The United States of America, winner of two World Wars, home of some of the world’s biggest and most attractive cities, and a place where families from all over the globe strive to live in, but are we still the America that had the intestinal fortitude to do whatever it takes to win a War? The generation gaps are obvious, which the scapegoat argument to describe many of the actions older generations see as unfit being “ millennials are the problem,” but in order to get to the true root of the problem you have to have an unbiased opinion I believe. I’m going to focus on the differences between the Generations X and Y for this paper, because the audience for this is more than likely apart of one of those two. A member of Generation X, although there is no definitive evidence of an exact date, was most likely born between the years of 1965 and 1984. Prior to us beginning to understand some of the stereotypes that are used in reference to Generation X, we must first know some of the events that took place that helped shaped this generation. One of the most significant events that took a toll on the American people during this time period is the Vietnam War. Many American people were at first supportive of the United States entering the war in Vietnam, however once it became visible that this wouldn’t be an “in and out” operation the views quickly began to turn. In prior wars, battles were fought against a uniformed enemy that was easily identifiable, however the war in
The book “The Greatest Generation”, by Tom Brokaw, is about the men and women who were born in the 1920’s and how they are what he deems to be the greatest generation thus far. He believes this generation is so tremendous because of the fact they did not demand respect for what they did and went through. Though may sacrificed as much as their lives, they do not think higher of themselves. Even through all their struggling they managed to have enough strength leave everything behind and fight for their country. I believe Tom Brokaw is correct when he says they are there greatest generation. People then would support the war and the men who fought in it, whereas nowadays there are just as many people against war, fighting, and the men and
In the article “The Beat Up Generation,” Abby Ellin claims that the negative way other generations view the millennials may all be wrong; instead, the millennials are preparing for the world most generations are opposing. Ellin declares in her article that the millennials are shown to be the most disliked generation; their ideas collide with those in the Baby Boomers and the Gen-Xers causing confusion. Constantly, Articles are being thrown out about the millennials “incompetence” and their “self-absorbed” behavior which only causes more hatred according to Ellin. However, she continues to state that millennials are no more selfish than the previous generations; in fact, millennials are only trying to discover new ways for “communication and
In Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation, the author portrays ordinary people of a certain generation as having qualities of greatness and heroism. He tells stories of average people that lived inspiring lives through many hardships, and declares today’s society as the beneficiary of their challenging work and commitment. Brokaw’s generous and proficient use of imagery helps to persuade the reader to believe that the people of “the greatest generation” are, indeed, heroic. He defines the strength and resilience of “the greatest generation” by what they were able to confront and overcome.
This generational gap was what altered the development of real learning, for it allowed Generation Me children to assume that hard work was not needed to succeed and to learn. Due to the different mindset that was developed through the gap, self-esteem was not lacking in GenMe. So, it is understandable why Boomers felt that an individual should be more important than society. They had to go through life fighting for what they believed in, causing what Tannen calls the “human spirit” to take the blow (Tannen, 419). She states, “contentious public discourse becomes a model for behavior and sets the tone for how individuals experience their relationship to others and the society we live in” (Tannen, 419). Baby Boomers did not have self-esteem so they enforced it on their children, keeping them from ever feeling that way. The cause of them feeling this way is that “the human brain is almost infinitely malleable” (Carr, 70). That malleability was used by Baby Boomer parents in order for them to set a sense of self-esteem and individualism in their children. This alteration of their children’s minds was Boomer parents’ first mistake, for it did not allow children to discover their own worth. Rather, it supplied them with false encouragement, and prevented the possibility of engaging themselves in a society where everyone works together and is confident, but not individualistic.
In the decades after the “Good War,” many attempts have been made to extol this generation in the media. Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of Americans in World War II by Kenneth D. Rose, attempts to shine light on how life actually was for the generation that survived World War II, and came to be known as the greatest generation, rather than how that generation appears to us today.
Furthermore, today’s youth feel pressured by the problems left by older generations. Our country’s massive, growing debt, nuclear warheads, decade-long
In Joel Stein's article "The New Greatest Generation", he attempts to prove that millennials will save society. Stein presents his counterargument first to interest readers then concludes his article with his
"They came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America; men and women whose everyday lives of duty, honor, achievement, and courage made our nation the greatest on earth." This quote is fittingly descriptive of the achievements and importance the post World War II generation had on us. In Tom Brokaw's Book, The Greatest Generation, Brokaw describes in a very personal and detailed way, the lives of a handful of World War II veterans, some famous and others unknown, but all had a great impact on the world as we know it. Brokaw is trying to illustrate to us how these men delivered under enormous and constant pressure, and he
The Vietnam War was a long, expensive war between the communist regime of North Vietnam and Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its ally the United States of America. The war began in 1954 after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam, and continued against the image of the previous Cold War between two global superpowers; the US and The Soviet Union. In this essay I will investigate the changing role and attitudes of the media in the United States, and the impact, if any, it had on the United States Government.
What is America’s gift to our generation? If you ask anyone in America this question, they must ponder about for a long time. Why? Because this question has a different meaning to each one of us. America’s gift may be freedom, or it may mean safety. Although, each of us may have a different answer to this question, we all owe our thanks to the same people and place: America and its veterans. Without our veterans, we would never have such as great place to live and survive in. Without America, we wouldn’t have the freedom, opportunity, and safety that we take for granted. The hardships of America’s past have brought forth a great abundance of these gifts. Our country became a great paradise, people have the key to having a great life. All
While the “Greatest Generation” is a title often given to those Americans who lived and died during the era of the Great Depression and World War II, their offspring, the “Baby Boom” generation, significantly shaped and improved the American landscape as well if for no greater reason than the sheer number of people who make up this population (Steinhorn, 2006). Today, based predominantly on that very same reason, the baby boomer population is now making a very different, yet equally as profound impact on American society. More
Nearly 3.7 million American babies born in 1982 were the first members of the new Generation Y, or more affectionately known as millenials (Thompson, par. 1). Many things play into whether a generation is considered to be faring ‘better’ than another one; job opportunities, the state of the environment, whether the U.S. is at peace or at war, income vs. living expenses, the general happiness of the people, and the list goes on. Millenials are part of a special generation because
Did you know that you are considered part of the first generation symbolizing the decline of the nation? Generations are labeled all the time by historians, novelists and journalist in an attempt to capture the spirit or essence of an era. But the term Generation X carries all the negativity of propaganda and stereotype.
Each generation has certain characteristics and values with which the members of it can identify. Members of Generation X highly value their job and family time; so they try to find a balance between these two aspects of their lives. Generation X are hardworking people, but they are
To begin with, let me tell you a little bit about my generation. We are the generations that zd6was born between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s. The “Gen Y” has we are call, was raise by the “baby boomers” our parents’ generation.