Consider this – the people talked about in this discussion program are anywhere from 15-21. They constitute probably the largest single block of people at almost any given time in our culture. Somewhere in the early 1960s, this vast tsunami of Youth was going to overrun just about every institution that was a dominant feature of the generation just before – somewhere between the “Greatest Generation” and the gathering storm of The Beat Generation.
Not so much the mass numbers but the changes that came about in our day-to-day lives as a result. Everything, from around 1964 on was geared to those people coming of age. They represented the largest group of consumers and therefore dictated just about everything that was read, viewed, listened to or advertised in America.
But it was a different group, far different than the generation before – it was a generation pretty much raised in the shadow of the Cold War, feeling the ominous dread of extinction by way of a nuclear holocaust. It lead many of the generation of the 60s and 70s to question whys and wherefores. Question institutions and morals; the status quo.
And of course this tsunami was resisted – the old bastion of the tried-and-true wasn’t about to give up without a fight. And to many of that generation, the Youth of America represented the Enemy – an enemy bent on destroying customs and institutions.
And phrases like The Generation Gap became commonplace on talk shows and in articles and it was a gap that only widened as the Youth generation took over.
But the curiosity among many observers was; how would this generation act when it came time to grab the reins of power and influence – would they really be all that different? Would they abandon the idealism of their coming-of-age and become replicas of their parents? And what would this generation be like when it came time for them to become parents – for them to be responsible – for them to become homeowners and business owners and politicians?
Considering the sobering fact that the Youth Culture being examined in this program are now the parents and even grandparents of Generations X and Z. Those kids in the photo above are all in their 70s today – what are they leaving for the younger generation? Some say “not much” – others express anger that those people classified as “baby boomers” took the power and squandered it. Took the idealism and turned it into portfolios and Real Estate and left nothing for them. Helped turn institutions of higher learning into places of derision and fear – took Free Speech and made a mockery of it, made education a thing for the privileged and well-placed. Took political discourse and turned it into division. There may be a lot to answer for, should the time come.
So this discussion program is both interesting and fascinating – with panelists including former San Francisco State President S.I. Hayakawa and contemporary Composer Quincy Jones the opinions and views run the gamut. From Hayakawa’s somewhat condescending attitude to Quincy Jones’ more rational and realistic one – others on the panel are more conservative and more Liberal – it creates more questions than answers – because in 1970 we were right in the middle – in the eye of the storm and it would take time to see how, if at all, this upheaval would turn out.
For now though; in 2024, the shoe appears to be on the other foot and the Boomers are slowly fading into the sunset. What’s next?
Good question.
From April 1970, here is that discussion “Todays Youth In Tomorrow’s Society” from NBC Radio.
