The Lucky Generation

Recently I went to my 40th High School reunion. It occurred to me how lucky my generation was.

Sure there were a lot of crappy things going on. The economy wasn't looking that great. In fact, we graduated at what would turn out to be about the peak of the middle class economy. It's been downhill ever since.

Over time the major employers in my home town went out of business. Good jobs were lost long before people could even think of retiring. That's the same period of time when good defined benefit pensions started to be phased out.

So our wages turned out to be stagnant or even lost to inflation. The housing bubble hit us pretty hard. The medical insurance system turned to crap just as the bulk of us started to really need it. Even people with good technical skills found themselves out of work.

So how are we lucky?

Growing up there was no Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or anything else like that. In those days cameras were bulky and used expensive film. Today everyone has a much better camera on their phone that can take almost unlimited pictures for next to nothing.

Looking around at the bozos I went to school they are all pretty lucky that most of their exploits were not saved and shared around the world. By today's standards, nobody would have hired us and may have filed criminal charges. Our generation's stupidity is mostly archived in the weakening minds of those of us who were there.

For that I am grateful.

-Sixbears