Steve’s recent reprint of his first Boomerang column got me to thinking about the other generations living right now. The Greatest Generation, or the GI Generation, was born 1901-1927 and are almost gone now, with only 2.5 million still among us according to the latest census. Countless books, TV shows, movies, and documentaries have been made about this hero generation that fought World War II, then came home to make lots of babies and build a nation. GI Generation presidents have been in the White House since Kennedy in 1961 until Boomer Bill Clinton won in 1992. But there is a generation between the GIs and Boomers — the Silent Generation. They have been overlooked and underrated for decades, but perhaps we should pay closer attention to them.
The Silents were born roughly 1928-1945 (or 42, depending on what book you read). Born during the Great Depression (1929-39) to parents who had to scramble to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies, the Silents learned early to be grateful for what little they had. They observed the sacrifices made by their parents and were determined to make the lives of their children better. When World War II broke out (1939-45), many Silent children saw older siblings march off to the front, and it was made clear to the youngsters at home that they were sacrificing themselves to keep home and hearth safe. After World War II, when they came home, the Silents greeted them as saviors and treated them with great deference. The GI elders became the dominate generation in society and politics until the Baby Boomers overwhelmed them just in sheer numbers.
Teenagers in the mid-40s, the Silent generation became defined by “bobbysox,” saddle shoes, and listening to crooners like Sinatra. The teenage Silent kid found him- and her-self targeted by marketers for new fashion, jazz and swing music, and innocent entertainment that reinforced traditional values. The constant policing of song lyrics, movie scripts, and other media, including the newfangled television, inspired many Silents to explore the things that were being kept from them.
The Silent generation took advantage of educational opportunities as much as possible, and went into “safe” professions in droves, perhaps remembering difficult childhoods and their parent’s struggles with employment. Not all, however, were content to keep their heads down and noses to the grindstone. While many expected this generation to carry on traditions and institutions, they emerged in adulthood as thought leaders who challenged the status quo in books and lectures. They were the first to call out injustices and prejudices as they saw them, fomenting the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Movement, and Gay Rights Movement in the 50s and 60s. Martin Luther King, Jr., Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and many other notable writers and thinkers were Silent generation natives.
Coming of age, the Silents had their own wars to fight . . . Korea. Unlike World War II, the Korean conflict was a war less of heroics and more a hard slog that ended up in a stalemate. Silents were also involved in the first salvos of the Vietnam War, where again the United States didn’t win as much as it kind of gave up. The Silents also came of age during the Cold War, when tensions between the Soviets and the U.S. threatened to send us into a nuclear war. The lessons learned from their participation in these conflicts was that wars were failures of negotiation and diplomacy, and caused far more harm than good.
As observers of their heroic elders and outspoken youngsters, they acted as a bridge, enacting legislation that moved the nation forward on civil rights and women’s rights, and negotiated settlements to bring peace whenever possible. Silent generation natives Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, Bernie Sanders, and Mitch McConnell are considered scions of Congress. While Congress has been dominated by this generation for many years, they have struggled to achieve the highest office in the land. The United States has only had one Silent generation president, Joe Biden.
Silents aren’t all compliant bureaucrats willing to find a middle path and smooth over conflicts. Their creative juices flow best when blending and defying expectations, bringing about (for the time) shocking cultural changes. The rock ‘n’ roll that Boomers and Xers love was created by Silent singers and songwriters. All the of Beatles, Elvis, Brian Wilson, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, James Brown, Leonard Cohen, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, John Cale, Janis Joplin — all Silent generationers. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, the Everly Brothers — hardly silent.
The movies Silent generation youth watched may have been wholesome bobbysox trifles, but when it was their turn to make films and television, they broke down barriers and rebelled. Stars of the screen who are Silent generation natives James Dean, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood were rebels with and without causes. Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, Rita Moreno, Julie Andrews, Sophia Loren, Mary Tyler Moore, and Grace Kelly were iconic beauties who had brains and talent.
The Silent generation has seen a tremendous amount of change in their lifetimes, and much of it is due to their own innovations. Scientists from this generation built missiles and missions to the moon, worked in the auto industry to make vehicles safer, made the transition from paper to computer work, and broke new ground in medicine.
While the Boomers boast and the Xers brood and the Millenials freak out over their first grey hairs, the Silent generation is quietly writing their memories down to pass along to their family and friends.