Like the rest of the world, the people in power in Laguna Beach are Boomers, and they’ve ruined everything.
Mostly.
And here’s why.
Divisive politics, dubious finances, environmental laziness, indulgent entertainment, excessive consumerism, toxic nostalgia.
Self-important and stubborn, Boomers have squandered prime opportunities. Left or right, it’s their way or no way. Discussion, diplomacy and compromise are lost arts.
It’s why we have no new generational backfill coming up through the ranks. And who could blame them? No one wants to work with Boomers.
Born roughly from 1945 to the early 1960s, Boomers cling to the past like they cling to their belching cars and classic rock.
Are there exceptions? Sure. But as the largest generation in American history, they’ve held the bully pulpit for far too long. And yet they still control the majority of wealth and both political parties.
Kevin Munger, a political science professor at Penn State University, recently wrote a book called “The Generation Gap,” where he said Boomer power won’t start receding until the late 2020s.
“The fact that the boomer generation is so large and powerful means that it’s a lot harder for younger generations to start the process of getting involved,” he said.
Exactly.
Millennials suffer the most from the Boomers. A study by Axios revealed what everyone knows. More than half of Millennials say Boomers have made things worse for their generation.
And 42% of Gen Xers believe the same thing.
What compounds the problem in Laguna is the age gap. About 30% of Laguna is made up of Boomers, but that’s almost twice as much as any other generation.
Furthermore, Laguna Boomers are old. Nearly 25% of Laguna is over 65. By comparison, less than 10% of Irvine is over 65.
This is not an ageist diatribe but a cultural warning.
There is another fascinating book by Bruce Collins Gibney called, “A Generation Of Sociopaths: How The Baby Boomers Betrayed America.”
In it, Gibney says Boomers like “dressing up indulgence as a moral crusade.” Both sides of the political aisle, if they are Boomers, betray their biases.
“The Boomer right has very little interest in the environment or public higher education, while the Boomer left hasn’t pushed nearly hard enough on those issues, preferring to save its political capital on the partly self-serving issue of senior entitlements,” he said.
Raised with TV addiction, permissiveness and ethical indifference, the Me Generation is exactly that. Gibney says they are forever rigging the tax laws to suit their interests.
So where does that leave non-Boomers?
Back to the beginning. Never trust anyone over 30 and fight like hell.
In Laguna, that means taking control of power. Owning your right to be heard. Changing the rules, starting with banning five-hour meetings or nine-month committee projects that sit on a shelf.
Demand agility. Force transformation.
If that happens, there will be a renaissance of creativity and productivity much more interesting than the 1960s.
And in Laguna, let’s hope that means the end of mediocrity.
