Huggins Page |1

Marylynn Huggins
Alma McKertich
ENGL 2010 84
March 25, 2016
Evaluation Narrative Paper 2

Baby Boomers
Born between 1946 and 1964, Baby Boomers were raised during an era of unprecedented
affluence and extraordinary optimism in America. (Brokaw) This generation was born following
WWII and eventually numbered between 76 to 78 million depending on what source you
reference. They were born in a time that gave rise to what we know as middle-class suburban
America. This group shaped the economic, political, social, and cultural attitudes of America
like never before.
Taken from the article Baby Boomers on History.com is the following breakdown:
More babies were born in 1946 than ever before: 3.4 million, 20 percent more
than in 1945. This was the beginning of the so-called baby boom. In 1947,
another 3.8 million babies were born; 3.9 million were born in 1952; and more
than 4 million were born every year from 1954 until 1964, when the boom
finally tapered off. By then, there were 76.4 million baby boomers in the
United States. They made up almost 40 percent of the nations population.
(Baby Boomers)

Huggins Page |2

Economic Influence
The Baby Boomer generation has had more influence on the economy during its lifetime than
any other generation before or since. Consumer goods played an important role in middle-class
life during the postwar era. Adults participated eagerly in the consumer economy, using newfangled credit cards and charge accounts to buy things like televisions, hi-fi systems and new
cars. But manufacturers and marketers had their eyes on another group of shoppers as well: the
millions of relatively affluent boomer children, many of whom could be persuaded to participate
in all kinds of consumer crazes. (Baby Boomers) A 1958 story in Life magazine declared that
kids were a built-in recession cure. (Rocketing Births: Business Bonanza 83-89)
In his documentary on baby boomers Tom Brokaw said, They didnt just influence the market,
they were the market. (Brokaw) From baby products to childhood toys there was a focus on
their consumer buying habits. They collected hula hoops, Frisbees and Barbie dolls. In fact,
records show that in a single year 100 million hula hoops sold, and 5,000 coonskin caps a day
were produced. (Brokaw) This kind of mass consumerism was unheard of at the time.
Youngsters donned their coonskin hats as they gathered in front of the television to watch Walt
Disneys TV specials about Davy Crockett. Baby boomers also bought mouse-ear hats to wear
while they watched The Mickey Mouse Club. They bought rock and roll records, danced along
with American Bandstand where they were introduced to the newest artists along with their
already established favorites. American Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark, was the MTV of this
generation. (Baby Boomers) When they were old enough to drive, the creation of a fast food
industry to meet their teenage appetites, was born. (Brokaw) The drive-in burger shop where
the waitresses took your order at your car while on roller skates was the new favorite hangout for
the kids of all ages.

Huggins Page |3

Social Influence
An article on the History Channel website describes the suburban baby boom of having a
particularly confining effect on women. (Baby Boomers) It goes on to explain that with the
men back home from war the women were urged to quit their jobs and embrace their roles as
wives and mothers through advice books and magazine articles like Dont Be Afraid to Marry
Young, Cooking To Me Is Poetry, and Femininity Begins At Home (Baby Boomers).
There was a push within the patriarchy and media of mainstream America promoting the long
held viewpoint that a womans most important job was to bear and rear children. This viewpoint
especially took on a new significance in the postwar era. The article goes on to point out the
significance, First, it placed the baby boomers squarely at the center of the suburban universe.
Second, it generated a great deal of dissatisfaction among women who yearned for a more
fulfilling life. That restless feeling was brought out into the light in a book released in 1963,
The Feminine Mystique, authored by womens-rights advocate Betty Friedan who argued that
the suburbs were burying women alive. (Baby Boomers) It was this dissatisfaction that in turn
contributed to the rebirth of the feminist movement in the 1960s.
Another area of social change that was championed by the boomers was the Civil Rights
Movement. They grew up in a time of social injustice among the races, they listened to political
leaders who spoke out on equality and peace like Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, both
silenced by assassins in separate attempts to squash the movement. In many ways, according to
Michael Eric Dyson, an author, radio host, and professor of Sociology at Georgetown University,
there was an awakening of sorts following the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in
Birmingham, AL, on September 15, 1963. That one act, in the opinion of Professor Dyson,
forced America to see how barbaric and how much terror America had permitted. America

Huggins Page |4

would no longer begin to take business as usual, the racial segregation, and the horrible
deterioration of relationships between the races. (Brokaw) The actions of the KKK and the loss
of the lives for four innocent young girls rallied the voices for change. Outrage replaced fear and
within months of the church bombing President Lyndon Johnson took action which led to the
passage of the Civil Rights Act.
Many baby boomers fought in or protested against the Vietnam War. College campuses were
filled with voices in opposition of the war. Sit ins and riots became the breaking headlines on
the evening news along with scenes from war zones. To avoid the draft, some young men
moved to Canada and were labeled as cowards and draft dodgers. Soldiers returning from war
were not given the heros welcome that followed the service of previous veterans. There are
many whose voices can still be heard in protest of current military involvement overseas. There
is opposition to U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan for many of the same reasons
protestors opposed the Vietnam War like not having a clear agenda for winning and primarily
acting as the police force for the world.
Cultural Influence
There has never been a time in history where a single generation has influenced such a drastic
change in music, film, TV, dress, attitudes about sex, and communication. With the advent of
rock and roll in the 1950s teenage boomers embraced the genre and then made it their own.
Although Elvis was king in the 1950s, music began to diversify with the folk revival, girl groups,
surf sounds, and Motown gained in popularity among boomers. Songwriting evolved during the
1960s with artists attaching not only political statements to their lyrics, but also raising social
consciousness. American teens were eager to embrace a new kind of British invasion with the
overly popular Beatles and the Rolling Stones, whose music is still popular among the current

Huggins Page |5

generation. As the hippie culture grew in the latter half of the decade, the music reflected the use
of psychedelic drugs. The term Bubblegum music [was] created to generate radio friendly pop
singles. (Rock Music Timeline.com) The importance of album sales continued to increase.
Garage bands emerged playing harder rock sounds as the seeds were sown for what was to
become heavy metal. By the late 60s, outdoor rock music festivals began to grow in popularity.
The most famous, Woodstock, took place during the summer of 1969 in New York and became
the epic celebration of peace, drugs, love, mud, and music. (Brokaw) Television executives
were quick to cater to the desires of this generation. From classics like Captain Kangaroo, the
Mickey Mouse Club, American Bandstand, and the Ed Sullivan Show baby boomers were
hooked, and in many ways still are, with the TV being central in homes across America.
The introduction of the birth control pill is said to have changed the world that once was and
America went from the virgin 50s to the promiscuous 60s. No longer was there the same shame
to pre-marital sex as had been the norm in previous generations. The catch phrase love the one
youre with became the accepted behavior.
Political Influence
As observed by Cam Marston, an expert on the generations, Baby boomers are a generation
focused on prosperity. (Marston) In many ways, they are largely in control today. Just look
around and you can see that Boomers run the majority of our local, state, and national
governments. They are the bosses, supervisors, managers, and CEOs of most companies, and
they dominate the workforce because of their enormous numbers. Tom Brokaw in his
documentary, Boomer$, also made a similar observation when he said, the largest, richest
generation in history, boomers now well into their middle age, control the White House and
Congress. (Brokaw) During the documentary Tom Brokaw interviewed Bill Clinton, the first

Huggins Page |6

boomer president, and he shared his perspective of this generation. Here is an excerpt of that
interview:
Tom Brokaw: Whats the biggest misrepresentation of the boomers?
Bill Clinton: That we were primarily selfish, self-absorbed, narcissistic, and
diligent. A big letdown after the greatest generation that won World War II. I
tell everybody, it cant be true that if the World War II generation were the
greatest generation they were the worst parents in human history. We were the
children of World War II people.
Tom Brokaw: Do you think that your generation said to the rest of us, you can
expect the world from us. And that we came to expect too much from you?
Bill Clinton: No I dont. I think we had high expectations of ourselves. I think
we fulfilled Americas sense of possibility. I think that we promoted the civil
rights movement and believed it was possible to do well and do good. Most of
the people that grew up in the 1960s, whether they were Republicans or
Democrats, liberals or conservatives, believed in our country, loved it, and
wanted it to do better.
Tom Brokaw: Of all the debates at the time, the one that most deeply divided
the country was over the war in Vietnam.
Bill Clinton: It was an incredibly traumatic time. It just tore us apart. One
excess the baby boomers had on both sides of the Vietnam divide was a little
tendency to sanctimony. And if you get too sanctimonious, it makes you really
dumb because you cant hear anything anymore. And maybe one of the things

Huggins Page |7

that we can do is give the American people the space to listen to each other across
the divides again.
Tom Brokaw: What else can the baby boomers be working on at this stage in
their lives that will be for the common good of this country?
Bill Clinton: If we really want to end it right, we have to realize that our last
obligation is not to put an unconscionable burden on our children and
grandchildren, and to go out with the ideals, the fire that we started life with. To
go out serving. And if we give billions and billions and billions of dollars worth
of service a year as long as we can move, we will have done our job in the full
circle of life. (Brokaw)
Most of the candidates running for president of the United States during the 2016 election cycle
are members of the baby boomer generation with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders and
Ted Cruz. Power, money, and influence are common ingredients that the Boomers bring to the
political arena.
Undesirable Qualities
As powerful, wealthy, and influential as Boomers may be, they can be viewed as self-focused.
Concerned about staying forever young, they drive the market in consumer goods to maintain
their youth. Often referred to as a selfish, driven, financially focused, and career oriented Me
generation, Boomers are now faced with retirement. The lavish excesses and consumer debt
accumulated in order to keep up with the Jones is beginning to take its toll. Many are finding
that they arent prepared financially to retire. As a result, many will be working long after the
age of 65.

Huggins Page |8

Fundamental Differences
In the educational training presentation, Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace, Cam
Marston with the aid of his mother Judy defines the differences in attitudes of four generations
currently in todays workforce. He labels them Mature, Boomers, Gen X, and New Millennials.
The differences in philosophy and mindset can be seen as the triggers for why Boomers and
Millennials face conflict not only in the workplace but in other areas of life. Understanding
where both are coming from can help each group when placed in a situation to benefit one
another. The core elements of both are laid out as follows in the presentation:
Boomers
In the workplace, Boomers believe in, champion, and evaluate themselves and others based on
their work ethic, which is measured in hours spent on the job. For the majority of boomers,
productivity is less important than face time. Boomers are team-oriented; they consider
relationship-building skills critical for success. As such, they expect loyalty from those they
work with. The term workaholic was coined to describe the Boomers work ethic.
According to Marston, Boomers are looking for products and services that help regain control
of their time. (Marston) When it comes to technology, their views are often mixed because they
have a tendency to believe that it brings about as many problems as solutions. Status and
individuality are vitally important to Boomers, especially since they want their products and
services to be customized and a personal demonstration of their own successes.
New Millennials
The latest entrants into the workforce are the New Millennials, born between 1979 and 1988.
Judy Marston states, They have been coddled since birth, protected by their parents from all
manner of atrocities and threats seeming to infiltrate the world. (Marston) New Millennials

Huggins Page |9

were raised with terrorist attacks. They are also technology gurus. Theyve never known a
world without cell phones, laptops, remote controls, and travels to outer space. As a whole,
theyve never known real depression. Until recently, New Millennials have lived almost their
entire lives in a growing economy.
Common characteristics among New Millennials in the workplace environment finds that they
like to align themselves with individuals who will help them achieve their goals. They seek
open, constant communication from the boss. Interestingly, they work quite well with members
of the Mature generation. Which may explain the large following in support of Bernie Sanders
bid for US President. New Millennials seek personal fulfillment from their jobs, not necessarily
financial security. Among the most overscheduled youth in our nations history, they seek ways
to shed stress in their lives.
New Millennials are torn between individuality and fitting in. They want to be like their peers,
but with a twist. They are loyal and consider a companys altruistic attitude and culture. They
dont want to be hurried and will take the time to search for a unique answer.
From these observations certain conclusions can be made about the ineffectiveness of
cooperation when it comes to joint tasks taken on by Boomers and New Millennials. Unless
there is open communication and a willingness to understand where the other is coming from.
Marston wrapped his presentation up with these four lines:

Generational context is not about age, but common experiences

Acknowledge your teams expectations, not just your own

Different is neither right nor wrong, just different

Age-ism is the death of any coaching strategy (Marston)

H u g g i n s P a g e | 10

Once Boomers are able to embrace these concepts theres a good chance the angst that comes
with interacting with Millennials will subside and positive relationships will be the result.
Conclusion
J. Walker Smith, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized expert on marketing and social trends and
their impact on business. He is an authority on baby boomers, and is a boomer himself. His
interview with Tom Brokaw sums this generation up nicely. He says, there are a lot of
stereotypes about baby boomers that lots of boomers will tell you dont fit them. Nevertheless,
baby boomers do share a common experience. And that common experience is actually more
fundamentally rooted in the promise of economic prosperity that was true of the post-World War
II period in America. (Brokaw)
He goes on to say that the true unifying theme of this generation has been its optimism. A faith
in the future built on growing up during Americas boom years of the 50s and 60s. (Brokaw)
For the younger generation to envision the ideas the boomers had for their future they can simply
Google the hit cartoon The Jetsons. Smith paints a great visual with this final thought, Boomers
kind of grew up with this sense that their parents dream, which was exemplified in something
like the 1964 Worlds Fair, was going to be their future. We thought we were going to live in
streamlined cities, atomic energy was going to produce all our power for pennies. We were
going to get around by monorail and hovercraft. We were going to dress in those kind of Jetsonlike form-fitting spacesuits. and Rosie was going to do all our chores for us. (Brokaw) Who
wouldnt want to live that life?

H u g g i n s P a g e | 11

Works Cited
Mixing Four Generations in the Workplace. Perf. Cam Marston. Learning Communications, 2007. DVD. 25
Mar 2016.
"Rocketing Births: Business Bonanza." Life 16 June 1958: 83-89. Magazine.
Staff. Rock Music Timeline.com. 2015. http://www.rockmusictimeline.com/1960s.html. 25 March 2016.
Staff, History.com. "Baby Boomers." 2010. History.com. A+E Network.
http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers. 25 Mar 2016.
Tom Brokaw Reports: Boomer$. Perf. Tom Brokaw. Films Media Group, 2010. Films on Demand. Web. 21
Mar 2016.