Why are Baby Boomers so cranky?

Every other day, I hear someone in their 50s or 60s -- yup, those blessed Baby Boomers -- making a declaration. That declaration usually runs along the lines of: ''Oh, it was better in the past.''

Bah humbug! Why are Baby Boomers so grumpy? Picture: Shutterstock

But here's the deal, I'm left a little confused by these statements, since they make it sound like that food was healthier, milk whiter and dope greener. I don’t see any evidence of this in the past or in their commercials.

Read more: In defence of the Millennials

As per my research, none of this is true.

Let me explain why.

The Baby Boomer era began after the end of World War II and there have since been many genocides in the name of democracy and freedom.

People were more racist, with slave owners still prevalent in many parts of the world. Exhibit A: Martin Luther King. Exhibit B: South Africa and the Apartheid.

Diseases were prevalent and new ones ‘invented’ every other day. I tend to think Andy Warhol and his cinematic revolution had much to do with most of the STDs.

The one-cent lollies you so fondly remember were laden with banned chemicals

Women still stayed home to keep house and cook. Advertisements spoke about them being good wives if they polished their husband’s shoes well, while he smacked her bottom in appreciation (?)

There are many such examples. But the fact is, many people in their 50s and 60s ''feel'' they were safer then.

Of course, I would have loved to be a white man then. Racial slurs were the norm in those days. I could get away with being and feeling superior. And to top it off, I would have been considered an intelligent businessman. Because white can do no wrong!

The strange thing is that while I thought Baby Boomers reminiscing for a 'better' time was a white man syndrome, that's not the case. Even the coloured think it was better in past?

Again, I'm baffled. Did they like being subjugated? Or is it because of the the so-called ‘liberal’ handouts from their colonial masters?

What I do know is that the world, despite all its limitations, has only grown better.

Some research says our brains are becoming smaller. It does not mean we are growing dumber. It means more information is now getting stored in smaller spaces to make us a more efficient, resourceful animal. That’s what I called upgradation.

As you grow older, the brain becomes more obsolete. The older you get, the more difficult it becomes to adapt. Your short-term reasoning and memories tend to fade, and you access your past memories, which seem positive and memorable.

This fading is because our minds are not exercised enough to develop logic. Fortunately, there are people from the Baby Boomer era who have exercised logic over matter.

So I would conclude that not all Baby Boomers are senile. Yet!

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Joe