The Generations and the Changing Culture.

 Tom Kando

One way to look at history is through the lens of generations. The following labels have been proposed to classify American generations over the past one hundred and forty years: the "Lost Generation,"    the “Greatest Generation,” “the “Silent Generation,” the “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” the “Millennials,” “Generation Z” , and “Generation Alpha.” 

1. The Lost generation consisted of people born from 1883 through 1900. This term also applies to Europeans, as its meaning has to do with the millions who served and died in World War One. A separate meaning refers to American and other expatriate writers and artists who lived in Paris after World War One, for example Hemingway. 

2. Journalist Tom Brokaw is responsible for the label “greatest generation,” which he applied to Americans born between 1901and 1927. Those who came of age during the great depression and World War Two, and who built the “American Century.” Brokaw praised that generation for its valiant and selfless fight against fascism, among other things. It was said that, unlike later generations, when the GIs returned from World War Two, they simply settled down, many went to college, most went to work and built families. No complaints, no PTSD, etc. I am not making judgments; merely reporting. Of course, our society was extremely different from now. Progress in race relations, gender equality and other societal attitudes was still in its infancy. Altogether, the Greatest Generation consists of sixty-eight million Americans. The best example of a member of this generation that I can think of is my mother Ata, who was born in 1913 and died in 2017. 

3. I am a member of the “Silent Generation,” which follows the Greatest Generation. This generation consist of the forty-three million Americans who were born from 1928 through 1945. The birthrate during this period was low, due to the Great Depression and World War Two. As this generation came of age, it tended to conform more unquestioningly to traditional norms. This was Doris Day America. At the same time, having survived the Great Depression and defeated Fascism, there was a sense of optimism and progress, albeit attenuated by the nuclear angst of the Cold War. My two sisters Madeleine and Juliette are examples of the silent generation. 

4. The next generation was that of the Baby Boomers. Although I am somewhat too old to qualify for this generation, I feel a greater affinity with it than with the Silent Generation. I was a late bloomer. The Baby Boomers are the largest generation. They are the seventy-six million Americans who were born from 1946 through 1964, the result of the exploding birthrate after World War Two. This generation’s formative experiences include the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Counterculture and the civil disorder. It was  progressive. It was also a pampered generation, as America’s economy was fabulously wealthy. The cultural revolution produced much creativity and artistic and cultural experimentation. Many of the musical superstars of this era were members of the silent generation, but their millions of followers at Woodstock and elsewhere were mostly baby boomers. Examples of this generation include my wife Anita and myself (in spirit, anyway). 

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5. Generation X consists of the fifty-three million Americans born from 1965 through 1980. This generation was an extension of the previous one. As former California senator Tom Hayden said, the radicalism of the sixties became the common-sense of the seventies. While the turbulence of the sixties abated, the liberal agenda progressed. My daughters Dani and Leah are examples of this generation. 

6. Then came the Millennials, (or Generation Y), the sixty million Americans born from 1981 through 1996. This is when the digital revolution took off, leading to the rise of computers, the Internet, the Worldwide Web and electronic social media. This (largely unanticipated) fourth Industrial Revolution has caused a profound change and an ever growing cultural distance between previous and subsequent generations. The difference is most marked when it comes to learning, acquiring knowledge and information, and problem solving. In other words, what are intelligence and valued knowledge? 

6. Next is Generation Z: These are the sixty-two million Americans born from 1997 to 2012. This reflects a slight decline in the country’s birthrate. My grandchildren Sadie and Luc are members of this generation. From my perspective, the differences between Millennials and Generation Z are quantitative, not qualitative. They often have similar progressive views on gender, Donald Trump, etc. They resemble each other as to preferred forms of communication (e.g. texting vs e-mail), television (streaming vs. cable), use of social media, YouTube and other platforms. In other words, Millennials and Generation Z have both crossed a line, and they have things in common which older generations do not share. Generation Z is mostly accentuating the trends set under way by Millennials. And what are these trends? 

The growth of digital technology is causing a reduction in book reading and in writing. Standardized tests indicate a decline in English language skills, in numeracy, history and civics, revealing some of the lowest scores ever recorded by 4th to 12th graders (See Sacramento Bee, 6/29/23: 10B). Of course, some of this is due to Covid. Distance Education is not what it’s cracked up to be. But the decline has been under way at least since 2014. Also, while Americans have never excelled in areas such as History and Geography, ignorance in such fields seems to be increasing. I was recently on the phone with customer service of a department store. I asked the lady for her first name. When she told me that it was Era, I complimented her for this beautiful name and I reminder her that it stood for the abortive Equal Rights Amendment. She had never heard of it. A few days later someone asked me where I was originally from (I still have a foreign accent). When I mentioned that I grew up in Holland, the man’s blank stare revealed that he had no idea where or what Holland is. 

There is today also a growing feeling that a college education is useless. The best part of the college experience has always been the General Education requirement. Yes, the useless but mandatory courses that teach you what your society is all about, and that are nothing more than INTERESTING. 

But let me not be negative. Social change is multifaceted. Some skills and types of knowledge decline and other ones arise. When the automobile replaced the horse, people learned more about cars and less about horses. 

7. And then there is Generation Alpha: This consists of the thirty-seven million Americans so far born from 2013 through 2023. Little can be said about this group’s “culture,” as most of them are still infants. But my eleven-year old nephew already shows impressive intelligence, creativity and open-mindedness when introduced to gardening and other new, valuable activities. 

 Surveys show that among the young, there is a greater degree of tolerance and acceptance of diversity and innovation, greater environmental responsibility, less materialism, better values in many ways and more optimism. A recent PEW survey (Gillian Richards, 7/2/23) indicates that among Generation Z, there is a significant rise in religious agnosticism, and a desire that the government do more to solve society’s problems. So it is important to keep an open mind. New technologies, new scientific knowledge and new skills emerge. Young people will hopefully steer these in directions that benefit humanity, as they have in the past. leave comment here