UTICA, New York—As the nation notes the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and Woodstock, and the recent death of iconic CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, U.S. adults are more likely to take a harsh view of the Baby Boomer generation that came of age during the 1960s.
A Zogby Interactive poll of 4,811 adults conducted for the Aspen Institute gave respondents two choices as to what the historic legacy of the Baby Boom generation (born 1946-1964) will be.
Read John Zogby’s column at Forbes.com http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/22/baby-boomer-legacy-change-consumer-opinions-columnists-john-zogby.html that analyzes the results of this poll.
Here are the results:
| What will be the historic legacy of Baby Boomers? | % |
| Ushering in an era of consumerism and self-indulgence | 42% |
| Helping to bring lasting change in social and cultural values and ending a war | 27% |
| Nothing at all, nothing really special | 11% |
| Other | 9% |
| Not sure | 13% |
There were significant differences based on race, age, gender and political ideology. Here are some examples:
| By Race | Whites | African Americans | Hispanics |
| Consumerism & self-indulgence | 45% | 24% | 36% |
| Social, cultural change; end war | 23% | 50% | 32% |
| By Age | 18-29 | 30-49 | 50-64 | 65+ |
| Consumerism & self-indulgence | 41% | 41% | 36% | 50% |
| Social, cultural change; end war | 36% | 22% | 33% | 17% |
| By Gender | Women | Men |
| Consumerism & self-indulgence | 36% | 48% |
| Social, cultural change; end war | 33% | 20% |
| By Political Party | Democrats | Republicans | Independents |
| Consumerism & self-indulgence | 34% | 48% | 45% |
| Social, cultural change; end war | 44% | 11% | 21% |
The margin of error in this poll is +/-1.4%.
Pollster John Zogby: "The turbulent 1960s and the generation that came of age then continue to divide the nation, and even Boomers themselves. We’ve been fighting the 1960s culture wars in every national election, thus the split in attitudes toward Boomers among Republicans and Democrats. Women, African-Americans and Hispanics benefitted from the social changes begun in the 1960s, so they see Boomers more positively than do whites and men. It is interesting that the percentage of the First Global" generation, those ages 18-29, taking the more positive view (36%) is the same as how Boomers evaluate themselves. That is evidence that momentum in the culture wars is with the 1960s generation."
(7/23/2009)