The thing about self-fulfilling prophecies is they tend to be really good at self-fulfillment. So, when we name a generation the Baby Boomers, can we really be surprised when they blow up the world and economy?
The United States has an honorable history of not respecting its elders. The country was founded on it. On the date of Independence, July 4, 1776 the majority of our founding fathers were young adults. To name a few:
- Aaron Burr- 20
- Alexander Hamilton- 21
- Nathan Hale- 21
- Betsy Ross- 24
- James Madison- 25
- John Paul Jones- 28
- Thomas Jefferson- 33
- Thomas Paine- 39
- John Adams- 40
- George Washington- 44
- Sam Adams- 53
- Benjamin Franklin- 70
And what did the founding fathers do with ole Benjamin Franklin? They got the sex addict (See, “Advice to a friend on Choosing a Mistress,” a letter about channeling sexual urges) out of the way by sending him to France to broker an alliance. An alliance that France would not sign until a young Benedict Arnold (35), the Major General of the Continental Army won the Battle at Saratoga (1777) which turned the tide of the entire revolution.
Our favorite founding father to sing about, Alexander Hamilton, revolutionized our financial system before the age of 50 (he died at 49 due to a Han shot first debacle). His innovation redefined centuries of financial structures across the world. With the entire breath of human knowledge at their fingertips (the internet) our current senior citizen federal politicians (red & blue (both Pokémon games so we catch ’em all)) cannot achieve what Hamilton did with a quill.
- Isaac Newton invented calculus at 24.
- Mary Shelley was a teenager when she completed Frankenstein.
- Tim Berbers- Lee invented the World Wide Web in his 30s.
- Wright brothers invented the airplane in their 30s
- Gutenberg invented the printing press at 40.
When studying the age of scientific Nobel prize winners over a span of a century, researcher Benjamin Jones discovered roughly 42% of discoveries occurred before the age of 40. 40% occurred between the ages of 40 to 50. Only 14% percent occurred over the age of 50.
If William (Billy to his friends) Joel is accurate when he states only “the good die young,” what does that say about the old?
But people live longer now so it’s different!
Whether a few centuries ago or the modern day, biological functions still operate the same and cognitive mental decline tends to begin in the 60s. Boomers are currently aged between 60 and 80 years old.
Peak innovation tends to occur between the ages of 20 to 50.
Despite the societal advancements the youth are capable of, elders have been dismissing their virtues for millennia. In Ancient Greece, Socrates (lived to be 70) had this to say, “the children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
If being young is such an egregious offense, why do we spend so much time searching for a fountain of youth?
In 2023, a Japanese economist at Yale, Yusuke Narita went as far as suggesting the mass suicide of the elderly will fix systems in Japan by clearing the paths for upward movement reinvigorating the disenfranchised youth. To be fair, since making this statement Yusuke has emphasized his theory is only an “abstract metaphor” and not something that should necessarily be put in place.
Why do you think a social media platform called TikTok grows in popularity as the boomers refuse to cede leadership to those more capable? Tick tock tick tock…
What if the United States isn’t truly a battle between right and left? What if it’s between old and young?
When you ask the elderly what underwear they’re wearing or when you ask the youth about their hope for the future, they all give the same answer: Depends.