Age Wars, Anyone?

         Which is the only  prejudice  that remains acceptable.  It is ageism.  Voters in the  recent election said that age was more of an issue than race which means, of course, that more voted against  McCain because of his age than voted against Obama because of his race. And nobody seems to think this is a prejudice that even deserves much comment.

     Pundits keep lauding Obama’s victory not only because of its inclusiveness but because it is a generational change.  Obama, though technically a baby boomer, is being touted as our first post-boomer president.  He comes in after two leading-edge boomers who both had seriously flawed presidencies.

      It is Obama’s youthful telegenic appearance, his coolness, his understanding of the power of the Internet that are important parts of his appeal to the public and, especially, to the media which need the young, the hip, the photogenic.   There is very much a sense of out-with-the -old and in-with-the-new, and in this case the old seems anything or anyone fiftyfive plus.  In fact, one wonders if in the future fiftyfive plus will be the sell-by date for any Presidential candidate. 

      This election also seemed to reinforce what we already know, that we now live in a society where experience doesn’t matter very much.   Both Hillary Clinton and John McCain went down claiming experience counted.   It didn’t.  Hillary’s harking back and McCain’s reference to even fairly recent history turned people off.  

        Americans have had great affection for “the greatest generation,” the generation of Obama’s grandparents, those who grew up during the Depression, and fought World War II.  Their sacrifices and their selflessness are still admired.    But there is a lot less affection or respect for baby boomers, especially leading-edge boomers. McCain’s defeat was the final shrugging off of the sacrifice of the Viet Nam vets.     

       Add to that baby boomers tend to be as full of ageism as anyone younger.     It is boomers who , while still humming “  Forever young”  reach for the Botox, the  Restalyne and the Viagra.   They have tried, somewhat desperately, to stay ageless rather than become mature.    Part of the problem with ageism now is that not only do the young not respect their elders any more.    Those who are older do not respect themselves

       In a way, ageism is not different from racial prejudice. African-Americans always  acknowledged  that they  internalized the negative attitudes society had about them and their physical appearance.  It is the same way boomers feel about their wrinkles and themselves.  But in the last years the media have helped change the image of black Americans.   Karl Rove was right.   The Huxtables of the Bill Cosby Show helped prepare the mindset for Obama’s election.   But the media, which does not even measure the appeal of their shows to viewers over 49, has no interest in creating  flattering portraits of older Americans.          

       This young-old divide can become a major problem for the future.  Boomers are still the largest segment of the population.  And, they are the ones whose  401(ks) have been decimated.   Part of our economy’s two-decade dizzying  growth spurt was fueled by the free-spending two-income boomers.   Now they will become the major recipients of government programs.  During the next decade more and more of them will be getting Social Security and Medicare.   More and more of them will be dealing with serious or chronic money-draining illnesses.  

       How will the public react if this generation, for which there is little fondness,  becomes our society’s greatest financial burden?    And how will the Democratic party that owes its recent victory to its enormous appeal to young voters deal with the increasing needs of the boomer generation?   Perhaps that depends on whether ageism, the prejudice we don’t even have be embarrassed about, becomes even more pervasive.

Comments

[johndamion]

The older I get the wiser I get and the meaner I get. I wouldn't mess with this boomer. 'Nuf said!

[johndamion]

Racism was an issue in this race: it was all right to vote FOR Obama because he was Black, but it was not all right to vote AGAINST Obama because he Black. Give me a break! Ageism?
No problem: We all hate those old, useless people.
Sexism? No problem. Obama, another MALE president beats out the likes of Clinton, but no one shouts sexism as women are again denied the oval office (in this case, thank goodness!). It's all a sham. I guess we don't need affirmative action any more now that a Black has made it to 1600 Penn. Ave.
We now need affirmative action for old people and women who both have been sold down the river by the media and unthinking Americans.

[Jennifer Williams]

Well-written article. Yes, Obama is a post-Boomer, and as you may have noticed, many influential publications and experts have recently been pointing out that Obama (now 47 yrs old) is a member of Generation Jones (now 43-54 yrs old, the long lost generation between the Boomers and Generation X).

This link leads to a page which I found fascinating, it's filled with excerpts from articles in Newsweek, The Huffington Post, New York Times, etc. and videos of many prominent political figures, all discussing Obama’s identity as a GenJoneser, and the impact of this on his Presidency: http://www.generationjones.com/2008election.html