Each succeeding generation has
experienced "defining" events that shape their thoughts, opinions, and
expectations. The retired WWII veteran's frame of reference is quite
unlike that of today's thirty-something up and comers, and theirs is
unlike those of their baby-boom parents.
So it should be no surprise when
these groups reach divergent answers to today's problems and
adversities. Bear in mind these differences are among Americans. A
people with a common language and heritage.
It then should also follow that it
is the height of hubris for anyone to state with certainty that they
know or understand what is going on in the minds of foreign leaders or
their citizens. It just is not possible. Doing so reveals their inner
arrogance towards others and their elitist, self-righteousness.
Let's take a look at the reference
points the latest crop of the "best and the brightest" bring to the
table.
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Students heading into their
first year of college this
year are mostly 18 and were born in 1999.
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Among the iconic figures who
have never been alive in
their lifetimes are Joe DiMaggio, John F. Kennedy Jr., Walter Payton,
and Dusty Springfield.
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Their classmates could include
Eddie Murphy’s Zola
and Mel Gibson’s Tommy, or Jackie Evancho singing down the hall.
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They are the last class to be
born in the 1900s, the
last of the Millennials -- enter next year, on
cue, Generation Z!
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They are the first generation
for whom a “phone” has
been primarily a video game, direction finder, electronic telegraph,
and research library.
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Electronic signatures have
always been as legally
binding as the pen-on-paper kind.
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In college, they will often
think of themselves as
consumers, who’ve borrowed a lot of money to be there.
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eHarmony
has always offered an
algorithm for happiness.
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Peanuts
comic strips have always
been repeats.
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They have largely grown up in
a floppy-less world.
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They have never found Mutual
Broadcasting or
Westinghouse Group W on the radio dial, but XM has always offered radio
programming for a fee.
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There have always been emojis
to cheer us up.
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The Panama Canal has always
belonged to Panama and
Macau has been part of China.
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It is doubtful that they have
ever used or heard the
high-pitched whine of a dial-up modem.
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They were never able to use a
Montgomery Ward
catalogue as a booster seat.
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Donald Trump has always been a
political figure, as a
Democrat, an Independent, and a Republican.
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Zappos has always meant shoes
on the Internet.
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They are the first generation
to grow up with Watson outperforming Sherlock.
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Amazon has always invited
consumers to follow the
arrow from A to Z.
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Their folks have always been
able to get reward
points by paying their taxes to the IRS on plastic.
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In their lifetimes, Blackberry
has gone from being a wild fruit to being a communications device to
becoming a wild fruit again.
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They have always been
searching for Pokemon.
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They may choose to submit a listicle
in lieu of an admissions essay.
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Dora the Explorer
and her pet
monkey Boots helped to set them on the course of discovery.
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The seat of Germany’s
government has always been back
in Berlin.
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Jet Blue has always been a
favorite travel option but
the Concorde has been permanently grounded.
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By the time they entered
school, laptops were
outselling desktops.
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There has never been a
Coliseum in New York, but
there has always been a London Eye on the Thames.
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Once on campus, they will find
that college syllabi,
replete with policies about disability, non-discrimination, and
learning goals, might be longer than some of their reading
assignments.
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As toddlers they may have
dined on some of that
canned food hoarded in case of Y2K.
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An ophthalmologist named
Bashar al-Assad has always
provided vision for the Syrian military.
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Whatever the subject, there’s
always been a blog for
it.
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U.S. Supreme Court decisions
have always been
available at its website.
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Globalization has always been
both a powerful fact of
life and a source of incessant protest.
-
One out of four major league
baseball players has
always been born outside the United States.
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Carl Sagan has always had his
own crater on
Mars.
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A movie scene longer than two
minutes has always
seemed like an eternity.
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The Latin music industry has
always had its own
Grammy Awards.
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Ketchup has always come in
green.
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They have only seen a Checker
Cab in a museum.
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Men have always shared a
romantic smooch on
television.
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They never got to see Jimmy
Kimmel and Ben Stein
co-host a quiz show or Dennis Miller provide commentary for the NFL.
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As toddlers, they may have
taught their grandparents
how to Skype.
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The image of Sacagawea has
always adorned the dollar
coin, if you can find one.
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Having another child has
always been a way to secure
matching tissue to heal an older sibling.
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There have always been Latino
players on the ice in
the NHL.
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Napster has always been
evolving.
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Nolan Ryan has always worn his
Texas Rangers cap in
Cooperstown, while Steve Young and Dan Marino have always been watching
football from the sidelines.
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The BBC has always had a
network in the U.S. where
they speak American.
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There has never been a
sanctioned Texas A&M
bonfire.
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There has always been a
Monster in their corner when
looking for a job.
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Wikipedia has steadily gained
acceptance by their
teachers.
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Justin Timberlake has always
been a solo act.
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U.S. professional baseball
teams have always played
in Cuba.
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Barbie and American Girl have
always been sisters at
Mattel.
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Family Guy
is the successor to
the Father Knows Best they never knew.
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Motorola and Nokia have always
been incredibly
shrinking giants.
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Melissa has always been too
nice a name to be
attached to a computer macro virus.
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The Mars Polar Lander has
always been lost.
-
Women have always scaled both
sides of Everest and
rowed across the Atlantic.
-
Bill Clinton has always been
Hillary Clinton’s aging
husband.
-
Paleontologists have always
imagined dinosaurs with
colorful plumage.
