The Boomer Essays

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Power to the Boomers!

As I recall... and I usually do... when we were young, we thought we could change the world. Of course, most kids do when they are young. But we were baby boomers; there were 76 million of us; we represented 40% of the population. And come to think of it... we did. Schools, suburbs, television, pampers... they were all shaped around us. (In the case of pampers... literally.) We demanded the right to vote... and we got it. We wanted an end to the war... and we got it. We demanded an end to the draft... and it happened. We demanded the right to wear bell bottoms and purple hair. Well, that just proves the old adage "Be careful of what you wish for." But anyway, we were on a winning streak.

What the heck happened? I guess we demanded kids, easy divorces, abortions, freedom from responsibility, cable TV in the prisons, permanent press shirts, and super-size fries. A huge step backwards, as I see it.

So maybe we're too busy today just keeping our heads above water. Maybe we just lost the enthusiasm. Maybe we don't care. Maybe we got all we wanted. Maybe we're just to content in blaming Washington; that way, we can say it's their fault, not ours. We are not 40% of the population any more, but there are still 76 million of us, more than any other population group. I think we have forgotten just how much power that gives us.

Let me start out with something small. One of my pet peeves is those annoying return-mail postcards in magazines. The first thing I do when I get my copy of Newsweek is go through it and throw out all those awful cards and inserts. (The ones in Playboy I sometimes keep; but only for a while.) I don't suppose a polite letter of objection to the editor would get rid of them, do you? But how 'bout this: how 'bout if I took those postcards and just dropped them in the mailbox? The postage is paid; the company has to pay for it. What if Vandalay Industries received their Newsweek postcard sent back to them every week with no name or address on it. What do you suppose would happen? Not much, huh?

But what if they received 76 million of them? (All right, so they send out only 2 million in the first place. But what if 1 million of them came back completely blank?) That form of advertising would disappear faster than you can say "postage due." Gone!

Now, suppose 38 million of us (just half the baby boomers) called Toyota and griped about the horrible use of Sly and the Family Stones' "Everyday People" in their TV commercials. Gees, that is just awful! What if 38 million of us said we would not walk into a Toyota dealer until they stopped it? Gone, that's what! They'd be gone by morning, I guarantee you!

Better yet, borrowing from the topic of an essay a few weeks ago, what if 76 million of us called our local school board and demanded that they not waste time teaching our kids how to put on a condom until they can read at a 12th grade level? What if just half of us showed up at every PTA meeting and demanded that our children be educated, not indoctrinated? What if just half of us showed up for parents' night at school and demanded we be informed of what was being taught to our kids? The teachers would love it; that's what would happen. What if we demanded that the school board fire 90% of the overpaid, do-nothing administrators and hire a bunch more teachers? We'd solve the education problem in this country overnight; that's what would happen! Overnight! I guarantee you!

My point is this: we have power... much more power than we realize. And I think it is way past time we stop sitting around waiting for someone else to do something and do it ourselves. It wouldn't take much. No, we don't have to incite any more riots. I have already sniffed all the tear gas I intend to, thank you. What it would take, beyond the commitment and determination, is a little organization. And that's where the Internet comes in. It's hard for 76 million baby boomers to communicate with each other, especially when we have jobs, kids, a-yada, yada, yada. But the Internet offers a national (heck, an international) bulletin board where we can communicate and coordinate.

Suppose we decided to test this concept by agreeing to drop all those postcard inserts into the mail. That would be a suitable test. And after that worked, we'd go on to something really important. We'd need to pick our battles carefully, and we would not all agree on the same issues. But there are plenty of worthwhile, black-and-white issues to tackle. For instance, in May's BBHQ Insta-Poll, over 80% of you said that you wanted the ability to control your social security money. Congress is considering just such a bill. This being an election year, if 76 million of us demanded it, Newt Gingrich and Dick Gephardt would trip over each other trying to get ahead of the issue and take credit for its overnight passage. This is not an "if" or a "maybe" - it's an absolute - it's a lock! We could make it happen. I'm not talking about making El Nino go away; I'm not talking about the Tampa Bay Bucs winning the Super Bowl. I'm talking about taking control of our own destiny; that's all. With 76 million soldiers, we'd win every time we put our mind to it; every time! And I'm willing to offer BBHQ to help with this communication.

So, you can mouse over to another page now, or check your e-mail, or play that silly "Name that Tune" thing here at BBHQ. Or, you can decide it's about time we used our numbers to fix what's wrong... to do what's right... to show we can do what it takes. Where should we begin?

Power to the Boomers!!

The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you?

The BBHQ Book of the Month is "Vinyl Highway," by Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee. Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story. It's pretty cool.

Click here for more information, or here to visit the BBHQ Library.