The old plant trees knowing they will never live in their shade.
"for example, baby boomers are all selfish, unreflective, hedonistic beneficiaries of the postwar boom, while millennials are all snowflake narcissists living in social media bubbles obsessed by identity and seeking safe space, with the two locked in mutual dislike and incomprehension. The industry that has grown up detailing such all-encompassing generational differences is phoney."
Taken from Comment is free in the Guardian, and written by Will Hutton
It says it all doesn't it? reduced to the meaningless words of how we are supposed to see ourselves. Remember old 'boomer' boy, I miss him;). It is a shorthand of how to view a very complex larger picture of us.
Are you at war with the young in your family? of course not but we are as old people growing up different, we no longer feel old, or even think 'old'. Listening to the Abba video and I notice I fall into the same age bracket, we have been born with a metaphorical silver spoon of growing old without too much trouble, all thanks probably to a skimpy childhood of less food and the ability to physically explore the outside world. Our world was not reduced to a computer screen and the constant pressure of news.
I am not a 'boomer' by the way, basically because I do not have a large pension or a house to call my own, I did not accumulate wealth through circumstance and also probably a belief in equality for all. I am also happy where I am, though a tad nervous on getting older! But what I did like from this article was an idea broached on the back of the National Insurance scheme......
"If enough people bequeathed at least 10% on their deaths the fund could quickly be worth £200bn, a kind of voluntary sovereign social wealth fund to help heal British society. It could disburse funds under major headings. Support for babies and children in disadvantaged homes; funds to allow anyone to pay for justice in the courts; funds for the disadvantaged to train and then retrain in mid-career; funds for social housing; funds for those ready to repair relationships with the continent of which we are part. Such a trust fund would invest in great companies to help protect them from the ravages of private equity."
It is a sort of compensation to the young from the old for all the good times we have had and for a generous economy which sadly got exploited in furthering our own gains and sadly destroying the world in which we lived. Whether you believe it or not climate chaos is down to us not reading the runes right, fess up and pay up!
And a favourite photo at the moment - Grindelward, a Swiss Village, and a name in Harry Potter as well. It is funny as I get older how I recognise familiar words from the landscape used by authors such as Tolkien and Rowling.
I have been to Grindelwald (Grindelward? my spell-check thinks I am right) but I did not see that stone.
ReplyDeleteObviously did not walk far enough Tom, but as I have never been don't know.
ReplyDeleteI too love that stone andthe perfect view. As a widow, luckily not on the bread line I find money a bit of a worry. I sometimes wish I didn't have any then I wouldn't have to worry about whether to spend any or not.
ReplyDeleteWell as long as you have some rules Pat, it doesn't really matter. All I hope is that we don't go in to the bitcoin business.
DeleteAnother interesting and thought provoking post Thelma. I do feel for young people (but dislike the sense of entitlement nowadays) and am glad that, like you, my childhood was one of enough basic food to eat and freedom to roam the countryside of then Surrey. Now part of Greater London sadly. I'm also ticking name references particularly from J K Rowling, thinking what a clever woman she is every time. Bingo, when David Olusoga interviewed a man called Harry Potter. on his programme A House Through Time! Jan Butcher.
ReplyDeleteHi I watched Olusoga today as well, it is funny that the owner of the house is Harry Potter. I used to live near the village of Wombleton, which must have caught someone's eye for that series. As for wondering out loud, I read news most mornings and Will Hutton's idea appealed.
DeleteInteresting article by Will Hutton. Like the idea of a Trust Fund. Many of us have much more involved and complex relationships with our young and adult children. So different from growing up in the fifties and sixties from my experience. Jan.
ReplyDeleteYes Jan, life was much simpler when we were young, though of course the same hardships still plagued us.
DeleteWhat a wonderful photo. I wish I was there. I can smell the fresh air and hear the birds and bugs! This is a magical land. I am a baby boomer but my retirement from the government was cut back and I could not survive without my husbands more generous retirement.
ReplyDeleteBeing Switzerland the air would be slightly iced from the mountains Tabor;) There is talk in this country of insuring yourself for later life problems but how the capital of one's estate is used still seems a moot point.
DeleteWhat I liked about the picture, was the fragility of the blue flowers against the solidarity of the rock. The flowers reminded of the harebells nodding furiously up on the Yorkshire moors.
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