The Current Summer 20

Romanticizing the past is common among
several generations, not just older ones
such as Baby Boomers and the Greatest
Generation. There are several articles and
videos online of early Millennials, who were
kids of the early 1990s, talking about the
great snacks they ate, the amazing children’s
TV shows they watched and the toys that
they played with, but they don’t talk about the
impact that Columbine had on their feelings
of security while they were at school.
The 1999 Columbine shooting ushered in
an era in which school shootings and gun
violence became routine. Other school
shootings, such as the ones at Santana High
School in 2001 and University of Arizona
in 2002, solidified it as a terrifying norm.
Some school districts installed metal detectors
at the doors and implemented rules to
prevent students from bringing restricted and
dangerous items into the building. Today, the
worry still continues. Safe Life Defense now
makes a product called backpack armor, a
bulletproof insert for your backpack. Children
today are being sent to school with body
armor for protection, or sometimes they’re
being homeschooled in an attempt to avoid
the danger entirely. According to Fox News
writer Caleb Parke, “as school shootings
continue to make national headlines, parents
fearful of the next mass killer are pulling
their kids out of schools in growing numbers,
according to home education groups. Some
parents are temporarily leaving careers
to home-school their children, fearing that
dropping their kids off at school could
potentially place them in danger.”
While specific events can and have caused
fears for specific generations, there is one
fear that seems consistent across many
generations. Fear of failure is one theme that
really stands out among Baby Boomers, Gen
X and Gen Z. While the Great Depression
faded within the lifetime of those born in the
Silent Generation, the damage of what took
place during it was passed on to the Baby
Boomers. An obsession with financial stability
lingered. Arthur Woznick, born in 1929, grew
up in a small, crumbling farm house without
floors. Lard sandwiches were normal fare
in the Woznick household. When Woznick
grew up, married and had children, he made
a point to always provide for his family,
even to the detriment of his relationship with
them. He worked six days a week at General
Motors, often clocking overtime. He wasn’t
home as much as he could have been, but
he was determined to keep his family solidly
upper-middle class. His behavior left an
impression on his children. They too grew
up to feel like they needed to be successful
and try and provide for their family in the
best way possible.
Many Baby Boomers took this kind of work
ethic and drive into their later lives. Sally
Kane wrote an article for “The Balance
Careers,” describing Baby Boomers as
“extremely hardworking and motivated
by position, perks and prestige. Baby
Boomers relish long work weeks and
define themselves by their professional
accomplishments.” She goes on to say
that “since they sacrificed a great deal
to get where they are in their career,
this workaholic generation believes that
Generation X and Generation Y should pay
their dues and conform to a culture
of overwork.”
For Gen X, the 1990s was a time of relaxation
and relative economic stability, but with
that ease came the desire for more material
wealth. People didn’t just strive to have
nice homes and food for their families —
they wanted to prove their success through
material goods, and this concept was pushed
onto the young people of that era. According
to Michigan State University history major
Mick Landstra, “success and economic
prosperity surrounded them. Greed was
good, and you were nothing if you didn’t
materially stack up.” For young people in
Gen X, that kind of pressure wasn’t what they
wanted, and the pushback against capitalism
and consumerism created generational
tension with their predecessors.
Gen Z’s fear of failure also stems from the
expectations of the past. They suffer with
expectations like owning homes, having
children and having economic success while
also being in charge of trying to save the
world. The climate crisis seems to be one of
the biggest defining fears for those in Gen
Z. No longer is it a weird hippie thing to
recycle, use reusable bags and reduce your
waste, but an everyday necessity for those
trying to keep the planet alive. In a New
Republic article, Emily Atkin furthers this point
by saying, “We’re losing our ability to grow
… food. All the coral in the ocean is literally
dying. We’re killing all the … animals. The
ground is randomly exploding and opening
up giant mystery sinkholes that probably
contain ancient … diseases? We’re causing
air pollution that will kill as many people as
25 Holocausts.” Some people in younger
generations are choosing not to have children
due to their fear of what will happen to the
planet. This fear not only affects them now,
but could affect the population in the future.
Gen Z’s, and in fact many other generation’s,
fear of failure, also stems from this need to
grow up too quickly. The draft for Vietnam
pulled 18-year-old boys from their schooling
and daily lives to push them into a war.
These were children that had to learn on the
spot how to grow up and face the very real
dangers of the world. Even today, people
are becoming activists at younger ages
and fighting for causes they believe in like
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