Books like 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?

This week’s headline? Boomers analyze GenXWhy this book? more nineties nostalgiaWhich book format? used old textbookPrimary reading environment? beside swimming holeAny preconceived notions? wannabe definitive textIdentify most with? um…my parents?Three-word quote? “mortgaged your future”Goes well with? celery with ranchHate to break it to you, Boomers, but self-actualization does not arrive in your twenties during an acid trip.There’s a lot more going on in this book, but I’m focusing on the Boomers because I think the authors were “way harsh” on their own generation, and that, more than anything, makes me feel connected to something bigger than myself.I made the mistake of watching Taking Woodstock last week. I’m still not impressed with the hippie on horseback, and I’m sort of upset with that entire generation for the selfish way they behaved.You weren’t immediately released from samsara upon enlightenment. Bummer. What’s even worse is that you went from hippie to yuppie, becoming more and more of an asshole with each justification.Finding yourself so early in life leaves you with many more years on this planet — ample time to sell out.Like religion or true love, complete consciousness should be a lifelong pursuit, an ongoing struggle between the forces of good and evil, not a public demonstration against "the man," who, in reality, deserves peace and love too.I need to admit that I’m still confused and angry about the sway boomers hold over the collegiate experience. My collegiate experience in particular.It wasn’t even so much the Dylan quotes and liberal slurs that came from the professors. It was the way they heaped rewards upon members of the younger generation who bought wholesale into their philosophy.I think a lot of my mistrust has to do with boomers’ identities being intertwined with their self-righteous activism. World peace and universal love would negate their very existence.Apparently, it is very GenX of me to wonder why — if the sixties were so enlightening and the peace movement conquered all — we are in the middle of two fucking wars.Other cultural accompaniments: Reality Bites (1993), Clueless (1995), Taking Woodstock (2009)Grade: B+/A-I leave you with this: “But what many called ‘apathy’ might also have been described as the weary realism of a generation whose own first-hand experiences have taught them what can happen when barriers are blithely broken down: chaos, confusion, a new mess for somebody to clean up.”