Margaret Hoover Explains The Millennials Will Save The Republican Party From Her Book American Individualism
Margaret Hoover, author of AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISM
Margaret Hoover is a political commentator, political strategist, and blogger.
She is a Fox News analyst and appears on The O’Reilly Factor as a “culture warrior.”
Her latest book is American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party.
Margaret is the great-granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover
I was born in 1979 and consider myself a Millenial. While sociologists say that there’s no exact start and end dates to each generation due to very complex demographic and cultural issues across America, I don’t even believe in categorizing age groups into generations, because a “generation” is a social construct, not a natural fact. First of all, you don’t have 50 million babies born from 1900 to 1918, no one born during the next 20 years, then 65 million during the following 2 decades. It is a “continuum.” Second, not everyone fits into their supposed “generation.” I’ve heard of people born as recently as the 1990s who are conservative on gay marriage, who like the Beatles, and who lack a smartphone, social network, or tablet PC. This whole “Gen y was born in the 1980s” thing is really just a mass media and marketing tool, and should not be done if we believe in letting everyone “be who they want to be.” I’ve talked to, and read blogs, by people who agree with me, so I see no reason why my idea of having a definition of a “generation” – one that will result in a lot less resentment (such as in my case) – become mainstream.
I really cannot identify with Gen x, despite what many people label me with.
True Knowledge,
Your comment is insightful on many different levels. What I particularly like is your astute analysis that people in any generation are complex.
“’I’ve heard of people born as recently as the 1990s who are conservative on gay marriage, who like the Beatles, and who lack a smartphone, social
network, or tablet PC.”
The fact is traditional labels—conservative or liberal; Gen X or Baby Boomer—are less important than the issues. To illustrate how convoluted this can be, consider two extreme positions that may agree on an issue. The labor unionist (traditionally considered liberal) and the protectionist (traditionally considered conservative) agree on keeping jobs in the US and not outsourcing manufacturing or support.
I don’t think you can deny, however, that different groups have different approaches and outlooks on work. Traditionalists and Baby Boomers were educated and socialized in a hierarchical environment that spawned the great corporations of the 60s, 70s and 80s. Gen X and Gen Y are less comfortable with hierarchy and structure and more concerned with results and meaningful work.