The Silent Generation

The Silent Generation is called the “silents” because the children in this generation worked hard, focused on their careers and kept quiet. At this time it was understood that this generation should be seen and not heard. This generation was small because of the war and the financial insecurity, which caused fewer children by people. At this time in America, there were attempts to feed anti-communist sentiment, and this made it dangerous for the generation to speak freely about their opinions and beliefs. The children were described as unimaginative, withdrawn, unadventurous and cautious.

Arlie Russel Hochschild adheres to a variety of assertions in his article, “Gen Fill in the Blank” concerning what he thinks a generation means. It was proposed that generations are solely branded by the pivotal impact they undergo as a cohort during historical events; hence, sharing a common response to those events. Hochschild furthers this idea by introducing generational identity and how that’s defined by the conceptions that society invokes upon a generation. Furthermore, he includes that an important factor making up modern day’s generation is the external burden of American Individualism; this universal pressure has robbed us of our ability to care and resulted in a profound deficiency of “cultural expression”.

Generation, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time. There are six living generations in America. The GI generation, Mature/Silent, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y or Millenniums, and Generation Z. People from these generations are all different. Every generation has distinctive likes, aversions, and traits. A person’s birth date does not always match his generation’s characteristics. However, as a typical group, they have similarities. A generation has responsibilities to the one which precedes because they are the ones who have been left with problems such as, poverty, rapid climate change, international terrorism, and are responsible

Over a decade of sociological research has backed the stereotypes of around 80 million Americans born between 1980 and 2000. Teenagers and young adults have been deemed the Millennial Generation; Millennials are also being referred to as Generation Y because they come after Generation X. They are considered lazy, narcissistic, and delusional; because of this Generation Y has been under observation to uncover why growing numbers of Millennials have delayed typical adult milestones. Researchers have been working to figure out why this generation has been more prone to moving back in with their parents; as well as delaying marriage and beginning their careers.

Generational diversity describes the mix of people who were born within a certain time period, which impacts their world views and work ethic. Those from the same generation tend to share similar core values, attitudes, and views on historical culture. During this course with Dr. Hackett we have learned that there are 4 different generational sections being “Traditionalist”, “Boomers”, “Generation X”, and “Millennials”. A Traditionalist is defined as a person born between the years of 1925-1944.

Society is inevitably divided by its inhabitants, as there is such a mass of individuals living amongst one established society, that it is only plausible to recognize that there will be cultural divides in its people throughout time. We are living in a world that is constantly changing. Due to the changes we have to adapt ourselves to interacting with people from different generations. A prime example would be the indifference between two major groups who exist in two different mental complacencies: Older generation versus younger. It is very obvious that these two groups have many differences; for instance, the Silent Generation came from a society much more regimented and different than that of today’s Millennial. Although the events of the older generation  lead up to the formation of today’s society, part of the Silent Generation is still living in our modernization, and this results in a societal conflict.

WWII was filled with constant terror and unexpected attacks. On December 7, 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese attack devastated most of the pacific fleet stationed in Pearl Harbor. The devastating attack left an aftermath of 2,403 Americans dead, 12 battleships sunk, and 150 aircraft destroyed (“Japanese Attack”). After the attack many Americans were filled with fear and anger. Only one day after the attack, President FDR signs the declaration of war against Japan (“US declares war on Japan”). The attack on Pearl Harbor caused the divided US to unify as one on going to war against the Axis powers.

Living beyond one’s means created the Great Depression in the United States in 1929. The drought conditions in the Midwest contributed to the agricultural down fall of the country while the refusal to borrow money for production meant the economy’s progression came to a halt. The thought that a large family was a prosperous one worked against the head of household because of the extra mouths to feed. Many terms originated from the hard times like a penny saved is a penny earned. The unemployed, homeless and hungry were motivated to do what they could to support their families with little room for extra spending or impulse buying. Living on a low budget meant the use of coupons,

The generation of the technology, the delayed life choices, the impatience, the reliance on our parents, more commonly known as Generation Y or Millennials, is the generation born between 1980 and 2000. Older generations are always finding fault with what we, the Millennials, do or say or didn’t do or didn’t say. The world is changing so fast, we can hardly keep up. It is bad enough we have to push to learn as much as we can and apply the knowledge effectively, let alone being criticized for every move we make by our elders, who don’t really seem to help matters but complicate them.

“You can take as much as you can from the generation that has preceded you, but then it's up to you to make something new.” - Jackson Browne. Generations have always had an impact on each other, but something that is big is the fact that generation now are changing more and more than the last, and while a generation like us are taught by a generation like our parents each generation isn’t learning and living as much like the past. Generations described by me are what we are influenced by most with our political views, our life choices, our traditions and more. The generation before ours is what we are sculpted to be like. But what I also believe what is important about generations is three different ideas of generations. There is the actual definition of generations, what generations are supposed to be about, and what generations are actually and how they are actually defined culturally.

America experienced an economic crisis like never before known as the Great Depression from 1929 to 1939. In October 1929, the stock market crashed causing many investors and consumers to be left without a job or any money. The crash did not just effect the United States, though. The depression started in America, but, because of international relationships and trade, became a worldwide crisis. In 1933, “The banking system was near collapse, a quarter of the labor force was unemployed, and prices and production were down by a third from their 1929 levels.” (Stories from the Great Depression) This crisis left many Americans without a way to provide for their families. Peggie Sides stated in the video, “People found ways to get money, to do a job, to get unemployment, to keep the family going.” People began to migrate in search of employment, mainly to northern cities like Detroit. For the citizens who knew certain trades such as farming, the Great Depression was not as much of a burden. Those could at least provide food for themselves. Another luxury that many could not afford were clothes. For the people with the ability to sew, this was not as bad because they could patch together fabric. For those without the ability to sew or farm, they went hungry or without any clothes or shoes. During the Great Depression, skill was more important than products. Because the value of the dollar decreased, even those with crops or products to sell would not get the amount they used to

From war hero conservatives to righteous college protesters to tech-savvy teenagers, there are defining characteristics of people born in different eras. Many do not realize how much their environment and its history impacts them as a whole. The progression of history changes the conditions entire groups of people grow up in, which leads those groups to differ from each other in life. This type of group is called a generation. Each generation has its own events that happened in its lifetime (Ovadia). As a result, they all have widely differing characteristics and views that come from things like the state of the economy, current technology, parenting style, war, politics, or even the media; and all of this changes after a period of time (Neal). There are different generations in every country or part of the world because of how many cultural and historical contrasts there are between nations. Modern America’s living generations are called the G.I. Generation (or the Greatest Generation), the Baby Boomer Generation, Generation X, and the Millennials. The reason why none of them are exactly the same is the fact that none of them have truly experienced, or will ever experience, what the other ones have grown up with or, in most cases, without (Ovadia). People born into different generations are influenced by various factors within their era and generally develop based on those influences.

It is fascinating to see how values in different generations change and how in some ways they remain the same. Generations are measured at around 20-30 years, they are each given a name and a set of characteristics that the majority of the people born between those years fit. I was born in 1999 therefore, to some I am considered a millennial and to some I am a Generation Z. I feel like I relate to both generations on some levels yet at the moment I consider myself a millennial.

It is important to realize that, the poet’s poems are considered as historical records of a very important period. He belongs to the silent or lost generation and writes about their time. In his poem “ Silent Generation”, he approves that. He says,

I am thirty years old, therefor I am in the millennial generation. The millennial generation consists of the individuals born roughly between the years 1980 and 2000 (Ron Zemke, 2013). We are children of the baby boomers and Gen X’s. Millennials are currently the largest living generation, just surpassing the former largest generation, the baby boomers. A distinguishing feature of the millennial generation is that it is the first generation to grow up immersed in technology. We are a widely economic, racial, and ethnically diverse group of young people who offer much to society but are widely misunderstood.