Post Baby-Boom Era

I recognize, as many have said, that my generation stands on the shoulders of the civil rights movement, and the modern industrial age that was carved out after the end of World War II. In other words, I owe much to the generations that came before me.

However, I think it is important to note, that there wasn’t just a racial barrier that was shattered today, we also broke a generational one. 25% more people under the age of 25 voted in this election than voted in the last one, and 13% more people in the 26-44 age bracket (which at 42, I fit into) also voted in this election that did not vote in 2004. Those two age-brackets were the only two that voted more for Obama than against him.

So the data is clear: we are now officially in a post-Baby Boomer electorate.

For the first time ever, we have a modern President that didn’t face the draft during Vietnam, or wasn’t a veteran of World War II. So in other words, we have elected a President that isn't trapped by the culture war that has dominated this country for decades.

We have elected a President that was a pioneer in using the internet in motivating and mobilizing an electorate, and was able to largely reject corporate donations in lieu of micro-payments from ordinary people. This in turn, ensured his campaign was boosted massively by young voters, who participated in democracy for their first time ever.

We have, my friends, elected the first true President of the 21st Century, elected largely by people who will now definitively shape the century ahead.

We now have a president, who understands how the world has changed since the end of the Cold War, that grew up in a true multi-cultural environment, (just like we did, but our parents didn't).

If you are like me, you never attended a school that wasn’t racially and culturally diverse in the classroom and you've yearned to see a government truly reflect the very environment we grew up in.

What will my generation and future generations bring to this world now that we are now fully empowered? What lessons did we learn, from history, and what lessons do we bring from our own unique experience?

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This Close to History

Standing this close to a historical moment, can be a very humbling experience. I find myself wondering what it must have been like to read about Pearl Harbor, or to experience the surrender of the Nazi regime in London.

I have had few historical moments in my life that have come somewhat close to that magnitude. One was, I witnessed my home province of Quebec reject a referendum that would have begun the process of separation in Canada. Another was, I witnessed Nelson Mandela finally get released, and then take command of the South African government via the ballot box. I also witnessed the Berlin wall falling down, and watched Germany unify once more.

Today, once again, I feel connected to history. It is a very satisfying feeling. I will try and document my thoughts…

• We saw the youth of this country participate in the democratic process at unprecedented levels. This is, in my opinion, is just as vital an accomplishment as the racial barrier that was broken last night. Indeed, it might just be the lasting legacy of this election. The race problems in America, will take another generation (or more) to fully resolve; Obama’s election was just a stepping stone to that arduous climb, but not the pinnacle. However, I think younger voters will continue to stay mobilized and invested in this country, because Obama showed us how you can include them in unprecedented numbers. Young people in America, take a bow. It doesn’t matter who you voted for, you came out in throngs, and invested in this country’s future, I am very proud of you.



• I was particularly thrilled to see Obama’s acceptance speech underline the theme of unity. In other words, to establish an agenda of non-partisanship, to understand the importance of working with all people, of all persuasions and politics to solve the difficult problems ahead. It was the first real sign Obama will govern from the center, and that the election was not a mandate to return to “tax and spend” liberalism of decade's past. If Obama can somehow miraculously diminish the poisonous politics of the baby-boom generation, and embrace a competitive, spirited but respectful debate moving forward, I believe this will be a monumental achievement.



• My favorite quote last night, from all the pundits, all the panels and all the analysis came from a French journalist on the Charlie Rose show. He quoted a voter he met in New York, who surmised my own feelings on the historic nature of this election so beautifully:

Rosa Parks sat, so that Martin Luther King could walk, so that Barack Obama could run, so that America could fly.

Amen. I feel like I could fly today, that’s how good this feels.

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Doonsebury Out of Touch

I've ranted for years about how Doonsebury is now so hopelessly out-of-touch with those of us born after the baby-boom generation. Now I offer this proof that Doonsebury lost its relevance twenty years ago, with this startling news.

What an idiot. For someone apparently so attached to the progressive cause, a headline like this in America's largest newspaper hurts Obama's cause more than helps it. That didn't seem to bother Gary, who clearly values publicity more than actually supporting a presidential candidate.

My disdain for this goes beyond the headline though. My biggest beef with Doonsebury, is the implied message that Gen-Xers (like me) were stupid, shallow and materialistic because we didn’t always fall in line with the cause of liberal baby-boomers. This has been obvious in his work for years, where almost every new character (that were younger than the original characters), were always shallow, vain, confused and seeking advice from the orthodox-liberal characters in the strip.

Don't get me wrong, Doonsebury deserves high marks for breaking barriers in daily cartoons. He also inspired greater cartoonists like Breathed and McGruder. However, in my opinion, Doonsebury stopped being genuinely progressive and open-minded a long time ago. Now of course, headlines like the one above from USA TODAY, (a clear and obvious marketing-stunt), just makes Obama’s cause synonomous with the arrogant and self-righteous leftists of the 60’s and 70’s.

It also makes Obama and his supporters look arrogant, and cocky, and quite frankly, I take exception to that.

Apparently none of us even need to vote, because Doonsebury tells us it is already over. A cartoonist, is counting the votes, before any of us have actually cast them, how can that not be perceived as arrogant, presumptuous and just plain stupid?

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Hurrah for Grace Stanchfield

We've talked a lot about "generational politics" these past few days.

I think it is important to remind ourselves just how much we owe the generations that came before us.

On that note, I thought the Post-Intelligencer had just a superb article yesterday, about a woman who is about to vote for her 19th president. You can read the full article here.

My favorite quote in the article, is her central advice on how to live such a long and happy life:

"Older people tend to complain," she says. "Don't complain. Take it as it comes. Attitude is the most important thing."

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