General Discussion

For instance the Bushes. The Trumps. Their kids go to the “best” schools from daycare on — schools that offer a good education, but even more valuable, create connections, friendships, networks that last a lifetime.

The top of the pyramid breeds the next top of the pyramid. The rest of us, not so much — but then, this is what collective action is all about: collective bargaining, civil rights movements, and all that.

My generation has done that — civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights. Our actions helped bring an end to an unjust war, and helped get rid of Nixon. We did that. And now we are old and dying off.

Tarring us all with the same brush is like saying “the Greatest Generation” was nothing but a bunch of middle-aged Archie Bunkers: ill-informed, racist, out of touch with the times. That’s not the whole story — and I hope you know that much.

But the power structure that bred Trump and formed the current SCOTUS and the attitudes that allowed the theocratic destruction of our public schools — that goes on from one generation to the next, and younger generations took their eyes off the ball as much as anyone older did. The powerful of the country, the ones totally focused on remaking the country in their un-free image — they have worked with single-focus for well over 50 years. And they have almost all the broadcast/cable media plus billions of dollars at their disposal.

Tell the youngsters for me to get a move on. My gray-haired cohort is already at the protests.