Toasty has joked that I’m too obsessed with the concept of generations
as destiny, or generation as a component of one’s psyche, but here we
go anyway:
I don’t know what the significance is of it yet, but I believe that the
ongoing generational shifting has accelerated lately. On the
macro-level, with Pope John Paul II’s passing, the only Pope that my
generation has known is gone. Also, during the past year, nearly
all three networks have lost their nightly anchors. Brokaw,
retired. Rather, forced resignation. And now, even though
he has not thrown in the towel, Jennings has lung cancer, so his
mortality is apparent as well. Though no one watches the nightly
news anymore, I still view this as a signifier that the plates are
shifting.
On the micro-level, someone pointed out to me, that we’re in the midst
of the greatest transfer of wealth that our nation has ever
known. With the passing of the WWII generation, vast sums of
money are moving to the Baby Boomers. Hence, the GOP’s pressure
to do away with the inheritance tax (I’m actually neutral on this
issue). Oddly, with this shift, we are simultaneously losing the
values of frugality instilled during those lean years of the Great
Depression and WWII, and the Boomers are gaining the material wealth
required to power their lifestyle, since I think that many Boomers have
already maxed out their lines of credit and home equity lines while
playing catch-up with the Joneses. But what this all means, I really can’t say.
Really? I haven’t watched him anchor on NBC. He is the spitting image of Jennings.
**
Funny, how I view Jon Stewart as our generation’s anchor, even though
it’s the “fake news.” Then again, we’re fake (and caustic).
Brokaw and Rather used to be very entertaining on Letterman.
I should add Koppel to the list of people leaving their news
programs. Koppel’s been there since the Iran Contra Scandal, when
we were but wee little babes.
Let me take this opportunity to once again point out how incredibly and surprisingly HILARIOUS Brian Williams, is. He could have a career in comedy any day.
No no no.. He’s not funny at all when hosting the Nightly News. He’s hilarious when he appears on talk shows. He has this total straight-faced dry wit, and he’s really QUICK too; thinks on his feet. He’s got no qualms about making biting jokes at the expense of his interviewer. Very good stuff!
Well, William was like, laugh-out-loud funny. 🙂 On another note, I’d say that the passing of the importance of the evening news IS the bigger story for Our Generation. To wit, the anchors are being replaced, and many of us probably heard that first on the Internet….