Health Care Woodstock
Forty years ago, Baby Boomers were out rocking and rolling in the mud to, as one put it, “terrify our parents in a deeply satisfying way.” Now, facing Medicare, they are acting out in public again, this time over death panels that might finally put those aged begetters out of their misery.
“It’s a vivid reminder,” Frank Rich observes, “that what most endures from America, 1969, is not the peace-and-love flower-power bacchanal of Woodstock legend but a certain style of political rage. The angry white folk shouting down their congressmen might be–literally in some cases–those angry white students whose protests disrupted campuses before and after the Woodstock interlude of summer vacation ’69.”
Politically the Baby Boomers never did get it right. For all their idealism about race, sex, gender, war and politics, they produced only two presidents, Clinton and W, both of whom managed to dodge serving in Vietnam and went on to exemplify selfishness that marred their tenures and helped wreck the economy.
Now the first president after them is struggling to overcome, in his words, “the psychodrama of the Baby Boom generation–a tale rooted in old grudges and revenge plots hatched on a handful of college campuses long ago.”
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6 Responses to “Health Care Woodstock”
Interesting blog. Arguably, the biggest legacy of Woodstock is its huge impact on the real children of the sixties: Generation Jones (born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and Generation X). This USA TODAY op-ed speaks to the relevance today of the sixties counterculture impact on GenJones: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20090…
Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten a ton of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report forcast the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009.
Here's a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones:
http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
So well put – thank you. The baby boom generation was the most spoiled and narcissistic generation in world history. Members of the boomers group from the right, left and middle all suffer this extreme self-infatuation. Those that came before and after actually have a better sense of shared sacrifice and the greater good of everyone. The boomer mindset created the current economy and political system we now must face. As a result of its complete melt-down in 2008, they have left a major mess to clean up – not unlike the huge mess at Woodstock in the name of self-gratification. Unfortunately the U.S. may not have 20 years to wait until they are all dead and can't dictate public policy anymore. We may be already a has-been world empire by that time. Fortunately even former great powers still continue to exist in much more modest, mature and rationale forms as one finds in the UK and France. I always enjoy your posts from another blogger in Phoenix – MP
Robert
Nice. real nice. You clearly only know about 1969 what you've read about the time.
We yelled at congress and anybody who outright distorted the truth. Take for instance a quote taken out of context and made to appear as if it were directed at the current situation. Obama's quote was about the fight between Clinton and Gingrich during the elections of 2000 and 2004.
The rabid, grey hairs that currently demonstrate high amounts of anger and low amount of information are of the group who denied that America was bombing Laos and backing corrupt Viet Nam leadership. You know, Republicans. Their leadership lied then and it lies now.
Don't go blaming the current BS on the flower children.
Peace bro
pachigordo
Amazing the talking point experts come out from everywhere. Where did you receive your degree in pontification, or are you still just pissed off at mom and dad?
Whoa…where did those 40 years go! It really does seem like yesterday. The energy of that time was…so positive and loving. It was everywhere I went in 1969. We were happy all the time whether we were high or not.
What do we do now…just sit back and “Retire” or do we finish what we started in the 60's? I say we get on with it.
We want an end to greed and selfishness and especially the attitude of profit over people..where did THAT idea come from?
We want peace not just the absence of war but a perpetual state of cooperation among people for the mutual benefit of all. Violence is never allowed to be a solution for ANY situation.
We are smart enough to develop renewable energy sources using the sun, wind, water and geothermal, feed everyone of the planet and provide health care for all. It's time to provided these basic human needs.
In 2009 Woodstock is the perfect concept to germinate those ideals from 60's in the soil of the 21st century and digital age and fertilize them with the ideas of the progressive-thinking youth of today.
And of course there will be a lot of great music!
Spread the word. Join WoodstockUniverse.com.
Peace, love, music, one world,
RFWoodstock
rfwoodstock@gmail.com
Hate to bust your tender bubble, but Obama is a Boomer. No doubt about this except in the confused, desperate minds of those screaming I want my own generation! But there has never been a 11 year generation … why not a 1 year generation … everyone with their very own generation? Sometimes I feel the Internet has only given voice to the nuts.