When talking life and there many factors that make up the sum of everything for us, one thing that plays into the whole of it is generations. When talking about it, it varies from person to person but one thing is for certain, people take the idea of it & run with it not really giving space for progress or improvement of individuals based off of a generalization, something that only gives a small tidbit about a person (the equivalent of astrology & signs), not the whole picture which takes effort on our part, no matter what it takes looking past the surface of someone’s generation & actually using it as a puzzle piece to put together the entire thing. Just like any other subject, it takes an ability to actually listen & be constructive in our views.
Related Things
We talked about it on The Goldbox Podcast, it starts at 25:26
The reason for the segment. here
The response to the open letter. here
The senator’s view on Millenials. here
Generational Pros & Cons
Huddle up everyone, pep talk time, when we talk about generations no matter if they are alive or dead, they each came with their own strengths and weaknesses just like individuals & some things can’t be controlled and are out of our hands because of other’s views, stereotypes or societal norms, some perspectives that are made are archaic or outdated looking at the times really just making assumptions, other times people’s views and perspectives of individuals in certain generations are warranted somewhat for a majority even though there are outliers for each group, but at the end of the day like I said in the previous section and it applies here too, the pro & cons of generations are only a guide for people to know a group better & is a jumping-off point in the beginning, not a reason to be ignorant to others because of our own laziness. A prime example of this is looking at my generation which is Millennials (1981-1996 or depends on what source you actually look at) & varying on the authors (even though it is credited toward Neil Howe in 1991 for a theory and book sales) I’ve heard everything from we are lazy, we have no work ethics, were are entitled individuals, we are impatient people, etc. I’m not going to just sit here and go tic for tac over everything because sometimes we do deserve
& it’s not based on entitlement, other times I look at people in my era and understand why people are right in their perspectives some cases because I wouldn’t do certain things but other individuals would, leaving me explaining how it is not everyone or the majority & also leaving me constantly fighting stereotypes that came way before I was even here, & it’s no different with other generations like Gen Z (1996-2010), generation X (1965-1980), baby boomers (1946-1965), the Lost Generation (1925-1945), or the great or G.I. Generation (1900-1925) it just gives people carte blanche to talk in absolutes (regarding value or principle as universally valid) which is unfair to the lot & allows people to dogpile with their disapproval of someone younger than them most times being a literal curmudgeon (a bad-tempered person, especially an old one), or just ride the outrage train because of dissatisfaction, instead of actually helping the people to understand. No matter what people in every generation have restrictions to how they operate, certain discretions, differing priorities, & different decisions they made or are making overtime with nostalgia & the era being the foundation to all that, & something’s won’t be experienced by the next generation because of several factors, like for example the block I lived on from stop sign to stop sign was the boundary for me or to call someone there was a time you had to have change to call someone on the payphone because cell phones weren’t prevalent, or there was no GPS only Mapquest, something’s didn’t age well, other things stood the test of time but it’s understanding where certain generations are bolstered or lacking and going from there. It’s just like there are no equivalents from generation to generation, things carry over but unless you were there it doesn’t hit that hard, an example of this is the debate between who is the greatest basketball player Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James, the argument is gonna be different from person to person but if you grew up in the early 90’s you’re probably biased about MJ, same with the late ’90s & Kobe, or the ’00s and Lebron, so unless you are a basketball player your self or was influenced in some way, your perspective is skewed to the time you came up in leaving us playing hypotheticals. It the same with generations each one comes with pros & cons but it’s up to us to actually work to gain knowledge & to educate over time.
More Than A Generation
When talking generations, people & individuals there are more than the generalizations that people make because of it (just like astrology signs, to each their own even if I don’t agree with them or people entirely all the time) there are bunches of people that are more than their generation because they go against the grain of society doing things that are for different from the norm in many aspects. When we are younger & growing up as people their are expectations that are thrust upon us like gender roles or societal norms that people expect us to follow through out our lifetime, but the problem with this is everyone doesn’t fit the mold & whether we like it or not everyone is unique, an example of this is living in a small town most of my life, being in Galveston county area particularly Texas City & La Marque, it is a small area which can be good & bad, good because people know you because it’s so small & you’re not relegated to constant pressure like a major city, however on the flip side when you are faced with pressure it’s more constricting sometimes because of the fact they know you making for a constant battle when you are doing things differently & because it’s a small town people are set in their ways more because their isn’t no pushback like college which test your values a lot, overall it’s a balance of being in the shadow of people that came before us & forging our own path. No matter what people come with different things that make them one of one like patience in an individual, some people have the patience of a microwave where if things aren’t instant they are done, however, some people have fishing patience, not to be confused with sitting idly by hoping things will work out, but actually being active putting in an effort trying, letting things develop and then once certain things happen reeling the line in.
Understanding we are different from our generations is having a basic understanding that people are going different speeds far as progress & people are works in progress that we have to decide if we want to help in some way or have around. One song that sums it up is “Duckworth” by Kendrick Lamar, K-Dot talks about Tog Dawg who is over the label he’s on & his father Ducky & a moment that happened years earlier, it just proves two things one, the decisions we make affect the outcome & two a lyric sticks out “It was always me versus the world until I found it's me versus me” which only backs up just because we are in a generation doesn’t mean it dictates our life, we do. If we look at life certain people like Mike Tyson, Dave Chappelle, or even Kendrick Lamar are one in a million because they did things & still do a thing more abnormally then most & it should be noted. Another song that encompasses everything from this point is “You’ll Never Find” by Lou Rawls it shouldn’t be overlooked (the people around us) and the people we have taken notice of some way because some people are anomalies to their era.
Excuse The Language
“They don't make 'em like me no more matter of fact, they never made it like me before”
Lil Wayne Phone home
Bigger Than The Individual
Knowing that every generation comes with several qualms & strengths & that every person is more than their era, it is half the battle but the other half of that is knowing we are not in this life alone & even though we may have differences and variations about us the best way to go about things is teamwork & collaboration. In the beginning of the year, one of the articles was about Value (here) but in short people base it off a lot of things from things that are short term like looks, long term things like values and morals, sometimes it’s based off assumptions or past experiences or from actual experiences over time & hopefully people and things get a fair shake no matter what
life is a culmination of things good and bad over time & people should be assessed for the present & the past is taken into account but isn’t the only factor, also like I said in that article as well people deal in outrage now or laying judgement constantly not really having compassion because if it were the reverse it would be unfair, what this makes me think of is Jesus & the adulterer, a lady was taken in for adultery (sex consisting of a married person & a person who is not their spouse) & in John 8 she was about to be stoned to death by a mob (which was common place then) but Jesus intervened saying “He who is without sin cast the first stone” so in response they laid down the rocks, this applies to life regardless of the generation or time because the reason of no matter how we try “canceling” people or things because we disagree, lay judgment on others, or get outraged, we are open to the same judgment and constant analysis the same way we dish it. No matter what is just like in the article Just A Thought: Time we are prone to messing up because we are constantly going through trial and error whether good or bad & hopefully we learn & grow from those times & experiences. Some older individuals live by the mantra “Do As I Say Not As I Do” which is really hypocritical because most people learn by example from people and things around them no matter how good or bad something is because living in ignorance because of certain factors is messed up however it happens. No matter what improvement takes openness from the people that are delivering things from their perspective whether it comes from a family or someone we hold at high regard, also another layer of this is from a basic level of respect
& decency served by the messenger to whomever it may be because most times the shoe isn’t on the other foot, but when it is people need to tread lightly & live by the golden rule when dealing with others however interactions may go, so people need to get off your high horse because everyone doesn’t know who you are or what you stand for. Once an individual or generation has clarity on others at some point, basically knowing where people stand because of experiences (hopefully positive) the ball is metaphorically in their court and how people respond after takes a proper effort by people on both sides and not just something that is lackadaisical, because no matter what learning about someone’s truth takes energy & effort on our part & we can’t just be like others saying stuff w/o insight or just making assumptions about individuals or a generation because of a singular experience, because we have way more info than most & in reaction to what we know hopefully are not shutting down because of dislike the information we do have from interactions & experiences, & at a certain point no matter how long we’ve known someone or something we should know enough to have a valid view & perspective but in some cases because of this, we as individuals are thrust into becoming the spokesperson for an entire generation or people of the same likeness as us, this is not to be confused with individuals gaining clarity & understanding because of uncertainty & wanting to become better informed, no this is based on people that make their perspective on one person, certain people, or experiences and have baseless evidence pushing people into absolutes (a value or principle which is regarded as universally valid or which may be viewed without relation to other things) even if they are stereotypical, an example of this is “why are millennials so selfish” well I can’t speak for every person in my generation, some people fit the bill but it gets frustrating because it’s not possible to do effectively with every person having different experiences. The best way to go about everything is with a sense of empathy, fairness, & discretion when dealing with other generations & goes double for dealing with people younger than us, Domics explains it well in his video.
Excuse The Language.
When looking at the time we live in now perfection is the theme of the times, aesthetics are bigger than progress even though it is a facade & limited most times compared to progress which is steadfast even though it can be slow crawling at times, & as a result of this and factors like social media, there is a saturation of lots of things causing people to be berated with lots now, so it gives even more reason for people to tread lightly with how they interact with others. A song that exemplifies this time is “Too Fast” by Sonder, oftentimes we are moving so quickly now that we don’t have time to enjoy the moment or things happen so quickly they can end quickly as well.
No matter what, each time people work together no matter who they are or what their background is it is the equivalent of fishing v. giving one because we can’t pull someone along to succeed, individuals have to have a hand in that because even though we live in a & time of being dependent on others, some things are solo. One thing that is prevalent a lot now is poaching in which people see success or positive trends out of a person or thing & because it’s easier than starting from square one they go chasing it rather than building up from another entity which takes time, it’s even some people are the opposite of who are “Dream Killers” people who are intentionally negative or downers because of experiences in their lives or just because they don’t want to see others being successful around them at all, no matter matter what boat a person is in, whether they know it or not they are an inspiration to the next generation & even impact can be spread to older individuals as well, an example of this is Lewis Hamilton being inspired by Aryton Senna in F1, the Brazilian F1 driver Senna made an impact during his time driving for McLaren in F1 & even after his death in 1994 and he made an impression on drivers that followed him like Hamilton who is a current F1 driver, had the same color helmet as him for, was on the same team as him for a stint, & even has the statue Christ, The Redeemer (which is in Brazil) on the back of his helmet.
What happens a lot is there are trends that coming back around it may have a new paint job, new name, but what doesn’t change is a specific group or generation seeing things that have already come before some time, the best saying that backs this up is “there nothing new under the sun” people, generations, & certain groups are more worried about claiming things as something new when things have been seen or done already, what individuals need to worry about is paying it forward to the next group & using certain expertise on certain things to help and not harm, because the future is not set & some things we can learn about from others if we are looking not to be ignorant because sometimes we can get a free (where we learn from others) or a paid education (where we learn from our own experiences & bumping our own heads). Something that materializes this is the art of sampling in music especially hip-hop, a series that documents this is the series “The Formula” by NPR on YouTube & exemplifies what it is like when different generations & groups team up because even though it may get a bad wrap, sampling when done right links to the past through techniques of newer producers & artist inspired by several factors around them & it is the same with life and generations.
Excuse The Language.
No matter what when talking about collaboration & teamwork between others and generations it should come with nuisance to every subject we face in life, not picking a side just because it’s convenient, not singing kumbaya or playing patty cake trying to avoid adversity, not gassing people up, patronizing, going looking for pats on the back, riding the fence being indecisive, or being passive-aggressive because we disagree, what it comes down to is being able to converse being open to it not just others not just for a win or being right but actually embracing other people’s views & perspectives no matter if it’s family, friends, etc. because in life we are not going to agree on everything & don’t have to if we are fair, because life isn’t convenient & adversity is always prevalent in some way. Like one of my people told me once “I’m here for the bad times.” because some people are keen on the good times only and that’s it, but disappear when things hit the fan or go south,
some of the best individuals actually embrace the adversity and impact the ones around them. When we get to brass tacks as I said in a previous article is the most basic thing we do in our journey is build or destroy through our interactions with others, where it’s even more prevalent is as a “Bridgebuilder”, when I say this is it means I’m smack dab in the middle of two groups, I’m older than most of the younger generation beneath me like my little cousins or students I helped educate, but I’m younger than many of the older generation like my parents or older family & adults, so I’m constantly helping to guide the younger generation by my actions hopefully in a positive manner while at the same time dealing with the older generations views of my group & hopefully swaying people from stagnant perspectives over time, there are several people that fit this role now & hopefully people don’t take it lightly. The show that sums up the whole idea we go through as generations & people is the UK show “Golden Balls” aside from the title it is based on the game theory where at the end two contestants make a decision on what happens with the prize money they accrued, they can both pick “split” & they’ll both go home with 1/2 the prize money they made if one goes “split” & the other “steal”, the latter gets the whole thing, however, if both people pick “steal” then both people get nothing, it may be instantaneous but it exemplifies how life can be sometimes, we don’t know what people & groups are doing sometimes until we either learn about others over time or when things happen to change the entire situation, what we do as individuals and a group is on us.
Related Things
“I'm dead in the middle of two generations
I'm little bro and big bro all at once”
J Cole Middle Child
Excuse The Language.
Snoh Aalegra “Want You Around”
Major Lazer featuring Ellie Goulding & Tarrus Riley “Powerful”
Rudimental “Powerless”
Domics “Liking Things”
Epilogue
No matter what a generation is just a synopsis or abstract to what a group maybe because some things are general for most however it’s understanding that everyone is different from each other regardless of what era we grew up in or factors that played into each of us, a word that explains many individuals that are outside of the norm or are outliers is aberrant (deviating or outside the norm). Life is like the spotter in NASCAR or another example playing a previous game of Minesweeper, let me explain in NASCAR you can’t see everything as a driver so a person on top of a tower helps the driver throughout the race because they can see way more & help them avoid wrecks & other things the duration, the other example I stated was minesweeper which was a big game on PC in the 90’s, the object was to click on squares avoiding mines (10 to be exact) laid out over 100 squares, you were probably going to fail but once you figured things out it got easier, it’s the same with life most times people and things set you up for success because of their past experiences they had & best case scenario they want to help people reach success & not be ignorant in their own journey, now this is not to say people are not being extra restrictive because of their own experiences or memories being negative & could be handled way better in hindsight but the main thing is people can see something’s that we can’t or because of repetition in their lives. How we react to a lot can vary from MLK’s practice of nonviolence against oppression to St. Croix (a country) & them dealing with adversity of the work riots (look it up) burning the center of the island out of frustration & being fed up with the situation overall, different moments will do that but we shouldn’t run with an idea of how people should act or be & actually be adaptive to each person putting our own ego aside and assumptions as well, people are like a golf bag there is a right club for every scenario on the golf course, if you’re trying to drive the ball 200 yds, your not using a putter but a driver because it’s necessary, people are constantly trying to putting a round peg in a square hole because they aren’t really trying to put time into finding the right thing or person for the scenario even when things show themselves if we have the right resources regardless of what generation they come from makes life easier when we put the time in. It just like when people look at what me of other people do and ask the question “Why?” something things don’t just fit normal situations but it takes looking at the big picture to see everything better sometimes because even though something comes from somewhere doesn’t mean it’s not credible, just like age doesn’t always equal maturity, there are people walking around that are still children & hopefully there not used as an example for everyone. It’s just like a mantra I live by that “Anyone Can Get It” not being disrespectful or belittling to people, but moving in a way that no matter what great things can come from anywhere & two if I say things or people say something around me there is no safety in a certain way where if something is said it is not instantly shot down, but heard out in most cases with possible retaliation looming if necessary (i’m not or other people are above a lot), so hence anyone can get it. To wrap things up a poem that is the foundation to everyone in every generation is the poem “Our Greatest Fear” by Marianne Williamson, it is one of the things that was written a while ago but still speaks volumes now, the reason is no matter what generation you’re in or what kind of individual you are playing a role, but our choices & decisions as an individuals effects life even more, if we are scary because of our past then that deters us but if we live up to our potential & what is possible we have a better life, the people around us do as well, & people follow because they see we are fearless and believe in ourselves.
