GenX grew up during an era when hyper-capitalism began to take off. Manufacturing was offshored and layoffs became commonplace. Government institutions were privatized and subcontracting gave companies ways to abdicate responsibility. The corporate world didn't care about building a company and brand for the long haul, it was shareholder value and quarterly earnings. We watched our parents work their assess off for companies and then get tossed out in the name of a few more cents per share. So no one was motivated to follow the traditional Western dream when there was no assurance of any sustainable life at the end of that grind.

GenX was far more civic minded than you give them credit for. The term "political correctness" entered the lexicon because of the work GenX college students were doing to try to combat racism, sexism, and homophobia. We marched against apartheid, raised money for Amnesty International and Greenpeace, and AIDS awareness. We were the first to carry around reusable mugs for coffee and drinks and got recycling mainstreamed.

Generational warfare, like class warfare, is designed to keep us at each others' throats instead of realizing that, no matter what generation, a wealthy few hold the true power.

And then they didn't blow up the world. Well, crud. What do we do with ourselves now?

I'm not even slightly exaggerating, by the way. About half the popular media was depictions of how the US would blow up Russia, Russia would blow up the US, or what live would be like after the US and Russia blew each other up. Red Dawn. Most movies with Sylvester Stallone. The Day After. Threads. I assure you those weren't kitschy, ironic things we winked at. We generationally kinda reconciled ourselves to the idea we'd never grow old enough to drink. And then, we were labeled "slackers" for not having followed the same traditional routes as previous generations.

I'm hugely sympathetic to Gen Alpha. I get it, kiddos. I see you there, and I understand.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2118631119

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/117h6n5/ge...

Also, drivers in <my city> are really the worst.

Replace "cocktail party" with "social media" and you've described Millennials.