I am a Baby Boomer, a child of the “Age of Aquarius;” the generation that rebelled against the rigidity and intolerance of our pre and World War II era parents. Our parent’s generation worldwide was responsible for more than 40 million deaths. The silver lining of that conflict was greater access to education and home buying by veterans of that war and of course, that “boom” in the birth rate that lent its name to our generation.
Reeling from the horror of that war, Baby Boomers protested our nation’s involvement in the war in Viet Nam and struggled for equality of the races and the sexes. We were called Hippies and Flower Children, and some of us “Women’s Libbers.” Most of us displayed a disdain for wealth and material possessions and championed the War on Poverty. We supported peace, equality, tolerance, and compassion under the banner love for all mankind. One would think that we would display more compassion and understanding as we assumed the mantle of political leadership. What went wrong?
We faulted our parents for concentrating too much wealth at the top of the social structure and leaving too little for the poor. Our generation then funneled more wealth to the top ten percent of the population and pushed millions more into the underclasses. We shrunk the middle class and chose to blame not the rich at the top, but the poor for siphoning off needed resources. The rich became our gods, the new American idols. With every step forward along our path to equality and tolerance, the ten percent dragged us three steps behind. Love was replaced with anger.
The right is angry because they believe that they are entitled to more. The top ten percent are angry because they are prevented from accumulating more wealth. The poor on the right are angry because they believe the lies told them by the ten percent. “It is the ones who do not look not like you or pray like you that keep prosperity from you.” They never noticed the immense fortunes that moved from their classes to the top ten percent and left less to be shared by everyone else.
The left is outraged at what they perceive as the callousness and ignorance of the right. Outrage is anger and indignation. We throw our facts at the right and are shocked when facts do not change feelings. We revert to marches and protests that served us well in the past and occasionally experience a small success. The left forgets that they are as responsible for the present social order as is the right. We worshiped at the altar of the rich until its painful tithing reminded us what we once stood for. The rich are at the altar by invitation. We helped to destroy the middle class which was once our power base.
Now all of us are angry. How did we get from there to here? I think we discovered that love is not enough.
dottieriley 