10-09-2020, 05:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-09-2020, 06:33 AM by Eric the Green.)
(09-28-2020, 01:13 PM)sbarrera Wrote:(09-27-2020, 09:12 PM)Warren Dew Wrote:(09-27-2020, 02:56 PM)sbarrera Wrote: If this is all a distraction to keep Millennials from being aware of their real problem (Marx would have said they have false consicousness instead of the correct class consciouness) then so be it. But the red and blue constellations are still there.
If it's a distraction, it may well be a distraction by both the Red and Blue Boomers in collusion - or perhaps the whole Red v Blue thing is a smokescreen to aid with the distraction.
Red and Blue Boomers are not in collusion. They are in conflict. That is the Boomers' modus operandi.
The reds of all generations are the problem Millennials are facing. There is no other problem, as I see it. Of course there is conflict between red and blue boomers. But that conflict is happening among all generations. Some younger people like to say that if it weren't for boomers, we would not be in conflict and not polarized, because prophets get into conflicts. I disagree.
Many Boomers may indeed be stubborn and self-righteous and clingy and bossy today, no longer the love generation of Woodstock days. But the nub of the conflict is one of ideologies and values, and is stoked by fears and prejudices. The problem is the "red" side entirely. The ideology to which they cling for dear life is basically neo-liberalism, the idea that the market should be left to its own devices and benefits will trickle down. This is quite strongly allied with the racist elements, often closeted, which have bedeviled Americans since Columbus sailed the ocean blue, due to scapegoating of welfare recipients and other benefits provided to "those lazy people" by the neo-liberal enemy, "big government." And traditional religious dogma and prejudice plays a big part in holding up these old values too. Super-patriot militarism, gun obsession, and opposition to environmentalism are all part of the red mix. These ideologies have been around much longer than boomers, and in youth boomers spoke and acted against these same old values and ideologies in virtually the same way that Millennial youth are doing now.
It IS a political conflict of ideas, and not a generational conflict; although as the graph I just posted and many others I have posted in these forums for years show, there are differences in levels of support for red and blue among various age groups, with some of the oldest group, plus the core boomers, and especially the millennials, supporting liberals and Democrats, while late boomers through core Xers, as well as the oldest boomer/war baby cuspers and many Silents, are the most Republican and conservative. But there are plenty on all sides from all generations. White Millennials seem almost evenly divided at times, despite the strong liberal tilt overall of this most-diverse generation. And it's true as I have said that many people have loyalties and opinions from both sides, in varying degrees. But the hope for "bipartisan get together" has passed. As problems remained un-addressed during the 3T by Republicans' power, and their fears of change have grown, while the need to address the problems has grown more urgent, polarization is natural.
The red vs. blue battle is THE thing. It is NOT a distraction or a Boomer pre-occupation. And the nation must make a decision now between them. It is a life and death decision.