I welcome the "OK Boomer" label. But think twice before you say I'm "out of touch".

As a boomer (and an early one at that -- meaning I "b-l-oomed" early), I recently discovered that the generations that came after me, especially those wonderful 'Millennials' and 'Generation Z's' are using the label "OK Boomer" very condescendingly to imply that I and those of my generation are simply "out of touch" with things.

Why even Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (age 37) hit back at White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway's (age 52) concerns about the legalization of marijuana with a flippant "OK Boomer" and indicating her to be "out of touch".

Well, first of all, Mr. Gaetz doesn't know his generations.  Ms. Conway is a Generation X'er, not a Boomer.  But hey that's indicative of young, whippersnappers who may think they know it all, or a lot of it.

Secondly, not sure what we are all so "out of touch" with.  Or, as Kurt Anderson said in the Morning Brew recently, put another way, if we're so "out of touch" how is it that if we go back to the times when the average age of boomers was 35 (that was in 1989), we owned 21% of all of America's wealth?  And compare that with the year (2008) when Generation X'ers had an average age of 35, they owned only 8% of America's wealth.  But it gets better. Millennials who soon (2023) will have an average age of 35, only own 3% of America's wealth.   I don't mind being out of touch.

Others have said my generation is out-of-touch, reactionary, and complicit in destroying the planet.  Really?  I remember my generation as the one that had backyard gardens where we grew our own vegetables and fruits. We were the ones that drove regular cars, not Ford F-150's, -250's, and -350's, or their sister trucks from the other manufacturers that leave big carbon footprints.
At best, station-wagons were all we needed, not SUV's.  We didn't eat out as often and washed our dishes each night. We didn't order in as much and weren't killing as many trees to provide us with Chinese food and pizza containers that have to be thrown out.  We didn't fly all over the world whenever we felt like it because we had to see everything there was to see. In fact, some would argue that we did more to keep our planet going than the average millennial does today.

If we are "out of touch" maybe it's because we chose not to grow and be attached to a virtual electronic umbilical cord connecting us to all the latest craziness around the world.  If we are "out of touch" maybe it's because we talked with real people around the dinner table rather than surf the net or watch Netflix while eating.  If we are "out of touch" maybe it is because while we appreciated the films celebrities made, we didn't feel obliged to obey their every commands when it comes to issues beyond their expertise.

If we are "out of touch" with those who disagree with us on many issues, maybe it's because we spent more time with Someone Who really matters -- God. And maybe as a result we didn't need to be so dependent on drugs or psychotherapists. We were not (and are not) at the end of our rope because we have homework from three teachers in the same night, or two assignments due on the boss's desk in two days.  Maybe because we were "out of touch" we did not "burnout" as easily as the generations that came after us do.

Maybe our being "out of touch" meant millions of fewer babies were being murdered by abortion than they are today.

And maybe because we were "out of touch" we weren't freaking out when the party we supported didn't win an election. And we weren't afraid that the world would end in a decade.  And we didn't have to live with our parents when we grew up.  In fact, maybe because we were "out of touch" -- we could grow up.

Hey, Millennials, sure we can be blamed for a lot of things we introduced to the world, but I assure you those things didn't come about because we were "out of touch".  Some of them came about because we were wrong and we'd be the first to admit it.  As Millennials, you have a lot going for you and some of us are willing to work with you.  But you are making a big mistake when you dismiss us being "out of touch".   Now, the "OK Boomer" label, well, bring it on.  It just helps us remember (with pride) what we've contributed to your world while we wait for you to make your first donation to the cause.

-- Ken Godevenos, writing today from South Carolina

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