The Sassy Sides of Sixty: Baby Boomers Defend Their Legacy: “We Weren’t All Bad”

Yes, admittedly, we, the baby boomers, born between 1947 to 1964, did kind of mess up a lot of things. But trust us, when we say it wasn’t intentional.

It’s just that we were a large demographic group, and so it necessitated an eruption for schools and housing which pushed back farmlands and forested areas to allow for the massive urban sprawling. Which consequentially, also increased the carbon emissions from the to-and-fro commuting.

The advancement we made in medical science, has blessed us with longevity, which in turn, is putting a strain on an already overstretched eco system and food shortage; as is the cost of our geriatric health care. Our gen is also guilty for clinging onto powerful political positions which could do much better with an infusion of younger and fresher ideologies.

Our sheer number forced us into a tough competition to earn, so we revolutionised business modes and also stepped up on innovations and inventions that today’s gens take for granted; but on the flip side, we’ve contributed in a massive amount of carbon prints we’ll be leaving behind.

Fortunately, fate spared our gen the responsibility of the two senseless world wars, although our parents’ generation were greatly affected, with many misplaced in the process. We were also spared witnessing the mass exodus of Hindus and Muslims and the brutal carnage that occurred on both sides of the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan.

But the truth of the matter is that, neither we, nor the following gens learned the lesson history tries so hard to teach. There are no winners in a war; every side suffers severe losses and inflicts lasting grief.

We widened the circle of who gets to belong. Our generation challenged racism, sexism, stigma around mental health, and discrimination against people who were once expected to remain silent or invisible.

We didn’t finish the work—but we helped make kindness, equality, and acceptance expectations rather than exceptions.

• We fueled the visibility and power of the Civil Rights Movement.

• We advanced women’s liberation for equal rights and workplace access.

• We fought for LGBTQ+ rights, starting at Stonewall.

• We commenced environmentalism, launching Earth Day.

• Dr Jonas Salk developed the vaccine, which helped eliminate polio.

• We actively promoted inoculation for smallpox.

• Though leprosy treatment was discovered earlier, the forced isolation was done away by baby boomers.

• The discovery of psychotropic medicines helped reframe attitudes towards mental disorders.

• We made head-way in cures for cancer and diabetes.

• Our gen promoted public health, wellness, and fitness culture.

• We expanded access to higher education and diverse academic fields.

• We birthed the internet era by inventing foundational personal computers and early digital frameworks.

• We scaled global communication, media, and digital connectivity.

• Sputnik; first space launch.

• Peggy Whitson; first woman astronaut was a baby boomer.

• We redefined personal freedom about societal norms and fashion; it was okay for women to sport pants.

• We shaped Hollywood and Bollywood and modern television mainstays.

• Though rock-n-roll and the twist were introduced earlier, our adoption of them defined pop culture.

• Our generation introduced the world to The Rolling Stones, ABBA, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Prince, Led Zeppelin, and Billy Joel amongst many more.

• Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Gates are a few influential people from our era.

• John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Richard Nixon were baby boomers, as are Donald Trump and Barack Obama.

• Our gen expanded the styles in which art was earlier perceived and appreciated; allowed for more freedom for personalised expression.

• Compared with previous generations, we’ve made enormous progress in recognising that people deserve rights and opportunities regardless of their gender, race, background, or social status. Though it’s still far from perfect, we made the idea that every person’s dignity matters much more, providing more possibilities for the future generations than ours or the generations before us ever had.

• We dedicated time to bring up nuclear and extended family with love and home-cooked meals, which has given our children a closer connection to their cousins and aunties.