I've always been a bit skeptical of this sort of pop psychology/sociology theory.

It reminds me too much of the Birth Order revelations that were passing around some time back. You know, the first born child is raised by inexperienced parents, is spoiled rotten, grows up with no role models near his age, and winds up abusing his younger siblings, so he grows up all screwed up.

The last born is raised by exhausted parents, is ignored by them, and overshadowed by the first, is forced to struggle for the leftovers and handmedowns, both physical and emotional, so he grows up all screwed up.

The ones in the middle get it both ways, ignored by the parents, abused by the elders, and neglected for the benefit of the youngest. Consequently, they also grow up all screwed up.

I was born in '47 and had a brother 7 years younger than myself, with whom I get along just fine. I guess that makes me a Prophet, although if there is one thing I know about myself, it's that I suck at predicting the future.

I have lived long enough to have sampled a fairly big slice of history and have met lots of people, and I do know who I feel are the most capable
and productive and most admirable generation, at least from the ones I've met personally. It's not the WWII generation, in spite of the great press they've been getting lately. They were demoralized by the Great Depression and exhausted by the war, and they became petty and self centered little consumers in their middle age. Neither was it my own generation, who squandered its promise and advantages and sold out to the Man. Myself included.

The post hippy generation weren't worth a damn either, nor the one that followed it, for pretty much the same reasons. The world changed very little, deep down inside, over the last quarter of the 20th century, even though there were a lot of superficial things going on. As for the generation just coming into adulthood now, it's still too early to tell yet, so I'll give them the benefit of a doubt.

My favorite generation were the kids who were born just before or during the War, who remembered it but took no part in it. That is the generation that wrote Beat poetry on the road, invented rock and roll and got the ball rolling on civil rights, and who fought in their own forgotten war in Korea. These were the kids who were graduate students and young professors when I started college, and they treated me with respect and gave me good counsel and friendship. They combined the best in those liberal sensibilities that I admire most in Americans, independent but not arrogant about it, kind but not weak, restrained and dignified but not tight assed and joyless. I guess I always preferred Garrison Keilor to John Wayne when I try to imagine the stereotypical Great American.