MARSHALL’S LAW: Where’s our Tinkerbell?

The 20th century saw fit to identify the generations it fostered with short, catchy monikers. Thanks to Tom Brokaw, our grandparents are now known as members of the “Greatest Generation,” due to their sacrifices and heroics during World War II.  Their children (our parents) are the Baby Boomers because, well, there are just so many of them.  The young, urban professionals, a.k.a. “Yuppies” of the 1980s were the self-proclaimed “Me Generation” as a result of their penchant for Armani, cocaine and DeLoreans.  The Winona Ryder/Ethan Hawke film, “Reality Bites” helped to identify the twenty-something slackers of the ’90’s as “Generation X.”

And then there is us, the generation without a name. Alphabet-conscious individuals have suggested the logical but meaningless “Generation Y” as our sobriquet.  Pepsi wants to call us the “Pepsi Generation.”   While we enjoy carbonated beverages and view the letter “y” as practical when writing, we do not belong to either. 

We are, in fact, the “Peter Pan Generation.” We are seeking a Neverland, a way to prevent ourselves from growing up.  The Peter Pan Generation is an immature, frightened one.  We are confronted with a fragile job market as well as a fragile world.  We have come to believe that there will be no social security for us, and rather than striving to “do better” than our parents, we should merely match their economic and social status.  We have had no real test of will-September 11th affected us all, and while our generation cared and wished to help, we were not any more extraordinary than any other generation. 

So we linger, concentrating on parties and cars rather than the impending responsibilities and the inevitable march of time.  Many who attend graduate school do so not because of a strong drive to learn, but rather because they want to postpone life in the “real world” for as long as possible.  Playtime is fun, but eventually it is over and one is left with wasted opportunity and time. Life does not have to become dull simply because we accept the future.  The Peter Pan Generation must claim its identity and forge out of the nursery. Even Wendy and the Lost Boys eventually left Neverland.