Coming of Age in the Crucible of COVID

Through the Years - Cheers, Tears, and Jeers: Starting with the "Lost Generation", intervals of birth years have been characterized in part by the the major events and conditions in which they found themselves (i.e., crucible). Each has been historically profiled in various ways, including their collective accomplishments as well as their perceived shortcomings, the latter frequently through parody and otherwise lighthearted chiding. The following is a list of the generations which have been profiled to date and just a few characteristics/milestone events, in the service of brevity and space (assuming the reader already appreciates the overlapping and fluid nature of each generation to the next):                                                                                  

Name               Birth Years        Profile                                                                                                    "Lost"             1883-1900         WWI ...social upheaval...disillusionment                                              "Interbellum"  1901-1913        Roaring 20's...too young for WWI, too old for WWII                      "Greatest"        1910-1924          WWII (fought or supported)...early civil rights...early post war recovery  "Silent"            1925-1945           Born in Depression...Korean War...McCarthyism                                      "Boomer!"       1946-1964         War recovery...babies!...civil rights...Vietnam...moon                          "Gen X"          1965-1979          Berlin Wall/Soviet Union breakup...latchkey...media consumption!          "Xennials"       1975-1985          'Crossover' between X and M...analog to digital                                      "Millennials"   1980-1994          "Peter Pan" (follow your dream)...electronics/video games...'selfies'        "iGen/GenZ"    1995-2012         Tech!...more tolerant of diversity...delay LT relationships                       "Alpha"           2013-2025           First 21st C. Gen...full tech immersion...YTBD...                                                                                                                

From A Tisket A Tasket...To Hell in a Handbasket(?): "The youth of today..." the quote usually starts out...and finishes with something derogatory, denoting they (the teens, those adolescents!) have eroded or attempted to destroy the values of the 'good old days'..."A Tisket A Tasket" was a 'happy go lucky' nursery rhyme originating in the late 19th C. in America, and became the basis for the very successful recording by Ella Fitzgerald in 1938. Juxtaposed to the prophet Zecharia's vision, in which wickedness was characterized in part as a bushel basket. Older people love to gripe about "those entitled, lazy (and otherwise 'wicked') millennials..." But characterizing the younger generation in such terms is nothing new, with plentiful parallels going back over 2000 years. One example among many: "[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances" -Aristotle, 4th C. B.C. Shortly before 9/11 a number of articles about the youth of that time reflected on the relative lack of experience with either financial calamity or a military conflict of significance. Which changed almost overnight.         

"The CV-19 Generation"(?):  Fast forward to 2020 and the COVID circumstances in which we all find ourselves. How will this crucible influence the next generation, their expectations, their major defining characteristics? I myself have already come across more articles than I have time enough to read (let alone write!), ranging from mainline press to social media and my professional field, documenting and speculating on the physical, mental, and social effects of the ongoing pandemic. How are the institutions and conventions the youth have been accustomed to changing, including family interactions, friendships, education, and the work setting? Some will be transient, while others will persist long after COVID has left town. These changes and the attendant effects are impacting all generations and, if you are even an occasional reader of his blog, you are aware I have been attempting to provoke thought and action to mitigate these circumstances on behalf of individuals and families. This I will continue to do here and trust you will all be a witness and favorable influence on those growing up in this unique crucible.

Durable Prediction:  One prediction that will always ring true on behalf of those 'coming of age', found on a bumper sticker and resonating the wisdom of Aristotle: "Hire a teenager, while they still know everything!"                                                   

                                            

 

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