It was a radio talk show. An apologist for my generation (baby boomers) was explaining about how we were all victims of “the lies of the 1950’s”.

He said that as children his generation had heard and read many Horatio Alger stories; stories in which a young, ambitious person dreamed of becoming a financial success and went on to turn their dream into reality. The speaker argued that he had believed that he, like the heroes in those stories, would create success for himself. Reality, however, is different than fiction and the difference had left him and his fellows disappointed and depressed.

“We believed those stories!” he said. “We set goals, worked hard and still failed.”

Now people have given up. They no longer believe that they can create a better life. Read More→