80s music rules ;-)

In all seriousness, I don't put much stock in generational descriptors.

-Signed, A cynical Gen Xer

Although, to be fair, I was always grateful to have been brought up by a Baby boomer whose progressive values shaped mine, so there's that.

What do you hope that young people will remember from your generation?

Brown v. Board of Education

Roe v. Wade

Cohen v. California

Walter Cronkite

Woodstock

Crossroads Guitar Festival

SNL

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Godfather

Covid

9/11

Weekend camping or picnicking in well taken care of facilities complete with stocked wood for fires, a pristine fishing & swimming lake in walking distance, all the hiking, walking and biking trails you could ask for ... FREE! Affordable and safe children matinees every Saturday and weekend Drive In theaters every weekend. FREE skating rinks or skiing hills out on a backyard field or local lake in the winter and affordable Community Neighbourhood outdoor swimming pools in the summer. Less TV and no Computers to discourage all the above. A much happier, safe & simpler life. Did I happen to mention clean, free &/or affordable recreation.

Black Monday, the market does recover.

Twin Towers, be aware, be wary.

Food is medicine. Do not live on junk food.

Recycle. Live environmentally friendly.

Leave a small footprint.

You get out of "IT" what you put into "IT".

A teen from the 60’s here.

Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.

Listen to your body.

Words and songs by Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Stevie Nicks, Randy Newman, Van Morrison, Carole King, Prince, Stevie Wonder

Trust, but verify.

Bookwoman - I like to think that I broke a couple of those barriers that are making it easier for my nieces and DIL's to get opportunities. Unfortunately to listen to these young women who are in their 30's and who are lawyers, and CPA's and doctors, finance directors, some of the men who are their peers didn't get the message about treating women with respect in the workplace. And these will be the sons of my peers, It makes me sad and makes me feel that somehow I failed them.

I hope they fight for a better work/life balance than what many of us accepted. It will be worth it.

Disco

That working hard and having initiative is better than being smart. Find animals to love and have a relationship with.

Blfenton, most of my experiences and those of my own kids and others in their generation are very different from what you've explained. I don't know if this is because of differences between where you live and where I live, or differences in the people we know, but what you described is mostly long gone from the professional scene where I am and has been for quite a while. .

"That working hard and having initiative is better than being smart."

Smart can mean a lot of different things, and there are different ways to be smart, but few people I've known who worked hard and had initiative were dumb.

The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and ALL the never-to-beat 60's rock. Best ever!

What Outsideplaying said, plus

Be kind to others

Love each other

Respect other people

Someone said, "Education doesn't make you smart, it only makes you educated". I've found that to be very true. I've known and seen some really dumb educated people.

I agree with ladypat1, except I would replace "smart" with "educated. You can have a great life whether you have a college degree or not if you're willing to put in the effort.

There are forms of education that don't involve college. Vocational apprenticeships and formal learning programs. Training programs vocational and otherwise in the military. On the job training, lessons learned from thoughtful living. Self study. Etc.

I'd rather replace the word "smart" with "intelligent" to focus the concept. Intelligence is the ability to apply critical thinking, to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills, to tell fact from fiction. It's an ability that can be learned and developed in many ways, whether through post-secondary education or in some of the ways mentioned and many others.

No skills that are abandoned or go unused matter. In this way, people with educations can in fact be stupid and ignorant, in much the same as are people who never acquired learning and thinking skills and don't know enough to realize that the skills and insights they're lacking prevent them from understanding things that come to others with much greater ease.

I hope they don't take disco (I believe that Jack was making a joke), but I would like for them to take the music from the 60s and 80s. Personally, I've bought very little new music since 1985, but there has been some.

I would encourage more people to get vocational training, especially in building and repair skills. The more we can repair things, the less we will have to throw away.

I wish foreign languages were taught in elementary schools - then perhaps people would speak English better. I consider grammar to be very elementary, and perhaps we should go back to calling it grammar school.

I had a few smart students that were so lazy, they never turned out to be happy or successful, or self reliant. Smart probably isnt the best word, but you know what I mean. LOL

What I'd like young people to take away is: how quickly things you love can slip away if you don't pay attention to them.

Be prepared. Be frugal. Learn to garden, preserve foods, sew, forage and not waste. Oh and let'snot forget advanced first aid. If they need to survive, they have the skills.

Be skeptical. Do your own research, get several viewpoints and opinions. Analyze and make your own conclusions.

Study history and pay attention to those who have come before your. Lest you repeat the mistake of the past.

Honor and embrace your heritage. Learn what your ancestors did so you could have the opportunities.

Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. Learn common courtesy. We are all equals.

Elmer, this is not the first time you've expressed that discrimination toward women is "mostly long gone from the professional scene where I am and has been for quite a while." That has not been my experience, nor that of other women including blfenton and her children. I suspect that men are not the best judges of whether discrimination against women exists just as I suspect whites are not the best judges of whether discrimination against people of color exists, the young as to whether discrimination against the aged, exist, etc.

I suggest you read: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez. You may find it eye opening. I did. I saw a lot of the discrimination I experienced personally in that book, but even more of which I was unaware...especially how the male is the default, with women being treated as an afterthought or as if they were just smaller men and how they suffer accordingly. It's all the more surprising as women make up such a large part of the population and such an economically important player given how the money they control has only grown over time.

One recent example was the Apple health monitoring system which they bragged was the most comprehensive...bp, blood alcohol levels, steps taken, all kinds of things...but didn't include a period tracker, ignoring nearly half of their users by doing so. Not from the book was the example of NASA touting their upcoming first all women spacewalk, which they had to cancel as they didn't have enough spacesuits to fit the women.

From the book, I found this interesting: "Studies have shown that a belief in your own personal objectivity, or a belief that you are not sexist, makes you less objective and more likely to behave in a sexist way." This makes sense. If one believes one isn't a certain way, they aren't going to question whether their behavior is consistent with their belief. However, if one is open to questioning whether their behavior is a certain way, then one may examine the choices made, looking for discriminatory behavior, even if unconscious or unintentional and make sure they aren't engaging in it.

If I treated everyone the way I like to be treated, most people would be mad, or at least rather unhappy. Not everyone likes to be treated the same way. Better to treat people the way they want to be treated instead of the way you want to be treated. Do not assume that everyone has the same wants and preferences that you have.

How to tell time on an analog clock, how to make change, where to see the date a coin was minted. We are losing touch with physical things, in my opinion.

"Elmer, this is not the first time you've expressed that discrimination toward women is "mostly long gone from the professional scene where I am and has been for quite a while." That has not been my experience"

My comments are accurate, clearly defined as to the source and scope of applicability, and nothing more need be said. I spent a career in leadership of an organization known and recognized for its HR innovations, diversity, inclusion, and meritocratic opportunities. My organization was constantly one of the Best Places to Work, highly ranked by Working Mother, and a variety of other important honors.

I was a frequent choice as mentor by female staff because of my reputation for being a fair and involved advocate.

I won't waste a second more responding to your uninformed comments and if you want to throw rocks, fine. Had you had the right background and qualifications, you could have had a great career with unlimited upward career opportunities working for us. If your experiences in a professional services career were different, I'm sorry for you. This is maybe a flavor of the curious reaction some have when they can't take Yes for an answer.

That they do not need to put up with anything. At all. Not paid enough or appreciated at work? Bye. Partner does not treat you right or contribute? Bye. Parents or other family treated you like garbage when you were growing up and now want to forget all that and want you to take care of them? Bye.

That they owe no-one explanations for their adult lifestyles. Don't want kids? None of anyone else's business why you do not. You do not owe anyone another generation. Single and happy to be so? You do not have got convince anyone that there is nothing wrong with you. Want to be a stay at home spouse or parent? Or do you both want to work and put your kids in daycare? Do it. No matter what your friends, your family, your in laws, what society says. Live how you want to live for YOURSELF and giggle at the people getting mad about it.

To combat my last statement IF YOU PUT YOUR BUSINESS OUT IN THE PUBLIC, PEOPLE CAN AND WILL COMMENT ON IT. Stay off of social media. Stop putting your life on TikTok and Facebook and then getting upset when people make negative comments. Just live life and enjoy it. I think this is a VERY important lesson for the younger generations. You do not need validation from strangers, or even loved ones.

Asking for advice or help is not a sign of weakness anymore. I hope the younger generations make this more so.

How about being able to think critically and imaginatively - to understand and appreciate satire, metaphors, sarcasm and question dogma?

I know a thing I wouldn't want kids today to take from our generation (later cohort of Baby Boomers) - namely that it's embarrassing and shameful to live with parents or offspring. I think that one's already gone by the wayside for many - especially now, due to the pandemic. I think some of that stems from the rebellious youth culture of the 60s & 70s. When I was young, I wanted to be as far away from home and my parents as possible. Everything from the previous generations seemed boring and stupid. But as I got older, I realized that I would love to be closer with my family, even living together. I'm lucky to have a loving family that gets along. This also relates to what nickel posted.

FWIW, the Golden Rule I learned is: that which is hateful to you, do not unto others. IOW, it's not about doing things you want, it's about NOT doing things you wouldn't want.

And just because a person hasn't personally experienced a thing, that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. IOW, just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there.

This is for all generations...a good work ethic.

"I won't waste a second more responding to your uninformed comments and if you want to throw rocks, fine."

a) I'm sorry you view my comment as "throwing rocks". It was not. I was only making a suggestion. I thought you might find the book of interest, despite the fact the suggestion came from me. But apparently not.

b) The fact that you are dismissing my suggestion because you already know so much supports the point the author made.

c) There was nothing in my comment that was "uninformed" and there is no need to insult me that way.

Carolyn, I agree that we need to lose the stigma we place on family generations living together providing it works. I believe that my generation (Boomers, the 'Me' generation) were rather a selfish lot. Ambition and greed has lead many to lossing that sense of 'family'. Not trying to stir anything up but just my humble opinion.

I think wanting or not wanting parents or adult children living in the same household with an adult person or couple is not a generational thing. Sometimes as with aging parents it's a cultural practice from the old country followed by new immigrants. One that like others may tend to be more because of economic need rather than relationship-driven preferences. and may be discontinued as descendants assimilate.

For others, when alternatives are preferred or there's a desire to encourage separate quarters or to not support offspring who should be able to support themselves, there may be no more to it than that. I can't imagine people make such decisions based upon how they think others will view them. Personal preferences or objectives, nothing more.

None of my friends have parents in their households and only a few have had failure to launch children. Even with those, it was for short-term periods.

"I believe that my generation (Boomers, the 'Me' generation) were rather a selfish lot."

Were? We're still here! At least some of us are!

:)

"And just because a person hasn't personally experienced a thing, that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. IOW, just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there."

Yep.

I think the intergenerational living thing was part and parcel of the expectation that subsequent generations in America would be wealthier. The story of the poor immigrant with nothing who succeeds and is able to educate their children so they do better, etc. It starts with the family all living in one home to perhaps sharing a multi-family home, to buying a home of their own. And the flow of income used to be from adult children back to parents as the aging parents had little in the way of pension and savings and the adult children became wealthier. It was wealth that allowed families to create separate households. However, with the more recent phenomenon of children returning home after college, many burdened with college loans greater than many mortgages, the flow of income support stays parent to child even as the child becomes an adult. I think the 'stigma' arises as it's evidence that subsequent increase in wealth isn't there.

This is not to say that there is anything wrong with intergenerational living and the choices people make...I'm only trying to express where I think that cultural attitude comes from.

But it also suggests that the boomer generation has been twice burdened...the sandwich generation... which finds itself caring for both children and parents at the same time, especially as parents become longer-lived and children take longer to achieve full independence.

Back to the OP, it's hard for me to think of things I'd want them to take away as so many of them are already being undone such as voting rights, women's control over their own bodies, environmental protections, the economic and social benefits of a strong middle class and the govt policies that encourage that. I would want them to welcome people from around the world into our country as it strengthens our nation. I fear for our democracy now as I've never before with the divisiveness and anger towards each other.

Seems to me the thing our generation brought that has stuck has been legalization of pot...hardly something I'd want the children of the "greatest generation" to be lauded for.

"However, with the more recent phenomenon of children returning home after college, many burdened with college loans greater than many mortgages,"

Check your information sources. There are loan limits and such a situation would be extremely unusual and an outlier.

Shedding tears over school loan balances is as irrational as shedding tears over credit card balances. Both are optional and in many cases are the consequence of poor choices made instead of less costly alternatives.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianahembree/2018/11/01/new-report-finds-student-debt-burden-has-disastrous-domino-effect-on-millions-of-americans/?sh=5178275f12d1

-- One in three of the borrowers report their student loan bill is higher than their rent or mortgage bill, with 65% saying their monthly student loan bill is more than their food budget for the month.

So clearly not "extremely unusual and an outlier".

You've demonstrated that internet searches return word matches but not knowledge or insights. Anything can be found. Do more than look at the headline - do you see that it says the average loan balance of those who responded to the survey the article is based on is 2.5 times the national average? Does that suggest anything to you about how unrepresentative the responses are or how useless the survey is?

Do you have any familiarity or information you've learned on your own, from people known by you or by your kids? If not, I'd suggest the source for your newly found "knowledge" is incomplete and based on a misleading and unrepresentative source. Not to mention the overall starting point - many newspaper and magazine articles choose topics that are extreme, to get attention. This one is surely that too.

I'm an older boomer, so my memories are of hitting my teen years in the 60s. What from that era still resonates? Growing awareness of environmental issues, concerns about racial discrimination, the emergence of women's rights movements, and the general need to hold elected governments to account. We thought those things were important, and marched and protested for them. Perhaps we were naive and certainly our thinking lacked complexity, but those are all issues still worth fighting for because none of them has been completely resolved. And, in some areas ground is being lost.

I think the main lesson would probably be to always be prepared to question authority, whether that authority is an elected body or a special interest group or your own personal feelings about some issue. Listen to different points of view, not just the one's that reinforce your own ideas/beliefs. And from my personal perspective, learn to embrace living smaller, not bigger. It's better for the environment and the society around you.

I remember when I was younger we would have block parties in our subdivision every year. I only went with my family a few times, but they were always fun. Kids played, adults talked, and there was always plenty of good food. I hope people continue to do this because they're a great way for people to get to know their neighbors and just share some food/drinks. Basically, I want people to keep having these community get togethers. I believe this will help to heal the extreme polarity in this country.

perennialfan, my town in the Bay Area still has summer block parties, along with ice cream socials, and neighbors handing out home made doughnut holes at Halloween.

Sadly, I don't think it will help heal the polarity of which youmspeak, because our neighborhoods are pretty tightly segregated by financial means. Specifically where I live, we are pretty homogenous in our outlook on national and international issues. A bit more diversity exists on local issues, like housing regulations and school board matters, but on the whole, very similar ideas.

Actually, elmer, your "extremely unusual and an outlier" set the bar very low.

I do happen to know one fellow, who despite working full time, didn't move out of his parents' house until he was 28 as his monthly student loans payments were more than our mortgage payments when we had them. When he did move out, it was into a house he had to share with 3 other guys in a less expensive area to afford it. But that is even less relevant than the study results I posted as it's a single anecdote, not data. I never understand why you put so much emphasis on personal experience when one's personal experience is about as small a sample size as you can get.

The sampling in the study was not scientific, so the results are biased. However, the results are sufficient to show that it is a more common experience than you suggested. Perhaps think of it as a whole bunch of personal experiences.

When you look at data which is substantially skewed, such as student loan debt, averages can obscure the actual experience. For example, over 1/3 of the student loan debt outstanding is for loans in excess of $100,000, which, even for those with professional degrees, is a heavy burden to start out with.

Certainly the relative burden for graduates today is different from when I graduated. House prices since 1969 have risen 1151% vs. room and board costs at private colleges at +2086% and at public colleges +2687%.

On any topic, a lack of personal insights and experience prevents putting into context, calibrating, assessing, and ultimately weighing the value and relevance of randomly found "information". Perhaps because of my first take that I shared that suggested the so-called survey results were dubious, you now say the results are biased. I wouldn't say that as much as to say they're invalid and of no value. The info in the link was from a garbage survey, clearly so discernable because of the outlier data it presents (and which, to its credit, was effectively so described). Invalid for most borrowers and providing a misinformed picture of the world of most college loan holders after graduation. Had you seen that when composing your comment, would you have left out the link and restricted the comment to what you knew from your own experiences? When you linked to them in a comment, would you have said "here's skewed data from an invalid sample that's biased?"

You've done the same thing in your most recent comment above, talking about house price increases. Is this in Boston, Muskegon, or Mexicali? Taken out of context, it means nothing. What was the increase in middle class income and wealth balances over this period? Don't these need to be known to understand the stated housing price increases? How about the college cost figures? Maybe you don't have kids, if you did, you'd know that few college students pay "sticker price" for their educations. Stats about sticker price increases are irrelevant and could be compared to sticker prices for hospital charges - few people ultimately pay sticker price, equally for colleges and hospitals.

The housing prices is from the US government median house prices (HUD). The tuition and room and board figures are from Education Data Initiative and consistent with work done by the Brookings Institution. We are talking about a comparison of mortgage payments to tuition costs, so not directly on point. But to satisfy your comment, median income (US census bureau) rose 629% over the same period, so both housing and tuition/board have become less affordable.

But this business that one needs personal experience makes no sense. Taken to it's logical conclusion, no man could be a competent obstetrician (sorry, 'my wife had a baby' is not good enough), no historian could know anything about ancient Egypt, no cosmologist could know anything about black holes, and no one could know anything about theoretical anything as they've never experienced it. Balderdash.

"Information" needs to be put into context and assessed- personal experiences are one tool that can be used, there are others. Personal experiences are often helpful when talking about matters that affect individuals. I have the term information in quotes because some seem to fall in love with anything they find in a search, whether they understand it or realize limitations or not.