The term “Baby Boomer” describes an individual who was born during the demographic referred to as the Post-World War II Baby Boom. Many people associate a baby boomer to the rejection of or even redefinition of traditional values and social norms. To say that the boomers redefined traditional values implies that this generation has had a profound effect on what society has become, but how large is that effect?
According to the United States Census Bureau, seventy-six million American babies were born between 1946 and 1960. This goes to show that the numbers truly do show and a great fluctuation in the nations populous.
When the boomers were growing up, the nation was going through a time of dramatic social change. With the Vietnam War going on at the time, the country was in a state of unrest, and male boomers where constantly living in fear of the draft. However the boomers usually banded to gather around a common cause in order stay hopeful.
Boomers can be put into two different categories:
Baby Boomer cohort #1 – Circa 1946-1955 (The young boo
mers who epitomized the counterculture of the sixties)
Memorable Events: Assassinations of JFK, MLK, and Bobby Kennedy, first moonwalk, the draft, civil rights movement, women’s rights movemen
t, drug experimentation, and revolutionary music.
Characteristics: Experimental, individualistic, free spirited, social cause oriented
Famous Boomers: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush
Baby Boomer cohort #2 – Circa 1956-1964 (A.K.
A – Generation Jones)
Memorable Events: Watergate, Nixon resigns, Cold War, oil embargo, inflation, and gasoline shortages.
Characteristics: Pessimistic, distrusting of the government, general cynicism
Famous Boomers: Barack Obama
Your blog so far is very interesting. i had always heard about "baby boomers" but was unsure of what the phrase was actually referring to. How would you say that this generation of baby-boomers has impacted our modern day culture? Also, you mentioned modern day politicians, such as Clinton and Obama in your post. What characteristics do these leaders have that you would contribute to the Baby-boomer eras that they grew up in?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic. Why do the sixties appeal so much to you? Your first post talked about baby boomers. Why are they so talked about in todays politics? What did the baby boomers do that was so revolutionary to change America? I have always wondered why no generations other than the baby boomers have gotten a special nickname. How come the activists and musicians today who are changing America in so many ways don’t have a “nickname”? Your other blog focused on the music during that era. You had some excellent ideas when talking about the new styles and ideas that Bob Dylan and the Beatles brought to America. Why was it that they became such instant hits?
ReplyDeleteSixites is a baby boomer era with no doubt. The sixties also a baby boomer era in my native country. The population in our native country increase almost half during that time. We has became the nation with most population, almost 1/6 of the entire population in the world. That cause the energy crisis in my country over the last two decades. The energy crisis gradually solved after transition of our economic system and the population control policy. too many people can cause lots of trouble in some country. However, sixties is a good era is America. It is the starting point of revolution about pop culture.
ReplyDeleteThe baby boomers are very significant in today’s society because they are what make up the generation that is currently leading out country. They received this nickname because they represent the largest generation in American history. The “Baby Boom” took place after World War II. The fathers came home and families procreated, a lot! That is how the baby boomers came about. And yes Tian, this took place all around the world. After the war was over, all the soldiers went back to their own countries and had lots of babies.
ReplyDeleteThe baby boomers are such a big deal in our country right now because they are beginning to reach the age of retirement. This will be a huge blow to our economy. Economists predicted decades ago that when the boomers began to retire, our economy would encounter a significant decline, and today we can see that this has come true.
To Colin: there are other generations that have gotten nicknames; one example are the Generation Xers. Basically, anyone who was in late high school and early college in the early to mid-nineties were part of generation X, characterized, I think, by grunge music coming out of Seattle, tech stocks, and a generally angsty attitude toward authority.
ReplyDelete