My generation wishes they were a different one.

 

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by
     madness, starving hysterical naked,

dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn
     looking for an angry fix,

angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
     connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery
      of night.

-Allen Ginsburg, HOWL

I hear every day from people my age "man, i was born too late" or "I wish I was born a few decades earlier". Why is that? Me personally, I wish I'd been born in the late 30s or early 40s. I could've grown up in the greatest age of Hollywood, could've witness the beat generation, been in my 20s for Woodstock, my 30s for the 70'spunk movement, and while I probably wouldve been too old to appreciate it been around for the grunge breakout in the late 80's/ early 90's.

What does today's generation stand for? It seems every decade up to my age group (I was born in 1982) has at least one great "thing", something the whole generation got behind and is known for. My generation, nothing. We don't have quality music, quality movies, quality art. No political movement where we flipped the system the bird and won. Why not?


We also get blamed for the decline of civilization, for being lazy, unmotivated. But is that our fault? In my head I see baby boomers running down streets clutching bags of all the money and my generation following behind them shooting each other for any dollar that happened to stray. Is this our fault? Or the older generations?

That we've gone from hundreds of thousands of CEOs making millions in the 50's to a mere handful making billions and sitting on it, I think thats the biggest problem with my generation. We've become money starved, so the music we make's only aim is to "get rich". Same with movies, art, our only motivation for anything really, is to not be as poor as we are now. So if the government starts writing checks we dont have to work for, most of us take it. If an opportunity arises where all we have to do is cheapen what we stand for for a buck, we do it. Is my generation simply the outcome of what happens when greed and monopolies hit the breaking point?  Total apathy, no self respect, and no respect for others?  It's sad.

 

No matter who's to blame, I really wish I'd been born earlier.