Death of Peter Jennings and what it means.

2005-08-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday I was quite stunned to hear of the death of longtime ABC news anchor Peter Jennings. I had heard some months ago on the news that he had lung cancer yet I did not expect him to lose his battle so quickly. With the death of Jennings however comes the end of an era and the signaling of a new one. Jennings was but one of what is called the "Big Three" news anchors who dominated network news for more than two decades. The other two of the "Big Three", Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather have both retired in the last year and with the end of these men's dominance of the news also signals the twilight of their aging generation and its soon to be fading public influence.

Brokaw, Jennings, and Rather, being born in 1931, 1938, and 1940 respectfully, belong to what in America is known as the Silent Generation (born 1925 to 1942). This is a generation that is often overlooked by the media and has throughout its lifecycle been under the shadow of its two generational neighbors, the World War II-winning G.I. Generation (born 1901 to 1924) and the younger generation that revolted against the G.I. built establishment, the Boom Generation (born 1943 to 1960). According to Bill Strauss and Neil Howe in their books on generational theory, the Silent were the overprotected children of Depression and war who as young adults embarked on secure but unfulfilling lifepaths laid out for them in the new post-war order. Many married early (the earliest ever recorded in the U.S.) and become deferential helpmates and experts in the G.I.s' new 'Establishment'. Entering midlife when according to one of its members "the world had gone teenage", the Silent watched as a new coming-of-age generation, the Boomers, attacked and blasted the G.I. 'Establishment' that they themselves had learned to be so compliant with. While many Silent artists, musicians, and activists (from Bob Dylan to Jane Fonda to Abbie Hoffman) lent a voice to the Boomers' coming-of-age rage, most of the Silent did not feel fully welcomed in the new youth culture and the era instead became for many of them a time of (according to Gail Sheehy) turbulent "passage". With this "passage" came sexual misadventures, divorce, and self-exploration that gave an underprotective nuture to a new batch of Gen X youngsters.

After attaining a peak share of national leadership in 1983 of 68%, the Silent have sinced seen themselves leapfrogged to the Presidency by the younger Boomers and may be well on their way to being the first U.S. generation in history to never occupy the White House. Now with their oldest members turning 80 this year and with a national leadershup share that now stands at 26%, the Silent may not have to look much farther to see their final "passage". With the death of Peter Jennings and the retirement of the other two of the "Big Three", this generation of rock-n-rollers, civil-rights activists, and expert technocrats now stands to see the waning of its public life and influence on the horizon. With the Unraveling-era now due to expire and a Crisis-era looming, the Silent will have to spend their final years in an era of political upheval and dire peril that they themselves will be too old to take part in significantly and which they will die in before knowing how things turn out. Over the next decade as this elder generation begins to fade away and a more stern and fiery elder generation replaces them, many of its members will once again feel "once born too late but now born too soon".

Hi, my name is Wiz83:)

2005-08-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hello,
My name is Wiz83, at least that's my name on this blog and I will keep my real name private for now. I will say that I am 22-years old and am currently a college student in the Southwestern United States. As a person who takes great interest in political, social, and world events I will use this blog to post my own perspectives on today's troubled and interesting world climate. Feel free to repond to me on whatever subject that I have posted on. I would be more than glad to see others' feedback on the issues of our day.
- Wiz83
08/09/05

WizBlog

Death of Peter Jennings and what it means.

Hi, my name is Wiz83:)