I had lunch today with a dear friend. Hal was one of the ministers who performed our wedding, and his close cousin just died, so he and his lovely bride paid Andra and myself a visit while in town for the funeral.
At one point in our lunch conversation, we were talking about different generations and what events, if any, distinguish one gap from the next. Hal explained that for him, it was 2 major events. Growing up during the latter part of the Great Depression, and World War 2. And the Korean and Vietnam Wars. And the part where he participated in the march on Washington during the Civil Rights Movement. The crowds were so thick people were getting crushed. And then there’s all the work he did to get women into prestigious colleges such as Yale.
So, naturally, I started a mental tally of personal accomplishments that could define myself and my generation. I got pretty good grades in school. I gave blood after 9/11. One time I scored the winning goal in a pretty important soccer scrimmage. I was a part of the Twitter movement fairly early on.
There was quickly something so unsettling about how comfortable life can be. I read about these events in American History in grade school. But for Hal, he made that history.
I understand there are a lot of huge things going on in our times. The war in Afghanistan, the first elected black president, devastating oil spills and earthquakes. These are big deals. So I suppose the question isn’t so much whether there will be generation-defining events, but how we react to them and what we choose to do.
I guess we all write history for ourselves. As individuals and as generations. Action, reaction. I can only hope the summary of mine will require more than 140 characters.
