Xchoboomer

Hello and welcome! I should probably start with an introduction before I get ahead of myself with the awesome news of today and the multitude of generations that witnessed it.

I am an xchoboomer. We are the sons and daughters of the tail end of the Baby Boomers generation, the recently validated lost generation, thanks in part to the presidential election of 2008, known as Generation Jones. We were born at the tail end of the Generation X era, at the dawn of the Generation Y’ers or so dubbed the Echo Boomers, and because the exact Omega of Generation X and the Alpha of the Echo Boomers is a blurred line at best, I believe that we belong to a distinct generation that has not yet truly been identified.  Being caught in the middle of Generation X and Generation Y, not unlike our parents who were caught in the middle of the Baby Boomers generation and Generation X, I feel that, in time, the world will come to realize that we are part of another lost generation. This generation, I have so dubbed the XchoBoomers for obvious reasons.

We lack the unique characteristics that defined each generation but feel an overwhelming sense of uniqueness about ourselves and our peers, and the times we grew up in. Because we were born in the late 1970′s, we cannot completely identify with the older Generation X’rs, nor can we completely identify with the younger Echo Boomers. However, we have a foot solidly in both camps, and thus we can relate to a lot of the culture that our parents grew up in, and we understand how the younger echo boomer generation came to be.

I find that a rewarding gift, to be a bridge from my parents generation to my siblings who were too young to remember things that I experienced or caught second hand knowledge of through my parents as they came into their own, such as the music, civil/social activism, and pop culture that was the late 60′s and 70′s, to the the cold war stresses, cheesiness and yuppi-ness I witnessed as a kid growing up during the 1980′s, into the still to be defined awesomeness that was the 1990′s as I came into my own, and now into the informational and social revolutions we now work, live, and play in, in this new millenium. I almost feel like an only child because of the so many things my younger siblings have no memory of – the nuclear fire drills, the spread of A.I.D.S, D.A.R.E, the crack-cocaine epidemics, the rise and fall of the bloods and the crips, somehow entangled into the mess that was the Iran-Contra scandal, the Challenger explosion, Tieneman Square, Ronald Regan, the first president I remember, “Mr. Gorbachav, tear down that wall”, the fall of the Berlin Wall bringing unity to the west and the east governments of the time, soon followed by the collapse of the “evil empire” communist regime known as the USSR in the early nineties. So many things to numerous to list as I was coming into my own, propelled by the music and counter-culture which was coming through full-swing once again, as it did in the 60′s and early 70′s. Oh, what a time I chose to be born!

This blog is an attempt for me to convey my own xchoboomer perspective to the world, to let my voice be heard anonymously, to challenge myself mentally and intellectually, and to express myself socially and politically as well as be a conduit for my artistic expression in the written word. I’m sure to make enemies but hopefully I’ll make some friends as well!

This blog did not come about in one day, yet it has been something that I have been wanting and planning to do for quite some time now. Today was the day! Today provided the perfect back drop and inspiration to launch my own personal therapy.

Today, I, awoke on the west coast, about an hour and a half before the 44th President of the United States of America would be sworn into office. A black man, and the first African-American President of the United States. A man they call Barack Obama. You may have heard of him? I had first been introduced to the man like so many other Americans not residing in Ill., after he announced his run for the presidency nearly 2 years ago. At the time, I must admit I wasn’t paying attention much to the political bru-ha-ha due to my distain for the Bush administration, and my lack of faith in politics in gerneral. That was until I heard this man speak at one of the debates. Who was this man spoke bluntly, honestly, compassionately, and with an intellectual prowess and inspiration that I cannot recall in my own memory from a previous American president, but only from file footage of the likes of John and Bobby Kennedy and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, did I feel the same sense of purpose. It made me wonder of what it must of been like to live in a time when great men came forward, risked and in some cases gave their lives, their families lives, to a purpose greater then themselves and I started to believe that I was living in such a time. During one of the first debates, I was mesmerized by what he had to say and how eloquently he said it, but I realized that he was a huge longshot, standing against so many white men and a famous white woman. Early on I was considering Hilary Clinton as my choice, and also the frontrunner of the Democratic Party, but well before the primaries I had to ask myself a few brutal but honest questions that went against everything I have been taught and what I truly believe as a human being. “Can I vote for a black man?”,”Can I vote for a woman?”, “A black man over a white woman?”, “Would my vote even count or would it be a waste like voting for Nadar?” When I first considered these questions, it was eye opening to say the least, a black man or a woman for President of the United States of America. That truly indicated progress in our country and I was grateful and inspired by that. As I became more interested and started paying closer attention to the canidates themselves, the debates, and deciphering there platforms, I realized that I was much more in line with Senator Barack Obama. There were times where I just didnt believe that Hilary was 100% behind what she was saying, I think particularlly on the Iraq war. But, there were many times I heard Barack speak at some rally, fundraiser, or news byte, that I would get chills and goosebumps because of how his message resonated and how sincere he seemed to be. I cant pinpoint the exact moment I decided Barack Obama would get my vote, but I can say it was well before Super Tuesday. But it wasnt until after Super Tuesday that I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that I had made the right decision for myself and I will live with my decision and have no regrets about it, ever. That moment was when Barack gave his speech on race, the more perfect union speech, after the fiasco with Reverend Wright. I haven’t looked back since, no not this time!

Yes, I can vote for a black man, and a woman for that matter, although I am not voting for a black man (or woman), I am voting for a person who is honest, sincere, blunt, compassionate, articulate, intelligent, and truly inspirational. I am voting for a person who believes in peace and prosperity, but can lay down an iron fist if and when needed. I am voting for a human being with a vision for this country and the world like none other I have known, someone who can inspire people from the grassroots and lead them into greatness. I am voting for the content of ones character.

Needless to say, on Tuesday, February 5^th, 2008, I cast my vote in a local pub for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois over Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton of New York in the State of California. He lost the state to Hilary Clinton but the nation spoke when he was elected as the first African-American Democratic Nominee. On November 5^th, 2008 I walked into the local chapter of th American Legion and cast my vote again for Barack Obama and I was glued to my television set on election night, as the polls closed, at precisely 8pm that I heard Charles Gibson utter the words “Barack Obama will be the 44^th President of the United States”. I watched in delight as the world lit up as we experienced history together, a moment that will define many generations.

So, today I woke up a little bit earlier then usual and left to work later then usual so I can be witness to history as the 44^th President of the United States was sworn into office. After another amazing speech, I walked onto my balcony, facing westward, I noticed what reminded me of a cherry blossom tree blooming that is so famous of Washington D.C. directly across the street. I smiled, I took a deep breadth, and I left to face the day with a refreshed sense of hope and a craving for a mustard and relish sandwich.