Generation X: Iconoclastic, Stressed Out, Sentimental, and Resilient

By Tom Pace, Ph.D. and Elwood Watson, Ph.D.

Americans of previous generations, when they were in their 40s and 50s, were often viewed as being in charge, as leaders of government, at the height of their earning power, and largely as setting the agenda for the larger, dominant culture. Contrast this with the Americans currently in their 40s and 50s — Americans of the generation known as Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980). To declare them as leaders or setters of any agenda cannot be further from the truth. Indeed, the broader society, at least at the current moment, appears to be dictated by the long arm of the Baby Boomers and the even longer reach of their mostly Millennial children. Gen X, meanwhile, continues to labor in the shadows.

In his column in The New York Times, “GenX, Right-Wing Bastion?” (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/19/opinion/sunday/generation-x-republican-party.html?smid=em-share), Ross Douthat depicts Generation Xers as a demographic group more inclined to embrace the philosophy of conservatism because of their resentment of and disgust for Baby Boomer and Millennial emotivism and narcissism. His column makes an intriguing, insightful, and lavishly engaging read. Though he is precise in spots, his article is not entirely accurate, and leaves considerable room for clarification…