Thursday, February 22, 2007
Generation Obama Jones
I've received an impassioned missive from Brainiac reader James A. about the generation born between the mid-1950s and the mid-1960s. It's not impossible that James A. is a "sock puppet" for the author of a forthcoming book on Generation Jones, but here's the letter:
Obama's generation already has a name, a name that is already quite well-established: Generation Jones. I realize that you mentioned GenJones in your article, but only with a passing reference, while also mentioning "Generation Obama," "The Brat Pack Generation," and "The Repo Man Generation," as if all four of these monikers are used to describe this cohort. But the reality is that the latter three monikers are basically never used to describe this generation, while Generation Jones is a term that has been used frequently in major media, in hundreds of newspaper/magazine/TV/radio pieces about this heretofore lost generation between the Boomers and Xers.
Generation Jones is already a household term in many Western European countries, and is fast becoming that in the States. I just recently came upon more examples of the speed with which Genration Jones is becoming an entrenched part of our vocabulary: from the bible of demography -- American Demographics Magazine -- devoting a cover story to GenJones, to the many references to GenJones, by name, I've encountered, made by top political, business, and entertainment leaders. My sense is that within the next several months, bolstered by the major media book tour I heard about in a recent radio interview with Jonathon Pontel (about his soon-to-be-released book "Generation Jones"), that Generation Jones will be a household term in the States as well.
The reason I'm going on so long about this, is that I'm a GenJoneser, and like many others in my age group that I've discussed this with, I'm damn glad that my generation finally has a label that stuck, along with a growing consciousness of what it means to be a Joneser. Obama could be the first GenJones President, and that is exciting for many of us in his generation.
OK, I'll bite: What's the GenJones worldview? What would a GenJones president do differently than a boomer president? We need answers.
MORE FROM BRAINIAC: Generation Obama Jones | Generation Obama politicians | Generation Obama comedians | Generation Obama mailbag | Generation Obama: Music | Generation Obama sports stars | Generation Obama vs. the Boomers
Posted by Joshua Glenn at
09:43 PM
