[rusnak]

I don't see the value of making this statement. For one, I don't see what Pearl Harbor or WWII has to do with anything. Same for 9/11. Stupid analogies.

But I've been thinking a lot about it, and I believe there are some worthwhile analogies to be made. In all cases, it is a sustained, shared calamity or prolonged period of near universal suffering that has "defined" a generation - NOT a single event. For example, The Great Depression defined all that lived through it, not the Great Crash of 1929. The Civil War defined Americans of the late 1800s and in fact re-defined our country. The entirely of WWII defined the 'Greatest Generation'. They are not called the greatest generation because of December 7, 1941. That would be totally silly.

My generation was labelled "Gen X". We were defined by the post-"rock you like a hurricane 1980s" recession, which happened in the early 1990s. The movie "Reality Bites" and the TV series "Friends" perfectly captured the cynicism of that era; Grunge rock, all of that. We went into the 1990s as smug Ferris Beuller full of self-esteem, and came out as "Ross" -- full of self-pity and depression. We thought we liked Captain Picard, but instead got Commander Benjamin Cisco, stuck in a rut. Unable to get out.

The "Millennials" share the 2008 recession. They were between school age, to late teens. And honestly, were co-opted to a LARGE DEGREE by those who were school age children when the 1990s recession hit. So now, realistically we are talking about people from say 25ish to 35ish. They are characterized by a lack of emotional maturity. We call them "precious snowflakes" due to the almost subconscious "I am damaged goods and wear my heart on my sleeve" tendency that they identify with. For example, Lewis Hamilton is one of the richest sportsmen to ever live, and he SIMPLY MUST pity himself, what with his "Still I Rise" bullsh!+. They wear flip flops to a job that requires steel toe boots.

That's how we get Billie Ellish. I can't tell if she's crying, but they tell me she is "singing". OK, I will take your word for it. But I stop short of saying that she is talented. What she DOES DO is tick the boxes of the "I am damaged goods, don't you understand my fear and suffering and self hate" generation.

So the next question is what will we see from the COVID-19 generation?

Enter your predictions here. My guess is that this will be the generation to identify MORE WITH EUROPE than they do the USA.

Why? Because they will see the individual freedoms, the individual initiative, work ethic, as negatives. These former virtues will be things to be suppressed for the good of the collective. Ask a few of the Millennials here if they disagree with that point of view (Sugarwood). The concept of due process will be compressed, expedited, implied and made tacit by your mere citizenship. Forget about your "individual" rights. We did away with those stupid ideas when we decided that the GOVERNMENT should protect us. And the GOVERNMENT will decide what is best for us. And we will live in a giant prophylactic bubble, safe from harm and free of risk. Oh, initiative? You don't need that anymore.