How old do you feel?

[Sympthsical]

I had a lot of peers over yesterday. My age. All professionals. We're Millennials approaching middle age now, and this question kept cropping up. We hadn't seen each other in 15+ months, so getting together, it felt like we were different people. We had to get used to each other again.

We don't particularly feel like we grew up.

Don't get me wrong. My friends and I have careers, homes, some have kids. We grew up. But we keep regarding the country and the world as this thing some other people are managing. Not us.

Speaker Pelosi has been in power since 2006. President Biden has been in office for, well, I think before I was born.

We have no investment in what goes on. This all existed before us, and feels like it will exist forever. It won't. But I'm saying, on a pure feeling level.

But I'm wondering, since I know DU skews older. How old do you feel? Did your generation ever have a moment where it was like, "Ok, we have the reins now!"?

[murielm99]

1. I never felt the moment.

Sometimes I felt like an impostor.

[CrackityJones75]

4. Thats pretty fucking offensive.

And I am Gen-x.

I would be embarrassed to have posted that picture.

[EYESORE 9001]

16. That response is soooo genx

[TraceNC]

23. Actually, it's not GenX at all.

GenX is widely thought of as the generation that’s kind of “checked out” and shrugs things off. That’s true of every GenX’er I know, and I’m the same way. I don’t think I take “offense” at anything. If something is said or done that some might see as “offensive” we might understand that but we also know that it’s best to just ignore it and move on. Saves a lot of trouble.

Anyway, not that this is proof or anything, but here are some references to what I’m talking about. You might disagree but remember—I won’t care. (I’ll even include a Star Wars one, even though SW sucks.)

[Kaleva]

25. Did you alert on it?

If not, then you don't think it violated community standards and is accpetable.

[CrackityJones75]

34. What a weird response.

Do you often tell people what they are thinking?

I don’t care if it violates anything. It is an age-ist trope that is offensive as hell.

[Kaleva]

35. If you felt it violated community standards, you'd have alerted on it.

If you didn't, it was then acceptable to you as a member of this community.

One can tell how a person actually feels about a situation or issue by what they do in response to it.

[CrackityJones75]

36. I don't care if it violated anything.

It is offensive. I am calling it out as offensive. I don’t need to alert anything.

Here’s a hint. You can tell that I feel like the post is offensive….. Because I said that it is pretty offensive.

Not sure how much more clear I can be.

I also think your line of BS is ridiculous. I also don’t need to alert on that either to accomplish my goal of telling YOU that you are being ridiculous.

[Sympthsical]

28. Ok, Boomer )

[LakeArenal]

3. I feel thirty in my head.

I worked with young adults my whole life so I still feel like them.
I never had any older friends but since retiring in CR all but a couple new friends are much older than I.

It’s a new experience to me. But they seem so young at heart, too.

I have an 86 year old friend who’s setting CR on fire still selling real estate.

Life is Good for this old lady.

[NewHendoLib]

5. at 65, I feel 30s or 40s mentally, 50s to 60s physically depending

upon the day. as far as movies. music, pop culture, I feel 100!

[ret5hd]

6. 6:00 AM: 83

8:00 AM: 50
Noon: 5 (nap time)
2:00 PM: 50 again
5:00 PM: 25
8:00 PM: 60
10:00 PM 5 (sleepy time)

[enough]

7. I'm 77 and a politics junkie for about 60 years.

Never in that time have felt that “we” have the reigns now.

[Boomerproud]

9. Amen

[ProudMNDemocrat]

8. 69 going on 19

Mentally, I am still in my teens. Trailblazing as I still play dress up in costumes and Period Clothing I design and make. I love attending Renaissance Festivals and Sci-fi conventions.

Music wise, I rock to the likes of Queen, Elton John, Journey, Def Lepard.

Physically, I am in my 30's. I go to the gym 4 days a week to work out, walk an average of 25 miles per week, keep my weight in the 148 to 152 range.

Life is good.

[Vinca]

10. I just came inside from removing invasive bittersweet vines off some of the plants.

It's 81 degrees out and I worked for about 3 hours. I'm 72 and I feel about 172.

[SWBTATTReg]

13. Ha ha heh...I feel the same way after my bout in the yard too! Thanks for the 'laugh'?!

[no_hypocrisy]

11. Depends on the day.

One day, I can be 21.

Another day, I'll realize I may have only15 or so years left in my existence.

[SWBTATTReg]

12. Ha ha heh...good points you make. To answer your questions 'How old do you feel?' and 'Did your ...

generation ever have a moment where is was like "ok, we have the reins now!"?'

I don't feel old/act old but I am (65), so that's a good thing. I'm one for believing that old age brings a righteous rage against the dying of the light, as this one poem by Dylan Thomas says (a very nice poem by the way, IMHO, I posted it below FYI)...maybe you like it too...

Dylan Thomas - 1914-1953. Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they. Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright.

As for your ? on whether the next generation feels like they have the reins finally? I can kind of agree w/ you on this sentiment, as it does seem like that a lot of our democratic leaders are older, and do seem to have the reins still, IMHO.

But you then see Stacey Abrams (born in '73) and Beto O'Rourke (born in '72), only two of the many youthful examples of the Democratic Party. But I do recall comments prior to the Nov. 2020 election cycle, where were the younger voters? In Nov., 2020 these younger voters did come out, one that helped Pres. Biden win, so they are coming out to the forefront. I like to think that our party is open to all, and I think that it is. Everybody has a voice.

Youth vote up significantly in 2020; young people of color ... https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/youth-vote...

Nov 19, 2020 · MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (Nov. 19, 2020)—Presidential election turnout among young people ages 18-29 reached 52-55%, significantly higher than the 45-48% turnout of 2016, according to a new youth turnout estimate released today from

[jmbar2]

14. Yes! I remember feeling the same way on a personal level, but not politically

Back in the 70s and 80s, a lot of liberal progressives were starting political careers. Once Bill Clinton was elected, I felt it was all under control.

Gen X and the Millenials have produced an amazing bunch of leaders. Depending on where you draw the age/generation line, your generation has much to be proud of.


Senate dems
- Cory Booker
- Chris Coons
- Catherine Cortez Masto
- Tammy Duckworth
- Kiersten Gillibrand
- Mark Kelly
- Amy Klobuchar
- Chris Murphy
- John Ossoff
- Brian Schatz
- Chris Van Hollen
- Mark Warner
- Raphael Warnock



House Dems
- Eric Swallwell
- Adam Schiff
- Kamala Harris
- Stacy Abrams
- Beto
- Val Demmings
- Pramila Jayapal
- Micheal Bennett
- Andrew Yang
- AOC
- Karen Bass
- Ted Lieu
- Katie Porter
- Diana DeGette
- Joe Neguse
- Lucy McBath
- Lauren Underwood
- Sharice Davids
- Jared Golden
- Jaime Raskin
- Seth Moulton
- Ayanna Pressley
- Grace Meng
- Hakeem Jeffries
- Sean Patrick Maloney
- Antonio Delgado
- Tim Ryan
- Conor Lamb
- David Cicilline
- Veronica Escobar
- Joaquin and Julian Castro
- Henry Cuellar
- Stacy Plaskett
- Abigail Spanberger

These are all stars - apologies for any that I have missed.

Mentally, I feel about 25 years younger than my physical age, and about 5-10 years older physically than my real age. That sux.

Don't beat yourselves up. You kids are alright.

[Chili]

20. love that list

...but totally agree here: "Mentally, I feel about 25 years younger than my physical age, and about 5-10 years older physically than my real age. That sux."

AMEN.

[Celerity]

38. Multiple Boomers on that list, including 10 in their 60's.

Boomers were born 1946-1964
Gen X 1965-1980
Millennials 1981-1996
Gen Z 1997-2012
Gen Alpha 2013-?



Boomers:

60 year olds and older are in bold

Kamala Harris

Senate

Michael Bennet
Chris Coons
Catherine Cortez Masto
Mark Kelly
Amy Klobuchar
Chris Van Hollen
Mark Warner (turns 67 this year)

House

Adam Schiff
Val Demmings
Karen Bass (68 in 5 weeks or so)
Diana DeGette
Lucy McBath
Jamie Raskin
David Cicilline

and finally

Henry Cuellar Soon 66, and the worst Dem by far in Congress, the only House incumbent I want to see primaried and defeated in 2022, his district is solid Blue, has never, in its history, voted for a Rethug. Cuellar is an anti-LGBTQ bigot who has said my marriage should not be legal (I am a married lesbian), a rabid forced birther who would so voted to overturn Roe if he could, voted with Trump almost 70% of the time in the 115th, anti-immigrant, pro big oil, massively pro private prisons, campaigns for and fundraises for a racist MAGAt Rethug climate change denier in the US House from Texas, John Carter. We just need to run a solid moderate against him, one who believes in the core of our party's platform, which Cuellar definitely does not. He was one of the leaders against Pelosi for Speaker, one of the last to support the impeachment of Trump, and he is one of the 9 conservadems who are now trying to scupper Biden's $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill.

[NNadir]

15. I regret that my generation was given the reins.

We were screw ups from the beginning. By the time we took power, for the most part, we were blank consumers with the ethical depth of a potato peel, not that I wish to insult potato peels with the comparison.

How old do I feel?

I feel like I'm a 105, but I'm younger than that. Of course, the temperatures in parts of the American West are higher than 105, because of us.

History will not forgive us, nor should it.

Your generation cannot do worse; I fully expect that you will do better, far better. You're better educated, less racist, and your generation will do great things not because you want to do so, but because you will have to do so. The great generations do not become great because things are easy; they become great because the demands placed on them are extreme.

You will face extreme demands.

We were indulged with the right to be lazy, and our legacy shows as much. You will need to pay for our mistakes, but the upside is that struggle ultimately enriches one in the way that matters.

[electric_blue68]

37. geeeeebz.... speak for yourself.

Been a semi-activist since I was 15 ('69) in various ways; campaigns, single issues, matches & rallies, phone calls, phone banking, trying to educate others, designing on computer, and xeroxing on my own dime vote for (Dem) President signs for 3 elections that I posted in my nabe, and elsewhere till I lost computer access that let me do such stuff when places closed down.

I'd never call my self an activist. Many have done waaay more than me.

Marching in DC in the '80s on Renewable Energy. Did anyone listen? Much Zzzzzzzzz, and screw Ronnie Raygun. 😠
Marched on other stuff before and after that in DC, and NYC.

I'm not the only one either.

[betsuni]

17. Neighborhood, town, city, state, region. Get involved there. That's how to affect your life.

Can't believe that needs to be said. Higher minimum wages, legal marijuana, public option, same sex marriage, green energy, affordable education, higher taxes, etc, happen on the city or state level and then at the federal level.

Pelosi, Biden, Sanders have been in office for a long time, so what -- the "establishment' (blame Democrats!). The U.S. is a very large country. Politics is local.

[Bettie]

18. 54 and no

my generation will never have the reins. The boomers will hang on until the younger millennials or Z's take over, because rich/powerful Boomers won't give up power. Ever.

[gab13by13]

30. I'm a Boomer

and I must say, I did my share of looking out for the little guy, while having fun in the 60's. I was a Local Union official for 26 years. I was elected to borough council in a red neck central Pa. town because I fought against the local mafia bringing a coal cleaning plant into our borough and locating it in a flood plain, successfully fought against it. I also fought against the local mafia stripping coal on our pristine watershed, successfully. I have always voted Democratic, voted for McGovern.

Now at 73 soon to be 74. During the heat of the pandemic, in the winter, I rode my bike indoors for 1 hour 17 minutes every day which was about 17 miles. Now that summer is here I am outdoors and I haven't moved up to the senior tees in golf. Last summer my 87 year old golfing buddy and I finished in 2nd place in the championship flight of our member/guest tournament. In the alternate shot format we shot 3 over par. Hell no I don't even think about age, I beat cancer and A-Fib and I just bought a brand new SIM2 Taylor made driver, no senior shaft, stiff shaft. (pun intended).

People need to remember there were 2 types of Boomers, Long Hairs, and Whiskey People and we didn't get along.

[Bettie]

33. Thus my comment

about rich/powerful Boomers.

The world works for them, because they got theirs before Reagan, benefitted from his reorganization of our society and have by and large, prospered.

Not all, but the ones I'm talking about own pretty much everything.

ETA: In my head, I'm 30ish...aside from a bad ankle, I feel 30-40ish.

[LAS14]

19. I don't really feel any older than I've felt since I "grew up." I'm fortunate...

..., at 77, not to have many aches or pains. I'm actually more vigorous than I've been for decades due to daily walking. Life is good personally.

But politically, it's really depressing. I think of the McCarthy era and realize that we're not unique in the current era, but it sure feels like we might be on a permanent downward spiral if Republicans take over congress again.

[randr]

21. One of the pluses of elder age

Is the realization of how foolish we all are were before the sense of our demise became reality.
Welcome to the future tadpoles!

[TheBlackAdder]

22. I feel twenties in my head, my age in the mirror, and older due to a drunk driver rear-ending me.

.

I know people who are 60 when they were 30, others who forget their childhood and are serious assholes.

They complain about young people doing things, when I know they were worse than those they complain about.

.

[MineralMan]

24. I'm 75, feeling 65.

I became an adult in the 1960s. My generation did not take the reins of leadership until the 80s or even the 90s. However, I never felt like we were in charge. There have always been old people in charge of things, with the younger generations moving up as slowly as ever. I worked on JFK's campaign while still in high school. He was in his 40s then. He was my parent's age roughly. They assassinated him.

In the working world and the political world, it takes a long time to become the people in charge. Some time in one's 40s or 50s, a person can begin to become part of upper leadership. Not until then. Only those who pioneer some field at an early age get to run things while still approaching middle age. Such people often fail spectacularly, though.

Generally, most people have considerable respect for experience when looking for leaders. That's why most elected officials are older. It's difficult for a younger candidate to win high offices because of that. Is that fair? I don't know, actually, but I do know that it's typical in business and politics.

Approaching middle age is a good time to throw your hat into the leadership ring and take on more responsibility. You can run for office, but not high office in most cases. You can move up in management, but aren't likely to become a VP in business for a while. That's in the normal situation. If you have a revolutionary idea, you can create a start-up, but most of those fail. But, you will be at an age where your ideas will be listened to, and perhaps implemented if they are good ideas.

Pelosi and Biden have proven themselves to be excellent leaders as elected officials. That's why they are in the positions they now hold. They know how things work, how things get done, and are patient enough to see long-term goals through. They also understand the limits of what can be accomplished at any given time. They have learned those things through experience, and it makes them very good at their jobs.

However, most people will still prefer a seasoned individual for a leadership position. You can get there, but you will have to prove that what you know qualifies you for leadership. And you'll have to prove that to people who have already achieved high positions in any kind of leadership. There are no shortcuts, except for a very few outstanding younger people who exhibit a great deal of wisdom and vision. Impatience is not an asset in a leadership quest.

You might not like what I am saying, but I've been where you are, and am now where I am. I'm not a business or political leader, but I deliberately did not choose to seek such positions. Instead, I lived my life on my own terms, and would not change anything about it if I were to have another chance, which I won't.

[Phoenix61]

26. I turned 60 this year and grew up in a college town.

Everyone was excited about the future and wanted to get out there and make things happen. That being said, I think your age group has been subjected to the easiest, cheapest form of voter suppression. They have been sold the idea that the government is so enormous that it can’t be changed so there’s no reason to vote. Add talking heads that spew absolute bs like Reaganomics which was patently absurd and young people had no interest in learning about politics. Why would they when they were told over and over they were too young to understand and they should leave it to the grown ups. Make no mistake. This didn’t happen on accident and the Koch brothers couldn’t be happier. Ever wonder why The Young Republicans are so often at Greek activities on college campuses? It wasn’t an accident. Take a group of privileged kids and tell them they are the ones who should be in charge and you’ve got fans for life. So while the Rs were out actively recruiting new members the Dems weren’t. They didn’t get the memo that social activism had become passé and did nothing to address that change. Back to the Koch brothers et al who absolutely did and here we are. Young people who didn’t connect with the Rs but weren’t given a seat at the table by the Dems. It created an entire generation who feel completely disconnected from the political process. It’s starting to shift, thankfully, think AOC, Stacey Abrams… etc.

[Kaleva]

27. I'm 62, enjoy life and feel the best years are yet to come.

[Ohio Joe]

29. Get off my lawn!

Almost 58 but I still feel mentally in my 20's... Some days the physical feeling is late 50's... Sheesh.

[mitch96]

31. As many have said... In my head I'm many decades younger but the body sometimes

does not cooperate. I run out of steam quicker than in my 20's...
I love the line that goes:

[-misanthroptimist]

32. Boomer here

Boomers have had two feelings: 1) "You're not the boss of me" when we were young; 2) "We're the boss of everybody" when we hit middle age.