“I’m With The Boomers On This One”: 50 People Name Things They Think Older Generations Got Right

There are plenty of articles online listing Boomers’ opinions that netizens find funny and absurd. But people are starting to agree with some of them, and it certainly raises the question: Is there anything else that we got wrong about Boomers?

We got in touch with author and expert in culture and media, Leonard Steinhorn who kindly agreed to tell us more about them.

"In many ways, they are not all that much different from younger generations. Remember, this is a generation that championed or pioneered civil rights, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, social change, and environmental protection – that challenged their government over the Vietnam War."

"Boomers reshaped the norms of society in the Sixties, and younger generations today have internalized those norms. That doesn't mean all boomers or everyone younger have embraced those norms. But in many ways the culture war conflicts in society today are defined by how one views the legacy of the Sixties. "

"And yes, while there's lots of chatter about the illiberal sides of Gen Z, particularly among progressives on college campuses, every generation has had its illiberal impulses, but for the most part, the critical mass of Gen Z, millennials, and boomers all maintain a liberal sensibility."

Steinhorn added, "As Boomers grew up, what they found was a system, an establishment, that wasn't always telling them the truth or living up to its principles. Think of Vietnam. Segregation. Being told that "duck and cover" was a legitimate way to respond to a nuclear war."

"So Boomers developed an anti-establishment perspective on society. And they worked to replace the old establishment with a new one aligned with their norms. So in academia, media, culture, intellectual life, and even in business, families, and religion, boomers instilled a more liberal, less hierarchical worldview."

It seems that the older generation shares more similarities than Millennials or Gen Z might think. Steinhorn reminds us that back then, Boomers also faced professional and financial difficulties.

"Do keep in mind that every generation has gone through difficult economic times. Younger generations don't know much about the high inflation and unemployment boomers faced in the 1970s and early 1980s when many were starting their careers. Back then, pundits were bemoaning a society and economy in which the American dream seemed much more distant for young people than it was for their parents. So for all the struggles people are facing today, please know that it's nothing new—that boomers faced it too."

The expert concluded by saying "I have no problem with younger people poking fun at their boomer elders these days. After all, boomers did the same with their parents. Just pick up an old issue of MAD magazine and see the satire. We all have to take this with good cheer."

"But if there's one thing that should unite these generations, it should be this: the inclusive, liberal-minded, sustainable society that boomers began to chart out in the 1960s, even if they have not always implemented it practice."