My Generation...

By Rhonda Williams 4/15/2024

I am a proud  “Baby Boomer”. In the 60's and 70's, collectively we changed the world. If something didn't look right, we tried to make it right. We protested, we marched, we made noise, and we made people take notice. Some of us went to jail, some of us lost our lives. But we held strongly to our beliefs. We believed in peace and love not war or hate. And we made a difference. 

The sixties defined the era of social upheaval, and we Baby Boomers led the charge through activism, social change, and freedom. Baby Boomers opened eyes to social attitudes with a decade of riots, boycotts, antiwar demonstrations, and protests for civil rights. We stopped an unjust war that killed 47,434 American fighters. In 1968, President Johnson yielded to our generation’s pressure by deciding to not seek re-election.        

Baby Boomers opened the door for social change by fighting for women's rights, gay rights, civil rights, and social equality. We created the personal computer and linked the world with the internet making communication instantaneous and book encyclopedias obsolete with any subject instantly accessible.  

This is what a protest 
looked like in the 1960's

Where are we today? We still run businesses, we take an active role in our communities, we run local and national politics, and we are in leadership roles. However, have we become the very people we protested against in the 60's? Have we forgotten how to fight for what is right? Stand up for the minority? Protest wrong wars?  Have we lost our way?

We are turning our collective backs on two subjects that will undo all of our positives; Gun control and the environment.  

When students were gunned down at Kent State, we protested even louder. Eventually, we made those in charge listen to us, and make changes. But what are we doing today? Our children are being gunned down in our schools... IN OUR SCHOOLS! And what are we doing about it? Where is our unified voice to shout out about what is right? Like in the 60's, we can still make changes that are right for everyone yet, we do nothing. The gun lobby (manufacturers) quote an archaic Constitutional Amendment from 1791 that is irrelevant in our time.  In 1791 you could fire only once every thirty seconds. Today a military-style assault weapon can fire 10 rounds per second, 600 rounds per minute.  And, with a modification, it can be made to fire 800 rounds per minute.  Now is the time to demand change.  

Where are the protests today?  U.S. children and teens are more likely to die because of gun violence than car crashes, drug overdoses, and cancer.  31,780 is how many children in the U.S. under age 18 that have died from gun violence in the 20 years between 2000-2020.  Where is the outrage? Where are the protest?  

Energy company executives have long known the scientific consensus on global warming. Exxon leaders were informed by company scientists that there was general scientific agreement on the topic in the 1970's. Oil giant Shell created a film in 1991 explaining the future threats of extreme weather, flood, famine, and climate-related conflict. Still, they continued to use their influence and money for misinformation; putting profit ahead of the planet.  

Shell Oil created a film in 1991
They Knew.  

Three individual weather events in 2022 topped the $20 billion economic loss threshold: Hurricane Ian ($113-$115 billion), drought in the U.S. ($21-$22 billion), and drought in Europe ($22-$26 billion). According to NOAA, “In 2023 [alone] (as of September 11), there have been 23 confirmed weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect the United States. These events included 2 flooding events, 18 severe storm events, 1 tropical cyclone event, 1 wildfire event, and 1 winter storm event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 253 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted.”

According to the European Union: “The three-month period from June 2023 through August surpassed previous records by a large margin, with an average temperature of 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.2F) - 0.66C above average.  August (2023) was also the hottest month ever recorded globally. The third straight month in a row to set such a record, following the hottest ever June and July.”

How have we “Baby Boomers” become so complacent. We are allowing guns to kill our children and our grandchildren in the place they go to receive their education?  Is the generation that initiated the first "Earth Day" willing to doom our planet to be uninhabitable for future generations?

It's time for the Baby Boomers to wake up again. The generation before us was known as the “Greatest Generation”. How does our generation want to be remembered?