Hey

Toward the late '60s, a lot of antagonism began to come out from the Boomers/Hippies against their parents, the GI or WWII Generation. I find this really interesting and very complicated as no two generations had ever before or since had such a noted gap in their ideals and views. I also feel very ambigious--Were the Boomers right in trying to take down the values of their parents? Or were they just ungrateful? I look at it both ways and thus feel confusion:
From the Boomers point of view,  their parents generation was now at the helm of a war many Boomers saw as both un-needed and unwinnable, and they also rejected the perceived materialism, staleness, and conformity of the '50s; Many boomers also were driven to ask deep philosophical questions, to ''get back to the land'' and to question the current order and status quo.
The GI Generation, on the other hand, grew up during the Great Depression, spent their youth against the backdrop of World War II and Korea and came home, had children, and sought to create what they felt was an idyllic life--the ''utopian'' life portrayed on '50s TV--houses which ''looked all the same'', etc. They looked to and created fanciful dreams of a modernistic future, and also sought to a create a culture of Americana and innocence--See the '64 World's Fair

What do you feel? Were the Boomers right or were their parents?

I don't think anyone was completely right or completely wrong.

Boomers:
right: It's good to ask questions and challenge the order.  ;)
wrong: Yes, some, not all, but some, were ungrateful, and some don't give a damn and just follow everything the protest leaders started.

GI:
right: Order, tradition, and rules are a need and great.
wrong: The status quo has flaws and just because someone doesn't 'fit in', doesn't mean there is something wrong with them.  8)

But which one would I pick though? I pick the Boomers, not because they're younger, but because I think the 50's got alittle bit too conformists for anyone.  :-*

I don't think anyone was completely right or completely wrong.

Boomers:
right: It's good to ask questions and challenge the order.  ;)
wrong: Yes, some, not all, but some, were ungrateful, and some don't give a damn and just follow everything the protest leaders started.



I can go for that. My parents are Silents who, for the most part, took a dim view of the hippy crowd. My dad still refers to them as "kids with too much time on their hands". In their case, the division was more a cultural thing, rather than a ideological conflict. They came from a relatively poor, rural background that valued doing things "by the book". Clearly, they saw what was going on in the streets during the height of the counter-cultural movement and didn't feel they had anything in common with the "kids", even though they were only a few years removed from that generation. From their perspective, the ends didn't always justify the means.