[jbdlfan]

I see a distinct difference in attitudes, experiences and belief systems in Villagers under 65 right now versus those that are not. The reason I bring this up is I notice comments that vary quite often along these lines. I am talking about folks that experienced college or whatnot in the late 60s , early 70s versus late 50s , early 60s. I golf and interact with both sets of individuals but I notice so much of a difference. My question.....Am I the only one that sees this? I'm not condemning or praising either group, just seeing a significant difference.

[Cajulian]

Remember, that the youth of the mid-60's and early 70's was the start of the "Hippie/Free Spirit" generation. We went on to different college experiences, different types of war (Viet Nam), sexually free spirited, etc., etc.

One thing that both generations still demonstrated, was overall good and decent values that carried us all thru our lives.

We live in a much different world today. As you say, you can see differences between these age groups. Take the two groups you mention, and compare them to the generations of today and you will see a very different World View.

As for me, I am very glad to have grown up back then versus now. America was the land of opportunity and greatness. Today, the world and our great country is in great trouble.

We are living in the right place at this time in our lives. We can still all enjoy what life is meant to be even though you can see some differences in views between our age groups.

[Edjkoz]

Yes, there are differences due to different life experiences but here in The Villages, I find we all have one thing in common. We have all worked hard, our whole lives and now we want to enjoy ourselves. For the most part, I enjoy the variety

[2BNTV]

Th book, "The Greatest Generation" talks about this problem or diversity.

The WWII veterans viewed their responsilbilities as something that needed to be done without question, and set forth to build the USA after the war. They were an industrious group of people who were tying to make up for lost time and believed very deeply in marriage, and building a life together. They were a generation who went without many material things for the greater good. Divorce was out of the equation for them.

The generation they raised were different, as they never talked about the war, and their children had no idea of what a big deal their fathers/mothers went through. In a sense, they felt they needed to change the system, without the hard work and sacrifice of their parents.

We are the most powerful nation on earth and most people today seem to think it was always this way. When we entered WWII, we were the 17th world power. We came out of the war as number 1, and have enjoyed that rating, since then. Many of the initially men trained before thee war broke out, were very overweight/out of shape, and not representative of what it took to win the war. Source is FDR by Jean Edward Smith.

I for one, am guilty of the same type of thinking, as I never realized until twenty years ago what a deal time war hero my uncle was. He worked hard all his life, was married to my aunt for 75 years and raised a family without one complaint. Did he have something to complain about. The answer is yes, but he just kept his mouth shut, and solved his own problems. He never wanted to relive the horrors of war, and only sought a better life in the USA for his family and children. The same for my parents as they never talked about the depression and how it affected them. They were hard times they always hoped their children, would never have to know.

That is the difference going forward as many of us don't understand the previous generations sacrifices to build a better America. I guess thus has been said of many generations, since the country was formed.

[perrjojo]

Originally Posted by jbdlfan

I see a distinct difference in attitudes, experiences and belief systems in Villagers under 65 right now versus those that are not. The reason I bring this up is I notice comments that vary quite often along these lines. I am talking about folks that experienced college or whatnot in the late 60s , early 70s versus late 50s , early 60s. I golf and interact with both sets of individuals but I notice so much of a difference. My question.....Am I the only one that sees this? I'm not condemning or praising either group, just seeing a significant difference.

I find myself wondering what are these "distinct" differences that you find?

[Blessed2BNTV]

Originally Posted by 2BNTV

Th book, "The Greatest Generation" talks about this problem or diversity.

The WWII veterans viewed their responsilbilities as something that needed to be done without question, and set forth to build the USA after the war. They were an industrious group of people who were tying to make up for lost time and believed very deeply in marriage, and building a life together. They were a generation who went without many material things for the greater good. Divorce was out of the equation for them.

The generation they raised were different, as they never talked about the war, and their children had no idea of what a big deal their fathers/mothers went through. In a sense, they felt they needed to change the system, without the hard work and sacrifice of their parents.

We are the most powerful nation on earth and most people today seem to think it was always this way. When we entered WWII, we were the 17th world power. We came out of the war as number 1, and have enjoyed that rating, since then. Many of the initially men trained before thee war broke out, were very overweight/out of shape, and not representative of what it took to win the war. Source is FDR by Jean Edward Smith.

I for one, am guilty of the same type of thinking, as I never realized until twenty years ago what a deal time war hero my uncle was. He worked hard all his life, was married to my aunt for 75 years and raised a family without one complaint. Did he have something to complain about. The answer is yes, but he just kept his mouth shut, and solved his own problems. He never wanted to relive the horrors of war, and only sought a better life in the USA for his family and children. The same for my parents as they never talked about the depression and how it affected them. They were hard times they always hoped their children, would never have to know.

That is the difference going forward as many of us don't understand the previous generations sacrifices to build a better America. I guess thus has been said of many generations, since the country was formed.

Beautifully stated Joe.

[rubicon]

Perhaps I am mistaken and it is a generational thing but quite frankly I believe it is our genetic makeup, family upbringing and our personal experiences as we travel through life that shapes our attitudes.

I was not inclined to belong to the so called free spirited hippy generation finding absolutely no connection while I had a brother that gravitated in that direction and he was older than me.

We seem to try and compartmentalize and label people and that is too broad a brush to paint with. a person can be liberal in one area and conservative in the next. having said that as a general statement as one poster pointed out the greatest generation was of the same thought process but then the depression and WWII kind of forced that issue i.e. self preservation

Finally attitudes shift within each generation due to the maturation process

[folkh]

Originally Posted by Blessed2BNTV

Beautifully stated Joe.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2BNTV
Th book, "The Greatest Generation" talks about this problem or diversity.

The WWII veterans viewed their responsilbilities as something that needed to be done without question, and set forth to build the USA after the war. They were an industrious group of people who were tying to make up for lost time and believed very deeply in marriage, and building a life together. They were a generation who went without many material things for the greater good. Divorce was out of the equation for them.

The generation they raised were different, as they never talked about the war, and their children had no idea of what a big deal their fathers/mothers went through. In a sense, they felt they needed to change the system, without the hard work and sacrifice of their parents.

We are the most powerful nation on earth and most people today seem to think it was always this way. When we entered WWII, we were the 17th world power. We came out of the war as number 1, and have enjoyed that rating, since then. Many of the initially men trained before thee war broke out, were very overweight/out of shape, and not representative of what it took to win the war. Source is FDR by Jean Edward Smith.

I for one, am guilty of the same type of thinking, as I never realized until twenty years ago what a deal time war hero my uncle was. He worked hard all his life, was married to my aunt for 75 years and raised a family without one complaint. Did he have something to complain about. The answer is yes, but he just kept his mouth shut, and solved his own problems. He never wanted to relive the horrors of war, and only sought a better life in the USA for his family and children. The same for my parents as they never talked about the depression and how it affected them. They were hard times they always hoped their children, would never have to know.

That is the difference going forward as many of us don't understand the previous generations sacrifices to build a better America. I guess thus has been said of many generations, since the country was formed.

Beautifully stated Joe.

I second that. Very nicely said Joe!!

[OBXNana]

I don't think this is unique to The Villages. We live geographically close to our children and grandchildren. As a result, we find we are frequently in a group that can be people our children's age, our age, and older than us. As Rubicon stated, it is generational upbringing. Frequently, the young children that may not have the behavior we see as appropriate, have parents and grandparents that scream on the side lines of the U-8 soccer games.

We have spent little time in The Villages (sadly). But, I would guess the differences between the age groups is in every town, city, and state in the USA. My parents generation went through the depression and my parents never forgot losing their house or having a used toy under the Christmas tree. My generation had to get under their desks because "the Russians are coming". Our children grew up learning about the world wide web. Very different perspective simply due to the age we happen to be born into.

We personally embrace these difference and frequently learn something from a person we have diverse beliefs. There are many things in our lives that are right and wrong. Stealing is wrong. But, there are a lot of areas that are neither right or wrong, simply an opinion. That's what the original post may be seeing that are simply geographic, generational, and genetic all plopped down in The Villages.

[collie1228]

I'm very curious what those significant differences are that you see between those of us over and under 65 years old. I'll be turning 65 in less than six months, and need to know if I should be working on any changes to my attitude so I can better fit in with my new demographic.

[dirtbanker]

collie1228 - I can appreciate the humor there!

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by rubicon

Perhaps I am mistaken and it is a generational thing but quite frankly I believe it is our genetic makeup, family upbringing and our personal experiences as we travel through life that shapes our attitudes.

I was not inclined to belong to the so called free spirited hippy generation finding absolutely no connection while I had a brother that gravitated in that direction and he was older than me.

We seem to try and compartmentalize and label people and that is too broad a brush to paint with. a person can be liberal in one area and conservative in the next. having said that as a general statement as one poster pointed out the greatest generation was of the same thought process but then the depression and WWII kind of forced that issue i.e. self preservation

Finally attitudes shift within each generation due to the maturation process

I am thinking of printing this post and framing it.

I absolutely agree and I think you show great wisdom in saying this.

[graciegirl]

Twenty years ago we had a four year old granddaughter and a two year old grandson. We have watched them reach adult hood safely and become employed in their chosen fields. We watched another generation and acquired a lot of knowledge we didn't have twenty years ago.

We all change a LOT in twenty years.

It is important to remember this, that we only truly KNEW how to raise children before we had any, and we are no more wise about how we will be in 20 years. So...it is likely that in twenty years, you may become the difference you are seeing.

Life and living and observing and participating will change you, OP. You may turn out pretty much like the person who you think is so different than you are now.

[Bruiser1]

Originally Posted by jbdlfan

I see a distinct difference in attitudes, experiences and belief systems in Villagers under 65 right now versus those that are not. The reason I bring this up is I notice comments that vary quite often along these lines. I am talking about folks that experienced college or whatnot in the late 60s , early 70s versus late 50s , early 60s. I golf and interact with both sets of individuals but I notice so much of a difference. My question.....Am I the only one that sees this? I'm not condemning or praising either group, just seeing a significant difference.

ng

I want to commend the participants on this thread for having a rational dialogue.

As a younger member of the demographic pool, I too see changes between generations.

Often we hear the phase "celebrate diversity". But in reality diversity is a fact.
when we forget our common values: courtesy, dignity, empathy, that's when hostility enters.

I interact with my older golf partners, two of them couldn't be farther apart politically. We agree to disagree and leave it as that.

[Chi-Town]

Originally Posted by collie1228

I'm very curious what those significant differences are that you see between those of us over and under 65 years old. I'll be turning 65 in less than six months, and need to know if I should be working on any changes to my attitude so I can better fit in with my new demographic.

Don't worry, you'll always be a Baby Boomer. Generation X will be moving in soon. Then we can compare notes with three generations.