Plea to Boomers: with great power (your size) comes great responsibility

Your generation has always been able to influence the national agenda through your sheer size alone. Gen X and Y plea with you then to make sure you're advocating for things that benefit the younger generations as well, like investment in education, infrastructure, and scientific research.

exists for all the generations that follow us. It should not be gutted for a voucher system. And we need to consider not only Medicare, but single payer for everyone.

advocating for Medicare aren't doing it for themselves -- but for people like you. Even though the proposed bill doesn't threaten most of us personally, we're going to fight the change to vouchers on behalf of our younger siblings, children, grandchildren -- everyone. If we didn't care deeply about your future, we wouldn't bother.

I am not saying don't push for medicare. I am asking though if you will (also) push for the things I mentioned in the op, or are you saying you will have a single minded focus on medicare?

In fact, I've known people in their nineties that never stopped pushing for changes that would benefit their grandchildren and beyond.

in. If people under 55 a stuck with vouchers, we will revolt and take the whole thing down. Demand our money back. Those that have already used up what they paid in or more will be out of luck.

If we can do that, you'll see some old teabagger attitudes adjusted real quick! Imagine the support we'd get for a new single payer program if Medicare was gone.

didn't get the attention they deserved. Your comments smack of blackmail to the baby boomers. I hope you'll read all the comments in this thread very carefully.

you're preaching to the choir here. I know of no one (within my circle of friends) in my age group who does not advocate/work for ALL of the above. it's sad, to me, that generally divisive discourse and nasty nature of the politicians (thank you, Sarah Palin) is poisoning the rest of us--not anyone here, necessarily, but we seem to be suspicious of each other. fact is, if i ever find myself becoming like the greedy ***holes in Congress ... well, you know ... they shoot horses, don't they?

and overt lack of respect, if not outright contempt for an entire generation. It comes through loud and clear that you (quite wrongly) think the the entire very diverse cohort of baby boomers (which I might remind you, includes a still significant younger group--now 55 and below--that is just as vulnerable as you to plans being proposed) are just selfish, self-serving narcissists.

I find your assumption that baby boomers care nothing about the younger generations, much less sustained improvements in education, infrastructure, and scientific research to be depressingly lacking in any level of understanding, and yes, filled with poorly disguised (and misplaced) contempt.

It is the RETHUGS who would deny all of us those critical needs. NOT the Baby Boomers as a voting block. The oldest baby boomer is 65 and the youngest, 47. Do you really think that very wide range of individuals all think of nothing but today, with no thought for the future?

using generation and age for lines in the sand.

Baby boomers, at least the ones I know, enjoyed and recognize the benefits of affordable education, research and healthy infrastructure. We grew up in an era when these things were realities and are now seeing them eroded by Wall Street money grabs and finger pointing.

The rethuglicans and the corporate interests will try obfuscate as much as possible - one of the things they use is age and generation identity.

In my experience it is not the generations that have different aspirations, but the economic class structures. Rich and corporate interests vs. fill-in-the-blank.

It's not a "generational thing, it's an economic class thing.

Gen X/Y -- I refer to them as the "what have you done for me lately" generations. Sorry, but the OP just smacks of it.

PLUS

it was this "uncaring" age cohort which was pushing for all the social changes in the 60's and 70's.
( ahem..I be one of them).

AND
I am not the only "boomer" who raised equally liberal kids! "kids' who are now in their forties and
facing an even bleaker future than we are today.

I have no idea where this idea comes from that current retirement age people are all sitting around
chanting " I got mine, fuck you younger people".
Not a Dem talking point, for sure.

that smacked of blackmail to the babyboomers. I began a reply but deleted it before posting.

I see the differences in our generations and it worries me. This generation should be out in the streets like ours was at their ages. It is their generation that advertisers of those big corporation value the most, & here are two young people asking us when are we going to focus on their needs. We baby boomers are concerned as much about their future needs as we are our own. There's no magic wand -- the young people are going to have to SPEAK UP to those in Washington!

A leader not so much.

I would be happy to follow a good leader, regardless of generation.

I hope it comes from young people, however. Here's what my hero Frank Zappa had to say about the power of young people.



“It always amazes me that when a government is formed and they have all these computers and they have smart people working for them to figure out things to do and how to organize stuff. That they always forget the kids they always forget. They forget how much energy they have and they forget how much damage they can do. When you forget the kids your government is in danger because the kids can suddenly give you a big surprise."



some context to the above quote, if you have the time:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=571720&mesg_id=571720

-90% Jimmy

Ps - I'm offended, as a 57 year old person, that these Republicans would assume that a person like me would say to their proposal: "yeah ,you guys nailed it. As long as I get mine screw the younger people!" I'm a fucking liberal. Fairness and generosity are fucking IMPORTANT TO ME! I'm glad this is blowing up in their faces at their town halls.

the Boomer generation, or the Gen X/Gen Y generations for that matter, are of some monolithic, agreed-upon, codified set of standards/values/opinions, etc. that represent the entire demographic group? There are huge gradations across the spectrum of any generation. Bush the Younger and Karl Rove are Boomers and I highly doubt you'll find any other Boomers on DU, or plenty of other places, who share their values or ideas of what Boomer "responsibility" entails, or agree upon what we, as a generation, should be "advocating".

The turn out of the 20-30-something generation for rallies, elections, and activism is shamefully low. (With apologies and sympathy to those of you in that group who are activists).

Those Boomers of us who are Democratic, lifelong or otherwise, voters and true believers have always looked out for all other component groups of the Democratic coalition, or really for all disadvantaged or socially brutalized persons---- or rather have voted for the interest of everybody and everybody ELSE, if voting has had any effect at all (see below).

That assumption plays into KKKarl ROVE's long range strategy of playing one Democratic constituent group against another.

As for our "power," while our *mass* might have a bursting-at-the-seams effect, I have never felt any power, have never had my elected officials, especially those I faithfully voted for, pay attention to any of my individual input.

Since the O.P. is addressing Boomers in the abstract, I wonder what the entire mass of Boomers is proposed to do, en masse at this particular moment.

Why does this bullshit meme keep popping up here lately? :*

the Boomer generation is about the most schizophrenic generation in the history of mankind. Nothing good can be expected from going forward. Be grateful we are beginning to pass from the scene.

My advice to you is to get the fuck into the streets and stop using cellphones (deadly serious about the last one).

Us boomers ARE like a rat through a python. There's always a bulge. But because we're such a big generation all types of boomers are going to be represented larger than life. The boomers who think like Bush and Rove are a HUGE bloc, even though they're probably NOT the MAJORITY bloc.

to step up.

You CAN make noise all out of proportion to your size, you know.

Waiting for others to do it is....................:eyes:

and why the fuck do you think YOU have the fucking right to speak for 2 generations.

stupid fucking op.

I'm a boomer. And firstly, I promise you that I'm going to do my BEST to look out for the GENERAL welfare of this country and that will include education, infrastructure, and scientific research.

Secondly, DON'T be fooled at all the Teabagger boomers. They're the selfish assholes that you're talking about I'm sure, but guess what? THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN SELFISH ASSHOLES. Back when they were your age they were selfish assholes and age hasn't mellowed them. They're STILL selfish assholes. They are NOT a majority of boomers, just like they're not a majority of the country no matter WHAT they think in their fevered imaginations.

Thirdly, these types of feelings by your generation are NOT based on objective observation. There's been a insidious propaganda initive against the baby boom generation for DECADES (ever since Nixon in fact) to portray my entire generation as selfish and hedonistic. This was not true then and it's not true now. These negative generalizations were spread by the exploiting class to divide us from each other, intragenerationally AND intergenerationally. DO NOT PLAY INTO THEIR DIVISIVENESS. It doesn't help us and it doesn't help you.

Fourthly, I URGE you, in fact I BEG you, to get out in the streets yourselves! I'm on a local MoveOn core council in my area and we're ALL wondering where the young people are. It's all a bunch of old boomers (with a few notable exceptions of course, including our local council coordinator and his GF). And the issues that we've been raising and the actions that we've been taking are NOT old folks based. They are intergenerational things that affect the GENERAL WELFARE. That's you too. No matter how big my generation is, we CANNOT DO IT ALONE! Help us change the paradigm that's destroying the entire planet. Join WITH us instead of fighting us.

Deal with that. All of it was there because others put it there for your use. Your X and Ys have thus far done nothing to speak of in terms of activism. Nothing. The pitiful generations, that is what you are, when your elders are gone, you will be shit out of luck.

which in turn have given you health care through your workplace, worker's rights...overtime pay, vacation pay, 40 hour work week, maternity leave, family leave AND we also ended the Vietnam War. WTF more do you want from us? Do we have to do EVERYTHING for you?

WE have been the ones protecting our education system through our taxes, protesting and support for our teachers. WE are the ones who have supported the sciences/research and I do believe WE (and previous generations) helped pay for the fucking infrastructure you now enjoy. May I suggest the Gen Xers and Ys get off their asses and fight for what they want? As you can see, it WILL NOT be handed to you. YOU and YOUR generation need to stand up and FIGHT for what you want or the GOP and their Corporations WILL take it all from you. Just a suggestion though.

ALL GOOD Boomers are STILL fighting for you and younger generations. I have an 18 year old son and I am scared to death for his future, but unless you kids start fighting for what you have and wish to keep, it WILL be taken from you. I suggest you start fighting NOW.

Also, who the hell do think is at all those town hall meetings? Who the hell do you think is marching in all the anti-war protests?

We also gave you Rock and Roll....you should be GRATEFUL! :smoke:

Just Perfect. Thank you

:applause:

Brilliant reply!

:hi: