Boomers make their bed, must sleep in it

The image shows a peace sign, such a symbol of the boomer generation.

     
People between the ages of 52 and 70 are "baby boomers." It's like a tsunami wave for America's entitlement programs: Social Security and Medicare. All this happens while the Republican Party is being given the keys to the car. Republicans have taken over Congress, the Senate and the presidency, and this is the party that does not believe much in entitlements.
If boomers voted in substantial numbers for Trump, they may have been creating adversity for themselves. Republicans may have their beliefs but they are fundamentally incapable of handling the reins of government. That's because a chief tenet of their beliefs is that they don't believe in government. It's always dangerous when they get the majority.
One can argue that Republicans are at their best when they're a minority striving to impose proper discipline in government. But the Republicans now have those proverbial "keys to the car." Personally I'd mutter "heaven help us all." Here's a party that decries entitlements and government oversight of things, taking over at a time when the U.S. population is aging and ever more people are living beyond their productive years. Seems odd.
I would suggest that many people fall prey to to the rhetoric of conservative media, rhetoric which on its surface appeals to an impulse within many of us. It's an impulse that seeks to affirm self-reliance and a mistrust of those seemingly impersonal government forces.
We in the Midwest have a sense of self-reliance inherited from our forebears. We think of those "cowboys" paving the way for westward advancement, affirming good vs. evil. We grew up watching myriad "westerns" on TV. They presented moral conclusions all over the place. Boomers saw through a lot of that.
We knew the world was full of injustice and needless tragedy. The TV westerns gave us a template that didn't want to acknowledge a lot of the uncomfortable truths. They clung to a superficial world where all the answers seemed so readily at hand. Let's not get too excited about Jim Crow laws. Let's not get drastic or excited about pronouncements that the Viet Nam war was necessary.
Can the youth of today possibly put themselves in the shoes of America's youth when military conscription was in effect? When young men were forced over to Southeast Asia where the odds of death were considerable?
Maybe we have forgotten how the Cold War cast such a depressing shroud over us. Our public schools once put tremendous academic pressures on kids so we might "keep up with the Soviet Union." Communism crumbled over there. It had nothing to do with our military efforts in Southeast Asia. People found their footing over there because they wanted a better way. The transformation was organic, the way it should be. Not the result of young men being given guns to shoot at other men who shot back.
The boomers enter their twilight years with the Cold War having faded to a distant memory. We have a president-elect who has actually developed affinity with Russia. His conservative followers don't seem distressed by that at all.
Allow me to predict that America is on the verge of very troubled times given our new political landscape. People have taken over power who reflect all those screaming voices from the conservative media. They cannot govern because they're not interested in governing. Some terrible things could now happen. Mark my word.

But what about our "self-reliance," our apparent birthmark as Americans? Rugged individualism. Well, how do you think the desert Southwest got developed? Undeterred pioneers? Cowboys with guns blazing? No, it was the government, specifically with construction of the Hoover Dam. The government!
Conservative screamers in the media simply have a racket going.
I recently wrote song lyrics focusing on the boomer generation. These are tailored to a quite pleasing melody, IMHO. I don't know if I'll have the song recorded. I write lots of poetry and lyrics. My song is called "Baby Boomer." Here are the lyrics:
 

"Baby Boomer"

by Brian Williams
 

World war was over

Ashes in its wake

Greatest generation

Showing what it takes

They were our dear parents

Getting on their feet

We fulfilled their mission

finding life so sweet
 

We adored the Beatles

And their Mersey sound

They gave us a message

That we rendered loud

We believed in cultures

Meshing as if one

As we heard John put it:

"All you need is love"
 

CHORUS:

I was born a baby boomer

Getting old is just a rumor

Through the storms we always endured

I was born a baby boomer
 
 

We unleashed our voices

Toward a better world

Breaking down each barrier

Going 'round each curve

Though it would take patience

We would not desist

We were like an army

No one could resist
 

Through it all our elders

Never really changed

They just knew their values

That their lives ordained

So much pain behind them

They were feeling fine

Thankful for their bills paid

And for every dime
 

(repeat chorus)
 

We respected NASA
And the men who flew

Racing through the heavens

In a small capsule

Finally we could see them

On the moon so real

JFK would smile

As we sealed the deal
 

Some of us were hippies

That was a tough sell

Some of us had placards

Saying war is hell

Civil rights was pressing

Women sought their place

We were building bridges

For the human race
 

(repeat chorus)
 

We got Richard Nixon

He just didn't work

He was left imploring

"I am not a crook"

We moved on to disco

Interest rates so high

It was like a world

Far beyond the sky
 

Movies gave us Star Wars

So we could escape

We loved Carrie Fisher

Fantasy first-rate

We were so resilient

Always glass half-full

Moving to the future

Like a raging bull
 

(repeat chorus)
 

We bemoaned our elders

Getting up in years

Had they not been faithful

We would not be here

They gave us the wellspring

For our every task

They turned back the Axis

What more could we ask?
 

Yes we will discover

Our mortality

Though we won't acknowledge

Even one frailty

We exuded chutzpah

As we did our good

We will live forever

Please just knock on wood
 

(repeat chorus)
 

(repeat chorus again, then repeat the last line)
 

© 2016 Brian R. Williams