
Generation Y 1975 to 1995
Millennials 1980 to 1994
Generation Z 1995 >

As an idealistic Boomer, I reject the Yuppies that followed were Boomers as those that had not come of age by 1975 missed what caused change especially in Middle America. Much of what later generations criticized were those Yuppies.
 
David777 said:
Births Start Births End
--------------------------
Lost Generation 1890 to 1915
Greatest Generation 1901 to 1926
Silent Generation 1927 to 1945.
Baby Boomers 1945 to 1964
Two sub-sets:
revolutionaries of the ’60s and ’70s
career climbers (Yuppies) of the ’70s/’80s. The “me” generation
Generation X 1961 to 1981
Generation Y 1975 to 1995
Millennials 1980 to 1994
Generation Z 1995 >

As an idealistic Boomer, I reject the Yuppies that followed were Boomers as those that had not come of age by 1975 missed what caused change especially in Middle America. Much of what later generations criticized were those Yuppies.
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I'd never heard "yuppies" categorized before. Thanks for including it/them.
 

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