Community Chat

[maryebrown_1]

Ford, according to wikipedia, babies born during the Great Depression through WW2 was called "the Silent Generation".

[BellaPaprika]

On 7/6/2014 Ford1224 said:

They didn't have a name for my generation . . . I feel cheated!

Ford, I imagine then that you fit in this generation since you say you're not a "boomer".

The Mature/Silent Generation (also sometimes referred to as the Greatest Generation).

• Born 1927- 1945.
• Went through their formative years during an era of suffocating conformity, but also during the postwar happiness: Peace! Jobs! Suburbs! Television! Rock ‘n Roll! Cars! Playboy Magazine!
• Korean and Vietnam War generation.
• The First Hopeful Drumbeats of Civil Rights!
• Pre-feminism women; women stayed home generally to raise children, if they worked it was only certain jobs like teacher, nurse or secretary.
• Men pledged loyalty to the corporation, once you got a job, you generally kept it for life.
• The richest, most free-spending retirees in history.
• Marriage is for life, divorce and having children out of wedlock were not accepted.
• In grade school, the gravest teacher complaints were about passing notes and chewing gum in class.
• They are avid readers, especially newspapers.
• "Retirement" means to sit in a rocking chair and live your final days in peace.
• The Big-Band/Swing music generation.
• Strong sense of trans-generational common values and near-absolute truths.
• Disciplined, self-sacrificing, & cautious.

[LilacTree]

On 7/6/2014 maryebrown said:

Ford, according to wikipedia, babies born during the Great Depression through WW2 was called "the Silent Generation".

I think the Great Depression ended in 1939, but some say it didn't really end until 1945 when WW II was over. Thanks maryebrown!

Hmm . . . "The Silent Generation," I guess it fits. WW II started three years after I was born, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, which is obviously when the US got involved. I just read it actually started in 1939 in parts of Europe and Japan.

The only things I remember about the war were the "blackouts" which used to scare us so much with the sirens and having to put all the lights out. And when my "Uncle Mikey" came home, my great aunt and his mother hung white sheets out in front of the house on which they had painted "Welcome Home Mike." I remember them waving in the wind.

But I also remember my mother's reaction when the A bomb was dropped. She was not celebrating, she thought it meant the end of the world sooner rather than later. Everyone else was celebrating, and she was horrified.

[LilacTree]

On 7/6/2014 BlueCollarBabe said:

On 7/6/2014 Ford1224 said:

They didn't have a name for my generation . . . I feel cheated!

Ford, I imagine then that you fit in this generation since you say you're not a "boomer".

The Mature/Silent Generation (also sometimes referred to as the Greatest Generation).

• Born 1927- 1945.
• Went through their formative years during an era of suffocating conformity, but also during the postwar happiness: Peace! Jobs! Suburbs! Television! Rock ‘n Roll! Cars! Playboy Magazine!
• Korean and Vietnam War generation.
• The First Hopeful Drumbeats of Civil Rights!
• Pre-feminism women; women stayed home generally to raise children, if they worked it was only certain jobs like teacher, nurse or secretary.
• Men pledged loyalty to the corporation, once you got a job, you generally kept it for life.
• The richest, most free-spending retirees in history.
• Marriage is for life, divorce and having children out of wedlock were not accepted.
• In grade school, the gravest teacher complaints were about passing notes and chewing gum in class.
• They are avid readers, especially newspapers.
• "Retirement" means to sit in a rocking chair and live your final days in peace.
• The Big-Band/Swing music generation.
• Strong sense of trans-generational common values and near-absolute truths.
• Disciplined, self-sacrificing, & cautious.

Nice. And yes, this old woman experienced all of that.

[Tinkrbl44]

On 7/2/2014 bikerbabe said:

Here's something to argue about:

The baby boomer is the most materialistic generation in the history of the United States.

Is there a source for this comment ..... or just your opinion?

[jeanlake]

Americans are just spoiled in the way we live, what we expect, and what we think is "necessary".

This is a generalized statement.

Yes, Americans are blessed beyond our founder's wildest imaginations. Most Americans live each day knowing how fortunate we are. Americans are among the most generous people on the globe.

[Lila Belle]

[stilltamn8r]

Why does every generation need a label? It seems to be becoming gratuitous...

[Tinkrbl44]

On 7/2/2014 mominohio said:

On 7/2/2014 Tinkrbl44 said:

On 7/2/2014 mominohio said:

I'm the first to say that if you work for your money, you should spend it however you see fit. I have no problem with wealth, or people who live very high lifestyles if they earn it. What I have a problem with it what people claim to need. Ultimately we need food, water, and shelter for survival, and most after that is to make our lives easier.

I grew up in the 60's and 70's in a middle class neighborhood. Very Catholic centered (though we were not) large families. People were successfully raising between 7 and 12 kids with one bathroom, and maybe a second or half bath for a couple of the families. Kids shared rooms, the houses were older with large bedrooms, and sometimes 4 kids shared one room, but at least two to a room. I was the only girl in my neighborhood to have my own room. There were no man caves, no elaborate back yards, never more than a two car garage, because not many people owned more than two cars, and early on even that was rare. There were very few family rooms, and they were just fixed over basements, no open concept kitchen areas, but the food was just as good. All those kids grew up, many of us went to college, got jobs and lived just fine then as well as now.

It seems today, people (and not all of them that young) think they "need" so much. "We need a four bedroom house", "we need at least three bathrooms", "we need at least a three car garage" and on and on.

Then when you get to the creature comforts, like TV in every room, central air, a kitchen that costs more than I paid for my first house with all the latest appliances, first floor laundry rooms that are the size of a small efficiency apartment, it drives me nuts. They act like they won't survive if they don't get it. Many think they are entitled to it. There seems to be no more "starter" home mentality.

I've come to the age where I believe that the more you have, the more work (and time and money and stress) it takes to have it and keep it up. I like nice things and homes as well as the next person, but when it comes right down to it, Americans are just spoiled in the way we live, what we expect, and what we think is "necessary".

OP, you're obviously VERY worked up about this ..... and sorry, but I don't think that having 7 to 12 kids and one bathroom is what anyone should consider "the good old days". We also lived in a society back then when kids could go outside and play all day long and BE SAFE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. How often did you see child predators and abducted children being an every day concern? Almost never. Personal safety .... That kind of innocence ended a long time ago, so homes are now more inclusive, and the home construction industry responded accordingly.

Even with "home theaters" which you're looking down your nose at .... if I had a bunch of small kids, I'd rather have them watching movies under MY roof than constantly going to the movies with them. Why not put that money into the mortgage than the mall movie theater? What's odd about that?

We've long ago left the economy where most couples can get by on one income .... and if both people are going to be working 40 hours a week -- or thereabouts -- they certainly should be able to enjoy their downtime at home. New construction doesn't hurt the economy, for that matter, either.

Sorry you mistook my post for being worked up. I'm not worked up at all. I'm just stating the facts that as a society we are spoiled. We lie to ourselves about the things we want that are on some level excessive relative to the rest of the world or the past, and call them needs.

Many couples get by on one income. We have for 15 years now, and it is significantly below the six figure level. There are many people who live below their means and have enjoyable and happy lives doing it. There are many people who enjoy extravagance to some level or another and neither lifestyle is wrong. What is wrong is pretending that something as trivial as a "home theater" is a need, and trying to justify it because the world isn't safe enough for kids to go out and play anymore. Call it what it is, a "want" to make life easier, or make someone feel more important than their neighbor or whatever other reason someone would "want" such a thing.

Well, good for you .... obviously you CHOSE to not work outside the home, but that doesn't make it the right choice for everyone.

One thing that hasn't been touched on very much are the influences that shaped our attitudes.

The parents of Baby Boomers lived during the Depression, and were influenced by that era. Boomers were often raised to be either very cautious financially ..... or were indulged by parents who went without, and didn't want their children to do the same.

It also depended on how much your family earned when you were young.

To accuse most people of not knowing the difference between wants and needs is simplistic ..... and ignoring major influences that shaped their lives.