Karen Sella - Generation X: the Invisible Minority

An interesting post from Karen Sella at Luminalogue on Generation X: the Invisible Minority. As a Gen Xer, I get a little annoyed with the Boomers and their "we changed the world" attitude. Gen Y, or the Millenials, are OK with me for the most part, but the huge disparity between those who are cutting edge and those who are almost regressive in their cultural values is a bit alarming.

Anyway, this is a good article. Here is a good passage:

No matter how we define the Millennial generation, there is no doubt that they will significantly shape the face of our nation in years to come, and it is heartening to have their voices join those of the preceding generations. Beloved by Boomers and befriended by X-ers, it seems that the Millennials are the generation about which and for which hope springs eternal. However, the experience of an X-er is often a little like being invisible smack in the middle of a post-sixties love-in. If it weren’t for our carefully cultivated capacity to validate our own reality, we wouldn’t know we exist. Meanwhile, we X-ers go quietly about our business, making our way in the world with guts if not glory, making a difference without making a fuss, a largely forgotten and under-appreciated talent stage-left of the center-stage Boomers and Millennials whose “Save the World” production would be far less successful without our valuable contributions.

Yes, there are some wonderfully wise Boomers who are leading efforts that will leave this world a better place, and yes, there are some wonderfully bright Millennials who give us all hope for the future. The thing is that I also know many people of other generations who are wonderfully awake people making a difference, and I happen to think that it’s going to take all of us working together to bring out the best in our humanity, which if you ask me, is really what needs saving.

I often find myself wondering what it would be like to live in a world where adults of various ages assume the following about adults:

1) Older does not always equal wiser.

2) Younger does not always equal inexperienced.

3) There is a difference between maturity and age.

4) There is a difference between quality of experience and quantity of experience.

In my opinion, wisdom and leadership have less to do with age and more to do with maturity that transcends an outdated concept of age attached to physiological years on the planet and includes intellectual, emotional and spiritual qualities of experience that may or may not correspond with the quantity of one’s years on earth.

Read the whole article.

Tags: Karen Sella, Generation X, the Invisible Minority, culture, society, millennial, Boomers, Luminalogue