I think they did a lot for the world, actually. Posed, blatantly and bravely, new ideas that no one would voice before. Changed a lot. The thing is… It may seem insignificant, but it’s a lot harder to change the world than people realize.

And the music? Fucking awesome. Music now, generally, is nothing compared to what it was like then.

I certainly agree about the music, but then again, I am a bit of a dinosaur. And perhaps there is more to the music today than I can give credit for due to my biases. This makes it difficult for younger people who want to make their own mark. I am personally very encouraged by today’s kids (for the most part) and think the boomers are much too hard on them. But enough of me, I am looking forward to those who disagree, and thank them for their input for that is why I love this site..

Who claims to have been a part of a “superstar” generation? I think that you are a little off track. I am a baby boomer, I enjoyed much of what our generation brought, the constant science breakthroughs, the ever new technology, the advent of the “Space Age”, the efficient communication etc., but it was still just one generation out of many. The only real difference that I see was in the attitudes regarding responsibility and society, the younger kids today don’t seem to mature as quickly, they don’t stand on their own feet as early. I was commending men in Vietnam (Navy) at an age where many of the current generation aren’t capable of managing minor aspects of their lives without parental assistance. I see many of them still living at home in their twenties. The other big aspect is the attitude to “DIY”. My generation would do almost anything themselves, fix or modify anything. Nowadays they “call somebody” for anything at all, they won’t even tune or modify their own cars – they pay someone else. The idea of a Dog Wash or a Swimming Pool guy would have been regarded as ludicrous when I was young – now it is commonplace.

Perhaps.

I am a boomer and we were AWESOME. No nostaliga BS about it, warped or otherwise. It was real.

I am also a boomer..just in case the question made that unclear…an old boomer at that..

Some were. My parents used to scold me when I was being obnoxious or bossy and tell me whenever I was ready to do all they had done instead of just yawk about it with my friends then they’d stand behind me. They were out doing the things people watch in videos now, read in history books, admit in memoirs, etc. I’ve lived a lot but I still haven’t come near the experiences of my parents and I give them credit for that.

A huge amount of what the world is today in terms of fashion, music, and acceptance is due to the “Peace, Love, Dove” boomers. I like to believe that the same old, same old “drudgery, skullduggery, corporate theft and political expediency” came from the boomers who didn’t participate in changing the world.

I think it’s both.

The world changed a great deal around the boomers, and some of it was because of what they did. At the same time, there’s a lot of rose-colored nostalgia.

The people that fought, lived and died in WW2 are always going to be the Greatest Generation. Boomers, feh, smoked pot, had sex in the mud, and listened to music that every classic rock station plays to this day. I say this as a boomer, and I think our generation may have given birth to some ofthe most moronic types to ever walk the earth. It scares me to think what sort of nimwits their grandchildren will be.

Jerry Springer, Cops, and Rap. Need I say more?

You see Jerry Springer, Cops, and Rap because you’re around now. The stupidities of the 1950s through the1980s are largely forgotten.

No. The perception of how many boomers were radical way outstrips the actual number. The few who were just got a lot of publicity. That doesn’t mean they had a small impact on culture. They (we) had a huge impact on culture—one that is lingering perhaps longer that the impact of most generations. Then again, we’ve always been a demographic outlier (in terms of size and portion of the population at the time), and so perhaps our influence is consonant with that fact.

@daloon I completely agree. Well said.

The Boomers inherited the gift of wealth and leisure from the so called “Greatest Generation”. They squandered the gift on frivolous pursuits, and then borrowed to keep the party going. My generation gets to pay the bill. Thanks guys.