Four Cohorts: Among Dutifuls, Boomers, Gen Xers, and Dot-Nets - Essay Example

Four ‘Cohorts:’ Among Dutifuls, Boomers, Gen Xers, and Dot-Nets In this sub-chapter we will describe the profiles and changes from the Dutifuls, Boomers, Gen Xers, and Dot Nets, in order to answer on question what happened with each generation to make them what they are. Firstly, there would be Dutifuls; then, Boomers; thirdly, Gen Xers; furthermore, Dot Nets. Accordingly, being born before 1946 (Zukin, p. 14), Dutifuls had around 52 million in the generation. According to Zukin, it was the ‘greatest generation in the popular press,’ golden generation of the World War II. Now they are out of power, but this generation could be regarded as idol of power and glory; history contains some repetitive patterns, and it is evident that September 11, 2001, is like 7th December, 1941 (Zukin, p. 15). That is why political, personal, and societal experiences of this famous generation must be used as a matrix for the future one, for example, Dot Nets. Then, we will be talking about Boomers. Being born between 1946 and 1964 (Zukin, p. 14), Boomers are now around 71 million. In time of Vietnam and Watergate, this generation worked hard to get prosperity, ‘not to mention drugs and the sexual revolution;’ (Zukin, p. 15) so, they tried to provide a massive ‘rebellion against the norms of the generation.’ Furthermore, ‘Generation X,’ ‘GenXers,’ or ‘Xers,’ with people being born in period between 1965 and 1976, (Zukin, p. 14) has 40 million. With an assistance of them American history tried to overcome ‘economic and foreign policy failures’ (Zukin, p. 15) during Ronald Reagan’s ‘Morning in America.’ Fourthly, there is one generation which is the most up to the moment, Dot-Nets. Having had from 15 to 28 years after 1976, these 50 million of ‘young adults’ (Zukin, p. 15) were completely immersed into both virtual reality of Internet and digital systems and we know them under different names, for example: Millennials, Generation NeXt, and Generation Y; (Zukin, p. 14) however, limits, freedoms, and restrictions of the generation will be defined afterwards, due to ‘history rear-view mirror.’ 2 In the next sub-chapter we will discuss why dutifuls voted more. Presumably, this tendency could be connected to the dutifuls’ generation sense of duty, order, and dignity, caused by events of World War II. Simply, they felt themselves responsible for the dignity and honor of the country. From the harsh times of war, people of this generation have got accustomed to identify their destiny and lifestyle with a direction of government. Therefore, it is clear that dutifuls wanted to change this direction of the American government, trying to influence the direction of ruling in terms of democratic regime. From the other side, individually some of dutiful were not strong enough for behave themselves in their own manner, that is why they needed government and ways of propaganda’s for helping themselves to define their own categories and style in life, social as well as personal one. Thus, dutifuls needed their political choices for their own identity; trying to define their own political choice, they had their own lives more defined; that is why they were so active politically. 3 In this sub-chapter we will discuss why ‘Xers’ are so cinical. Presumably, these people, born in period between 1965 and 1976, needed to overcome economical and foreign policy’ failures, and therefore they were so cinical, as a compensative attitude of their psycho-physiological organisms to really hard times. Being grew up in troubles and difficulties, they instinctively wanted to overcome these attitudes and relationships in themselves in an assistance of outer world, or social reality; these troubles, which were embodied in them, forced them to overwhelm them even in outer world. From the other perspective, their cinical reaction has also different connotations: they were not afraid of real life, with its pros and cons, like, for example, Dot-Nets, and their cinism was in fact full of very frank attitude to things: it could be compared even with Ernest Hemingway’s romanticism and feeling of melancholy, or drive to freedom from restrictions. Again, hard times of post-war America taught them how to survive, and they managed to, and they used that cinism as immunity for maladies and deceases of too much ‘comfortable’ society of sixties, seventies, and eighties. 4 In this sub-chapter we will discuss why do not Dot-Nets feel politics is important. To my mind, these children new digital age and post-informational society could not simply believe in some political ideals or in a false aged idea that one of governmental guys would help in a truly difficult situation because of having kind heart. This generation, named Dot-Nets on behalf of Internet epoch, feel that things become more difficult in interpersonal dimension, in society and politics too, and they constantly try to answer on these ‘ontological requests’ by simplifying things, not make them even more complicated that they appear to be, and, due to the afore-said thesis, politics as a science of ‘complicated ratio’ acting in a network of deceitful agents, according to Niccolo Macciavelli, is regarded by them, Dot-Nets, as especially deceitful and false thing: because of its hyper-complexity in reasoning things, due to its ‘acting’ and ‘theatrical’ substance. Instead of this state of hyper-complicated European mind, as politics tended to be according to them, they have chosen another hyper-complexion, digital games and social networks’ distant communication, unfortunately, not leading to simplified things of natural or metaphysical world, as they truly are without ‘indirect speaking.’ 5 In this sub-chapter we will have a discussion toward ‘what happened to politics, civil society, activation and mobilization practices that make these generations what they are today.’ Supposedly, some relevant factors influenced a lot on politics, civil society, activation’ and mobilization’ practices etcetera. And, we will count them out thoroughly. First of all, hyper-high pace of all world processes, physical as well as psychical, exists. In fact, this factor is one of the moist vital concerning globalized politics and globalized society within the earth. Secondly, this ‘over-speed’ factor leads to high tempos of globalization, I mean extremely intensive inter-connection of almost all processes occurred in the globe nowadays: racial, social, climate, geographical, political, cultural, so on. All these matters are mixing, and pace of these intensities is incredibly high. Thirdly, digital age, virtual reality, computer devices, and social networks as a means of socialization, education, and inter-human communication. Living experiences with natural things that could be regarded as comparatively being alive in a few years will be completely out of date. Digitalization of culture comes true, that is why Dot-Nets generation of eighties and nineties do not like ‘real’ politics and do not get involved in it. It is totally ‘irreal’ not only in terms of natural worlds, but even in terms of digital reality and overall digitalization of culture. 6 In the ultimate sub-chapter we will discuss some new problems and non-standard issues concerning Zukin’s famous and authoritative book, as follows: is there is a hope for the future; does Skocpol or Schier have the answer; if not, what do I think the answer is. Additionally, ‘explain the changes that politics and society have undergone to shape each generation into world that we live in now;’ ‘as well as where we need to go in the future.’ Accordingly, yes, there is a hope for the future; no, Skocpol and Schier do not have the answer; later on, I will give some overall suggestions in order to find out what this answer can be. Supposedly, this answer/factor could be viewed as being enough influential to explain the changes in the society for shaping each generation into world ‘we live in.’ To my mind, answer for the successful future lies in a clear state of consciousness without questions and answers at all, when person knows anything about anything without mental, intellectual, or physical doubts, concerns, or issues. (When everything is clear.) Yeah, I know this state of clear mind is so hard to prove and implement within different types of discourse, but I at least have made an attempt to put an emphasis on it. Therefore, each generation tries to find its own state of clearness and its own understanding, but the main principle is the same: to do something, you need to be without doubts. To do something you must be brave and concentrated enough in order to reach and manage what you really want to do. To conclude with, dutifuls found this state of clearness in their military operations and glorified duties; Boomers in prosperity and rich developed families; Gen Xers in coming trough difficulties of America of Reagan’s seventies of Vietnam, civil rights, and individual freedoms of sexual revolutions, even in overcoming economical stagnation; Dot-Nets win the world in digitalization of culture and communication. Works Cited Zukin, C., Keeter, S., Adolina, M., Jenkins, K., & Caprini, D. “A New Engagement?: Political Participation, Civic Life, And the Changing American Citizen.” Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Read More