The Greatest Generation? Lets Consider the Evidence

I ask a question for you to contemplate. Who is the greatest thinkers of our time. Tom Brokaw... or Charlton Heston?

Soooooooo...seriously...”The Greatest Generation”? I am 48 as of last week. I am blessed to have both my parents kicking around strongly in their 80’s and am seriously concerned about my ability to cope without them as support and as touch stones for my own genetics and not just the weak genetics but tips about the strengths as well but while idolizing my own folks I seriously question this lionization of their generation.

Now you have to give credit where credit is due. This generation stopped the holocaust, held off Hitler and saved the west, and with the help of the next generation staved off communism as they fought through the cold war. They ushered in the nuclear age. They did an awesome job in so many different things and have helped transition us through the beginning of civil rights and women in the workplace. They tore down the wall and beat down the commies. Lots of good stuff.

But seriously... the greatest generation? I know Tom Brokaw said it and wrote the book but that don’t make it so. I mean without singing a litany of evidence to the contrary, (global warming, general destruction of the environment and... seriously.... the worst one... they raised us. How could you claim to be the greatest generation when you have raised... the selfish generation. I mean I know they only wanted the best for us and really wanted us to have opportunities that they did not have... yadda, yadda, yadda. But in doing that they have rally screwed up not only us... but the whole world.

I mean... they have sicked us on the whole universe. The world was really not prepared (nor should they have been) for an entire generation of me’s. People who do not want instant gratification... we expect it as our birthright. Maybe it happened because a lot of our mom’s smoke and drank through our pregnancies. Maybe they were just mis guided but every time I drive by a new mega strip center with Old Navy, Natural Organic (expensive) Grocery stores with raw ahi and Kobe beef (prepared and ready to go), and high end steak house chains (Smith & Wollenskies, Fletchers etc...), Bed, Bath and Beyond, Nails, Tans, Pampered Pet Grooming it goes on and on and on and on.

So Brokaw, we didn’t get that way by ourselves. Genetics... that is on them. Environment... well that has to be on them too. So my suggestion is... rather then write books about them and praise them to high heaven....let’s chop em up, process them before they use up all the Medicare and Social Security money and make em into food. I know Heston is a right wing, gun nut, Moses wannabe Nazi and he didn't think of Soylent Green but by God he popularized it. I vote for Heston over Brokaw.

It’s PEOPLE! Indeed.