The ‘X’ factor: Younger generations search for purpose after Sept. 11 attacks

Stacy J. Willis

Friday, Jan. 11, 2002 | 4:25 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

The post-attack message was clear: Keep spending. Don't let terrorists keep you from that most American way of living: consumerism.

That battle cry has culture-watchers speculating: Is this how younger generations will define themselves? Is their mark on history -- their World War II, their Vietnam -- to fight terrorism by shopping?

The "Greatest Generation" defined itself by building the United States into a superpower after the Depression and World War II. Baby Boomers made a name for themselves with anti-establishment protests -- the civil rights movement, Vietnam, Watergate.

But four months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, their offspring -- Generation X and the younger Millennium Generation -- are searching for their purpose in a war without borders, without clearly defined politics, even without clearly defined enemies.

"Everyone said, 'This will be the defining moment for these generations,' " Matt Wray, a 37--year-old Gen Xer and University of Nevada, Las Vegas sociology professor, said. "And it is true that we will all remember where we were when it happened. But as to whether it is going to signal a large political and cultural shift, I'm skeptical.

"Young people are saying, with incredulity, 'This is what you want me to do? Just shop? Just consume?' " Wray said. "Is that what defines us? Shopping?"

What defines Generation X? is a question that has been hounding Americans for years -- indeed it prompted the "X" for the unknown factor. Pundits have called its members slackers, said they lack character, noted they have never fought a war, but seem to enjoy basking in previously unseen national wealth.

As 71-year-old Korean War veteran Cameron Johnson sees it, the younger generations don't understand what it means to sacrifice for America.

'Great disappointment'

"Since Sept. 11, there is a great disappointment among many of us who have been in the military before and fought to protect our freedom," Johnson, a Las Vegan, said.

"World War I and II, and Korea, and even Vietnam were wars to make life much better, and the younger generations don't understand that. They don't understand that freedom is a precious gift that needs to be protected."

Johnson said he thinks that's because "the whole culture today has changed and is influenced more by affluence. We've taken patriotism for granted and put it on the sidelines."

But the world's playing field has changed, Gen Xers and Millennials say.

"It's different now. For the older generations, there is a nostalgia -- a pull back to want to be what they were 50 years ago, which was not as diverse a nation. They could say, 'We are a Christian nation,' " Joe Boyd, 28, a nondemoninational church leader, said.

"But the fact is that we are pluralist now. For the older generations, it was easier for them to go back and be what they know. For us, what we know is vague."

Members of Generation X, generally identified as those born between 1961 and 1981, and of the younger Millennium Generation, are a demographically multifaceted group. They are less unified, sociologists say, than previous generations in part because of their wider exposure to information and Internet subcultures.

Consider that, according to the National Association of Secretaries of State:

Wray says their identities are rooted in a consumer culture that categorizes them by their product purchases.

"Consumer culture is fragmented -- every different demographic group is targeted differently, and we learn to create and maintain our identity by what we buy. As the consumer choices have expanded, so have identities. That can be very confusing and can lead to a void in real identity, both as a generation and individually," Wray said.

"So it is really hard to know where these generations will go. And it's hard to know what will happen to them when they age."

Angie Oliveros, 23, a UNLV senior and a member of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, said the tragedy renewed her dedication to the nation, but she hasn't seen that sentiment expressed by others in her age group.

"To be honest, I haven't seen much of a response since it happened," Oliveros said. "I don't think this is defining us. I don't know what would define us. There's nothing for us to have a firm grasp on."

"It's all about money and 'What I can get,' which is sad. I don't think it's about spending but about status. That's how I view my generation, but that might be oversimplified," Oliveros said. "But we have a greater wealth of opportunities, and there isn't one thing that defines us. "

Turning to religion

In its search for meaning, the younger generations have turned to religion -- but not the institutional denominations of their parents. Many of the fastest-growing faiths among those in their 20s and 30s are non-Christian: Islam, Eastern religions and pagan spiritual practices.

"But some of that may be in the form of a type of religious fundamentalism, whether that's Islam or Christianity or something else," Wray said.

"What you're going to have is white, middle class kids turning to fundamentalism in protest, searching for something other than consumerism. Look at John Walker," the young American who joined Taliban troops in Afghanistan.

Boyd leads Apex Church, a nondenomational Christian church aimed at Generation X and the Millennium Generation, and said he teaches that people should be Christians first, and Americans second.

"The marriage of patriotism and religion in America after Sept. 11 was troubling to me. I shy away from being too cozy with state," Boyd said.

"America will ultimately fail because it is built on man, not God. In the aftermath we tried to teach about the kingdom of God, not America," Boyd said. "If we wave something it will be Jesus' name, not a flag."

Similarly, Usman Malik, 23, president of UNLV's Muslim Student Association, said he noticed a trend among young Muslims to study the faith, not the cultures or nations associated with it.

"The frame of mind is to learn Islam to the fullest and not focus on cultural values. The idea is to shed the cultural influences, and study the religion," Malik said.

"All of the sudden our eyes are open to the whole global approach to world issues -- including business and finance," Malik said. "In World War II and Vietnam, people became exclusionary and not worried about the rest of the world. Our generation is more inclined to see the whole world, probably because we are more exposed to other cultures through media and the Internet."

And, if older generations of Americans don't always approve of the younger, the youngers aren't sure the legacy they inherited is flawless.

"You have the 'Greatest Generation' believing their own hype. But I think there is a lot of skepticism about that," Wray said. "There are a lot of issues that the younger generations inherited from the 'Greatest Generation' that they didn't want to inherit: ecological problems and political problems. The younger generations are saying, 'These are not my battles.' "

Rob Hall, 22, a youth leader at South Hills Church Community in Las Vegas, said "The kids I work with are saying stuff like they've seen what their parents have done -- like Vietnam. We go in there and think we're the big boss and then essentially lose a war.

"We don't want to do that. We see that our choices affect the entire world. Because of the media, teenagers see themselves as a part of the whole world, not just one nation. We want to be good global citizens," Hall said.

Global-minded Internet generations are accustomed to an open exchange of ideas, and many have noted that the Bush administration pushed for a unified response.

"The first thing President Bush said was, 'Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.' That doesn't leave a lot of room for free speech," Wray said.

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of room for thinking people to ask, 'Why do these people hate us so much?' Answering that question is where change could occur. But we're being discouraged from answering that question," Wray said.

"Are we really going to have room to develop our own democratic response? Or are we going to say, 'OK, I'll just spend my way out of this?' "

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