Yeah, I'm A Boomer! Ya Got A Problem With That?

The boomers are getting a bad rap -- again.

The generation born between 1946 and 1964 used to be the source of endless fascination and the darlings of the media. Now, we've become America's favorite whipping boy, or gal or whoever or whatever.

We've been blamed for bankrupting social security, the decline of the family, the abandonment of traditional values, America's monstrous debt, the loss of numerous wars, gender blending, rampant promiscuity, drug culture, lawlessness, depravity, the mental health crisis and the problems of every generation that followed us.

At the 1964 NY Worlds Fair.

And now a new trope is making the rounds: The boomers had it easy; they were indulged; loud, spoiled and obnoxious, they grew up to be shrill, aged hippies who clog our streets with endless demonstrations on behalf of lunatic leftwing causes that make no sense. They're never satisfied. They're reliving Woodstock at our expense. Sitting on all our money, they're the source of all our grief.

Well, the time has come to set things straight. So, here's my tale of indulged boomerdom:

I did NOT "have it easy." I grew up in a row home in a decaying industrial city. My father was a janitor and my mother worked in a sweatshop. They struggled mightily to get ahead.

I was the first of my extended family to attend college. Of course, as a young person full of hope and ambition, I was certain the whole world was awaiting my arrival. But upon graduation I was greeted with scores of rejection letters for jobs I sought. I kept the letters, resolving to defy those who turned me away -- to prove them wrong. And through hard work and determination, I did just that.

My wife (also a boomer) and I raised a family. When we sought a mortgage to buy a home, interest rates were as high as 15 percent. But we eventually acquired a modest home, maintained our home, paid our mortgage and taxes and did our duty as an active, engaged, patriotic citizens. And, BTW: We weren't at Woodstock. Lots of boomers can tell this same story.

Boomers have been through a lot. We've lived through the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK, the Vietnam war (several of my HS classmates died there) the energy crisis, the Iran hostage crisis, Carter stagflation, the 1987 stock market crash, the Gulf War, 9/11, the 2008 crash and Covid -- turbulent times, to say the least.

Are there boomers protesting? Yes, of course. We're a big, noisy, active generation. We always have been. And this is America and those who protest have that right. I vehemently disagree with the protestors, am in many cases ashamed of them and feel some are hopelessly stuck in the '60s and should have moved on years ago.

But I know they're a distinct minority of my generation and the vast majority of us are not out on the streets protesting. We're trying to live what's left of our lives. We're neither looking for plaudits, nor carping nor scapegoating. By the same token, we do not seek to be scapegoats ourselves. If fact, we're tired of being trashed. So, we're speaking up now to do what little we can to set the record straight.

And since we're not planning to bow out any time soon, we'll do our best to nimbly hold on to what we have for now, even amidst some turbulence. Yes, others could learn a lot from us but few even inquire of us any more. That's OK. We know who we are and we're proud of what we have accomplished, both for ourselves and for the nation we love.