WILL THAULT: From the Greatest generation to the Me Me Me Generation

Much has been said about the “Greatest Generation,” meaning those who grew to adulthood in the 1940s and 1950s. They were the generation that made great personal sacrifices in the course of two world wars to bring freedom and democracy to those suffering from unbelievable oppression and, for millions, outright extermination.

Before the Greatest Generation became the coined phrase, the “We Generation” was the most commonly used term. My favorite historian, Stephen Ambrose, summed it up best in his book “Citizen Soldiers:” “The we generation of World War II (as in ‘We are all in this together’) was a special breed of men and women who did great things for America and the world. When the GIs sailed for Europe, they were coming to the continent not as conquerors but liberators. In his Order of the Day on June 6, 1944, Eisenhower had told them their mission was: ‘The destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and the security of ourselves in a free world.’ They accomplished that mission.

“They had learned to work together in the armed services in World War II. They had seen enough destruction; they wanted to construct. They built the interstate highway system, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the suburbs (so scorned by the sociologists, so successful with the people), and more. They had seen enough killing; they wanted to save lives. They licked polio and made other revolutionary advances in medicine. They had learned in the army the virtues of a solid organization and teamwork, and the value of individual initiative, inventiveness and responsibility. They developed the modern corporation while inaugurating revolutionary advances in science and technology, education and public policy.”

Well, it didn’t take long for the next in line, the baby boomers, to turn the ‘We’ Generation upside down to become the “Me” Generation. But we boomers were no more than trailblazers for the narcissistic, self-indulgent (spoiled) wave of prodigies to come. It seems that the baby boomers passed the worst of their “Me” traits along to succeeding generations, currently manifested in the present-day millennial tribe. Sadly, they’ve managed to distill our defect down to its purest form, earning the alternate moniker of the “Me Me Me Generation.” (That term was coined in a Time magazine May 2013 cover story by Joel Stein.)

I can’t blame the We Generation, though, for indulging their kids. Even before putting themselves in harm’s way during the war years, many were very familiar with economic hardships and the no-frills existence of the Great Depression. All they knew from childhood to early adulthood was “making do” with what you had. Even today, buried deep within my childhood memories, I recall an oft-repeated phrase just before dinnertime: “Take all you want, but eat all you take.” Now a compulsion, I still clean my plate. Is it any wonder, then, that they wanted to make life better for their kids, even if it meant spoiling them? The best of intentions seem to have the worst unintended consequences.

Now, it’s not only the parents who indulge the child. It’s society itself. It seems to discourage parental discipline, making sure “everyone’s a winner” and shielding children from “uncomfortable” or old-fashioned ideas such as patriotism, individual initiative, the competitive spirit, work ethic, respect for differences of opinion, pride in accomplishment, etc. Is it any wonder that the Me Me Me Generation is described as lazy, entitled, selfish and shallow, fame-obsessed? I also call this the “Failure to Launch” Generation, when it’s noted that more young adults under the age of 30 now live with their parents rather than with a spouse or significant other.

Tremendous advances in technology have also accelerated the Me Me Me attitude. Social media, texting and tweeting only seem to insulate them more, detaching them from real human relationships and replacing them with memes and virtual reality communications. Is it any wonder that the dehumanization of the individual leads to a coarser, alienated personality?

Unfortunately, the technology bug is like a virus that has affected all generations — baby boomers included. The only difference is that my generation tends to be a little less willing to trade their privacy for the conveniences of the next cool app.

There is a glimmer of hope, however. Seems that more and more interest lies in all things “retro” today. Maybe the retro idea of getting back to face-to-face, uninterrupted human relationships will catch on again. Once we try it, maybe our instincts will kick back in. We just have to break free of the technology trance. Once that happens, we can rediscover the retro way of thinking and seeing clearly again, instead of letting Google, Alexa and Siri do all the thinking for us.