This makes me so sad.

I am a baby boomer as are most of my friends. We are all struggling. We all opposed the Iraq wars and none of us voted for Bush 1 or 2. We were artists, musicians, writers, teachers, social workers. We did not get rich or even comfortable.

We marched, campaigned for McGovern, protested and revolted. We really thought we would overturn the Military Industrial Complex. It didn’t happen, but God knows we tried.

For what it is worth, we are the ones who legalized abortion, enacted fair housing laws, made corporate racism and sexism illegal (yes it still exists), tried to abolish segregation, began the “women’s liberation” movement that birthed feminism and began the “ecology” movement and awareness around it. We did not drive SUVs. We drove small “economy” cars.

We did not live in McMansions. They didn’t exist.

And then we watched in shock and horror as many in the generation after us turned into Republican stock brokers and apathetic non-voters who were in it for themselves and seemingly had no interest in social injustice.

And now, because of our economy and ageism, most of my friends have had to abandon their careers, take low paying jobs and are struggling to afford food. At least the friends who didn’t die of AIDs.

In every generation there are activists and there are slackers, self-seeking materialistic assholes and saints.

With each new generation, Corporate America gets bigger and more powerful, gobbling up the middle class like a Pacman game.

Instead of pointing fingers, let’s all work together to end Citizens United, enact election reform and get Corporate America out of politics.

That is our best hope for the future.

Want to join the conversation? We’re having adventures over here.