We took our first roadtrip out through Trump country since the election on Saturday and signs and flags remain everywhere a month after he lost. Also, the highway caravans continue, which is an odd sight. This suggests that Biden's stated goal to heal the nation faces a steep uphill climb and may be impossible
At this point, the Trump base isn't proclaiming support for their hero gratuitously. They are saying loud and clear that the election was stolen. The display is not friendly or enthusiastic; it is angry.
Our purpose to travel from the coast to the foothills was apolitical -- to cut down a Christmas tree, which we succeeded in doing. The national forest was peaceful as the children ran to and fro, checking out the trees.
Given the severe lockdown starting tonight in the Bay Area, it looks like we got this festive outing in just under the deadline.
Meanwhile, segmenting the long-term effects of the pandemic by generation seems like a worthy exercise. So far as I can tell, we have four named generations by birth year to consider. The birthdates are approximate:
1) Baby Boomers (1946-'64)
2) Gen X (1965-'80)
3) Gen Y or Millennials (1981-'96)
4) Gen Z (1997-2015)
There are also young children and very old adults, but these four buckets capture the vast majority of people now alive on the planet.
And BTW somebody needs to come up with an inter-generational playlist. Maybe then we could heal the generations...but I digress.
The Boomers are in their late fifties to mid-seventies now and are in the process of retiring. The pandemic has proved challenging to those in nursing homes or assisted living facilities, where isolation and the increased risk of mental illness has been well-documented. Those out among the general population seem healthier and no more at risk than they would be cooped up somewhere together.
The Boomers were the Rock 'n Roll generation, and their music continues even as our artists age and die.
Gen X is the first Internet generation, and most are now in their 40s and early 50s, raising children and assuming leadership of many of our major organizations. They are feeling the effects of remote schooling and virtual work, but most of them have enough resources to cope.
The older Gen Xers worked with me in the early years of web-based media and I have lots of friends in these age groups to this day. I love their music, with Grunge and Rap, from Nirvana, Peral Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Cranberries and many more.
I've got three Gen X kids and I live with them so I am a kind of Millennial in reverse (see below).
The Millennials (Gen Y) are in their 20s and 30s and it seems to me the pandemic splits this group into two sub-cohorts. The older Millennials have jobs and are starting families. They are feeling the strain but have more security than the younger half of their generation. They tend to be active on Twitter.
The younger Millennials, still in their 20s, are being severly affected by the pandemic. Many have moved back in with their parents because there are no well-paying jobs, they have scary college debt, and they are not being able to network as much as would be optimal in order to launch careers and form families.
I've got three Millennial kids, and they are in the lower age segment and therefore track more closely with Gen Z (below). Sometimes I think Adele is the singer who best represents Gen Y, but there are many others on the list -- Eminen, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, Spice Girls etc. The great Millennial actor Jennifer Lawrence tops my list. She is literally growing up on screen before our eyes.
Gen Z is somewhat bifurcated much like Gen Y, so much so that the marketers targeting them probably agree with me. The slightly older Gen Z folks are severely disrupted. They are not getting normal graduation ceremonies at high school, they have to endure remote learning just when they yearn to socialize, and they are missing out on the key years of networking just as they become adults. They are staying with their folks in large numbers -- if they ever left home in the first place.
The youngest members of Z are growing up with masks and social distance as the norm, with little chance to see friends, develop new ones or engage in any collective behavior except protests or online. Their childhoods have been heavily impacted.
I've got a ton of Gen Z grandchildren who are my main peer group, and I suspect BTS is the voice of this generation so far. The incomparable Greta Thunberg is the undisputed face of this generation, IMHO.
When it coms to pop culture, each succeeding generation consumes the music of the preceding groups, and some cross lines seamlessly -- Fleetwood Mac comes to mind. Everyone knows the Beatles and Elvis.
I know these impressions are gross generalizations and tainted by personal experience; of course there are exceptions in every case and even the parameters of which generation is which remain fuzzy and subject to adjustment.
But for now we have all been suspended in time, waiting for the past to resume so we can have a future. As the vaccines arrive, some return to what we considered normal life will occur, probably partway through 2021.
Only then will social scientists start to perceive the outlines of what the impacts truly have been. For all of us of any age this truly has been a case of Life, Interrupted.
Let's just hope we can all begin again to act our age as soon as it is safe.
(P.S. I bet you all didn't know I was a rock critic.)
***
Alas, there are no interruptions in the news...
* Out of 249 Republicans in the House and Senate, 220 would not say who won the election, largely hiding from answering questions about President Trump’s loss. (WashPo)
* A Gathering Political Storm Hits Georgia -- With two crucial Senate seats up for grabs, Mike Pence and Barack Obama joined the fray in support of their party’s candidates, and Trump held a rally, but mainly focused on his contentions that he won the election (NYT/CNN)
* Trump calls Georgia governor to pressure him for help overturning Biden’s win in the state (WashPo)
* The largest U.S. bank lobby group is spending $1 million on television ads to boost Republican Senator David Perdue in a bid to ensure the Senate remains in Republican hands after Georgia election runoffs in January, according to federal filings. (Reuters)
* Further Slowdown in Job Creation Sets Off Economic Alarms (NYT)
* Pentagon blocks visits to military spy agencies by Biden transition team (WashPo)
* A Trump Immigration Policy Is Leaving Families Hungry -- The “public charge” rule was supposed to ensure that green cards go only to self-sufficient immigrants, but in the pandemic, it is driving up hunger and leaving Joe Biden with a quandary.(NYT)
* America may not be so lucky next time -- Opinion by Benjamin L. Ginsberg (WashPo)
* Indian Farmers’ Protests Spread, in Challenge to Modi -- Many have burned their fields in defiance of antipollution laws. Some say that has worsened New Delhi’s air as the capital deals with a third coronavirus wave. (NYT)
* DeVos extends moratorium on federal student loan payments through end of January (WashPo)
* The mysterious head injuries suffered by US diplomatic staff in China and Cuba that had been described as "sonic attacks" are consistent with the use of directed microwave energy, accordin g to a report published Saturday by the National Academy of Sciences. (CNN)
* Historians sue to stop Trump administration from destroying records of his presidency (WashPo)
* As Virus Spreads, C.D.C. Draws Up an Urgent Battle Plan -- The multipronged advice, for individuals and state and local officials, may augur a national strategy in the months to come, experts said. (NYT)
* Anxious pet owners face delays getting veterinarian appointments in pandemic, even for sick animals (WashPo)
***
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
It's fun to lose and to pretend
She's over-bored and self-assured
Oh no, I know a dirty word
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
Yeah, hey
And for this gift I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
Yeah, hey
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it's hard to find
Oh well, whatever, never mind
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
No comments:
Post a Comment