(06-02-2018, 06:26 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Convenience is an attraction of the big stores, although that doesn't mean they had to be like walmart. Remember though that many of us remained as we were in youth in many of our attitudes, and did not join the walmart world. And this Establishment of today was largely created by GIs and Silents like Reagan. It is not really accurate or fair for Xers to lump all people older than them (and same age as them) together as "boomers," and say they created the Establishment, but you guys do it anyway. In fact, Xers often have been more cynical, materialist and conservative than boomers were at their age, and that also included the more-conservative Boomer-Xer group in their younger years. It is more accurate to say "Republicans" created today's ruthless Establishment, and also include moderate "New Democrats" as often too complicit. For whatever reason, the Republicans and complicit Democrats have won most of the political battles, including the rigged elections of 2000 and 2016, and the midterms in which young people have not voted. It's political more than generational. If you hope to just replace older with younger people, that may not bring the needed change you might want. You have to look at peoples' values, policies and behaviors.
I should also mention that some Xers, like the ambient musicians I promote and listen to, continued and advanced/improved on the artistic traditions established in the second turning by older and core boomers and silent/boomer cuspers (the "sixties generation"), traditions in turn influenced by what came before. That's the way to do it. But the more popular Xer pop styles too often just threw out the 2T tradition out of cynicism, and the resulting poor quality is evident.
You say Xers fomented this stuff but there's a direct quote from the S&H text that says:
"13rs view the world as a theme park totally wrecked by boomers".
My generation must live in the world you guys made for us. We may not want walmart but we know we cannot stop it. So, we don't care. We are just trying to survive. That is the defining quality of my generation. We don't trust things because things are corrupt. Not because we made them corrupt. We inherited it. We have to live with what our elders left for us. And going back to the very beginning, we are the children our parents were trying so hard not to have. It only goes down from there.
I disagree it is about politics. I also disagree a huge percent of ANY boomers in position of power are not on the take at some level. The new morality will only hopefully come from people not of the elder generation. Sure, the flower children protested then became what they protested against. Xrs also change with age. We believe the system does not work, and that's not cynical it's just true. And we ALWAYS get blamed for "not participating" or for being cynical, but we have every reason not to be.
I love ambient music. I love the "Chill" genre and the Ibiza compilations, Afterlife, Golddfrapp, etc. I didn't used to, I grew up on hip hop and metal.