Defining Generation X
In 2003, the original print version of EduClaytion appeared in the Pittsburgh E Resource, a bi-weekly publication of Infinity Broadcasting. After the capture of Saddam Hussein on December 15th of that year, I ran a story titled “Saddam’s Role In Defining A Generation” which chronicled the biggest events in the lifetime of Generati
on X. What were the defining moments of the first generation to grow up on television and where did the capture of Hussein rank?
Although the article wasn’t intended to rile people up, the next week I received the best hate mail ever complete with pseudo-death threat, the only one I recall receiving to date. “You will die devil man,” or something to that effect. He also called me “Hitler-Stalin-KKK man,” which gave us a few laughs around the office. M
aybe he was most angry about the illustration my artist came up with, Saddam’s head munching cheese atop the body of a rat whose tail curved down the page. He pleads, “Don’t shoot me pleeease!” Hey, even CNN agreed. We never understood what set that guy off other than the fact he was a semi-literate buffoon.
After perusing the old article recently, I got to wondering how we’ve changed. Does the list hold up? What incidents have made the most powerful impact on a generation that succeeded the Baby Boomers and (according to some) goes back as far as 1961?
Because of television, I wrote, “Gen Xers have grown up witnessing history in the making like no other generation.” We are all historians because we pass on memories formed from our visual perspective when these world-changing moments occur.
Tragic moments defined the list. I already disagree with some of these picks from six years ago, and you probably will too. I hope to hear some feedback. By the way, the cut off originally used was people born around 1970-71.
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1. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 topped the list. That won’t change. I concluded:
“The experience was prolonged, close to home, and unfolding in front of our eyes. The incredible spirit of resiliency displayed by this country was empowering but not without a dangerous side effect. The magnitude was enormous, the fear so real, and when it was over a national desensitization was inevitable. Nothing in our lives will ever shock us as it would have before the infamous attack.”
No other event held a greater significance for more people.
3. The Explosion of the Challenger Shuttle
The 2003 version of me is trying to convince v. 2009 here. I wrote:
“The historical impact of the Challenger tragedy may not equal these other events but was the quintessential moment of tragedy in the memory of Gen X…Like a first kiss, there is only one event to serve as the first time something happened in the world and we know where we were and what we were doing.”
I see what I mean but am not sure if I buy that lofty ranking.
4. The Gulf War (Persian Gulf War of 1991)
“A war on TV was not new to the country but was new to those born in the 70s. We knew men and women risking their lives…”
5. The War In Iraq
(2003)
The soldiers fighting went from older relatives to peers. I have a hunch that many people would drop this down the list, but I’m not sure.
6. The Capture of Saddam
He’s been dead for a while now, but don’t forget his record of genocide and murder. What dictator committed more atrocities in our lifetime? By December 2003, it seemed he would never be captured, but there he was cowering in a hole, a “coward’s hideout.” The serviceman who shone a light into Hussein’s face reportedly said, “President Bush sends his regards.” Later, President Bush said, “Good riddance, the world is better off without you.” What an imperialist pig. I love happy endings. Read more »
Christmas Haters
Have you ever heard a story that should be sad but makes you laugh? No, I’m not talking about the story of the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers. The juicy little tidbit I have roasting over an open fire is about literally stealing some Christmas joy.
If Charles Dickens and Dr. Seuss would have got together, they might have come up with this true story that Huffington Post ran with the headline “Police: Christmas-Hating Man Stole Salvation Army Kettle In Maumee, Ohio.” Ebenezer Scrooge doesn’t have much on the Christmas culprit who shoved a bell-ringer to the ground, snatched the kettle filled with hundreds of dollars, and took off like the Hamburglar. The victim was an unemployed woman trying to do some good for someone.
I know that’s not very funny, but then I got to the part of the story where the man yelled out, “I can’t stand you and your bell-ringing. I hate Christmas!” What a cartoon this guy is. Sorry but I find that funny. Dont worry, the loser scrooge has been arrested. Anybody that stupid never gets away.
His name is Shawn Krieger and he apparently attended the Kanye West School of Civility and Jackassery. He narrowly escaped the woman he pushed. She chased him until he sped off in a stolen pickup truck (what else?). The poor woman feared she had let down the Army of love, but she’s been assured that she can go right on ringing those bells and sending wishes to strangers. Pretty impressive when you consider she ain’t getting paid.
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I was thinking about the Salvation Army–a.k.a. my old employer–recently after seeing a couple of bell-ringers womanning their post next to one of those iconic red kettles outside of a grocery store. The difference that caught my eye this time was the youthful appearance of the merriment wishers. The bell-ringing greeters were actually two young girls, attractive and sweet. Read more »
I Just Shot John Lennon
Doesn’t get much more random than this. December 8th is a bad day for Beatles fans. What modern icon today would be the equivalent of John Lennon if he were to be murdered? Bono from U2? Speaking of the Irish, here’s Dolores O’Riordan and Co. Remember the Cranberries? Guess I’m a sucker for punky Irish girls although she looked out there in this clip from Letterman.
Boob Jobs and The End Of The World
Tragedies come in many forms, even heart-shaped butts. The deadly risks of cosmetic surgery appeared in headlines again last week after the death of Solange Magnano, a former Miss Argentina, on November 29th. The model suffered a pulmonary emb
olism after a gluteoplasty to get a firmer butt. You may recall a similar story about the mother of Kanye West a couple of years ago. She also died from complications resulting from plastic surgery. I’d be understating the matter to call Magnano’s death needless. Did I mention she was a mom? Well, she was also a fool.
Fools by definition are people who lack good judgment. This group would include the majority of our elected officials, cult members, and generally everyone ever at some point in their life. You’ve probably had one of those “What was I thinking?” moments. We all lack good judgment from time to time, but most of us don’t lose our lives over it. I just have a hard time thinking of many reasons that could be more idiotic to die for than a tight butt.
Someone who drinks until they’re hammered and drives around town is also a fool, the only difference is that they might take the lives of others. There’s a lot of power in recklessness. I’m not talking about calculating criminals but rather self-serving seekers trying to control the uncontrollable. This recklessness just confirms my theory that we all hide private longings, those secret somethings that make special people less than speci
al when you see them behind the curtain. Just ask Tiger Woods. Like Henry David Thoreau said, most of us lead lives of quiet desperation.
That quiet desperation leads folks to do some pretty stupid things. We’re aware that no one will understand because the reality is that we are often wrong in our hidden desires and we know it. We keep selfish versions of the life we want to ourselves. In the process we pile up regrets until one day deciding that we’ve suffered enough and that we deserve whatever it is that self-appointed martyrs claim as their deathright. Lost along the way are all the blessings we’re too blind to see and all the people who suffer from our mistakes.
At some point during childhood, my sister Shannon told me that people want what they can’t have. Turns out that’s one of the truest and most lasting lessons I’ve learned. We want it all. We want. Tell the ugly duckling to understand a beauty queen unhappy with her posterior. Tell a barren wife to understand a mother who gets trashed with kids in the backseat. Try to understand anytime someone else throws away the very life you’ve long dreamed of.
Two decades later, that same sister just called to wish me a happy birthday. She asked how it felt to turn another year older. I asked her if guys could use eye cream for wrinkles without being laughed at. Her fiance laughed at me. Such is the cost of vanity. Sometimes it’s higher. Read more »
Welcome To Here
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo he can take the blue pill and go on believing whatever he wants to believe. Or he can take the red pill to stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This is a red pill type site with a weekly column (and some extras in between) that provides information in an entertaining way. It’s about clear thinking and good writing. It’s about truth.
I’m a writer/speaker who teaches history and political science at a local college by day. Where is local, you say? Well, that would be Wonderland of course.
From pop culture to pop politics, this is my column.
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