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Born before 1945 A Humorous Look at the Generation Gap ...
for a more serious treatment on the issue of transmission
of culture, |
We
were born before television, penicillin, frozen foods, xerox, plastic,
contact lenses, Frisbees and the PILL.
We
were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, electric
blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry-clothes --- and before we walked
on the moon.
In our time closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of."
Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not little VWs. Designer Jeans were scheming girls and having a meaningful relationship was getting on with our friends.
We got married first and then lived together.
We thought fast food was what you ate during Lent and outer space was the back of the Riviera theater.
We were before house-husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and commuter marriages.
We were before day care and group therapy.
In 1940, "making out" referred to how you did on your exam.
We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, word processors and guys wearing earrings.
A chip meant a piece of wood and the word software had not been invented.
In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was a cooking utensil.
ROCK MUSIC was a grandma's lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the principal's office.
We were certainly not before the difference between the sexes was discovered but we were surely before the sex change.
We made do with what we had.
And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby.
No wonder we are so confused and there is a generation gap.
BUT,...WE SURVIVED!
WHAT A REASON TO
Source: Anonymous
Question:
Can you figure out what cohort is reminiscing about "the good old days?"
a. The Baby boomers
b. The Depression Generation
c. Generation X
d. none of the above
* Mannheim, Karl (1893-1947) "On the Problem of Generations" in Essays on the Sociology of Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1956.
Available via interlibrary loan from the following Rutgers University Libraries: HM101.M26 1956 (Dana) and a new edition with a preface by Bryan S. Turner. New York: Routledge, 1992. HM101.M26 1992 (Alex)
*****
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Last updated January 1, 2005