We’ve all seen Dr. Rick in the Progressive Insurance commercials counseling people who have become their parents. He gently steers them away from making bad dad jokes and offering unsolicited advice on endless matters.
But where is the good doctor when we find ourselves in danger of becoming a generational curmudgeon? You know who I’m talking about. The guy who can’t miss a chance to declare (fill in the blank) was better in every way in the good old days.
It seems every generation is hellbent on engaging in a competition with the generation that followed to prove what came before was better. What are we afraid of? Progress?
Of course, not every change is for the better – that’s a story for another day. But it’s just as true that the past doesn’t have a monopoly on good. As Billy Joel sang, “Say goodbye to the oldies, but goodies, because the good old days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.”
From music to fashion to technology to relationships and more, every generation looks to find its own way and make its mark. It would be unnatural if that process didn’t make parents and grandparents at least occasionally uncomfortable and at times outraged.
For those of us born in the ’50s and ’60s, music offers evidence that if we are open minded, we can find generational common ground. There doesn’t have to be a tag-team cage match pitting the Old Farts vs. the Whippersnappers.
Here’s what I mean. If you were a teenager at anytime in the ‘60s or ’70s, did you ever groove to the tunes of Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians, Bix Beiderbecke, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, or other musical artists of the ‘20s and ’30s on your 8-track or turntable? Probably not. But in a testament to the staying power of rock ‘n’ roll, it wasn’t surprising to find teens in the 2000s chillin’ to hits by the Stones, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and The Who, or other bands from the ’60s and ’70s.
Did this completely bridge the generation gap? Nope. We still have the Beach Boys, the Supremes, the Bee Gees and ELO, and they’re not giving up 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott or Wu-Tang Clan. The good news is that at the same time our kids can get some musical Satisfaction from the ‘60s, we can happily declare Viva la Vida when hanging with our kids and grandkids with Ed Sheeran, Pink, Coldplay and countless others from this century playing in the background.
Now, this does not mean music is the permanent cure for being a curmudgeon. But maybe it will allow us to grudgingly admit that, overall, The Kids are Alright.
About the author: Tim Wilson is a lifelong resident of Massachusetts. He is passionate about his family, Marquette University, bicycling and all Boston sports.
