Wow, we must be pretty intriguing. The New York Times Magazine is the latest entry into a healthy industry of old people trying to come up with narratives about what makes young people tick. They seem to think they're special, as if every generation in the history of human society hadn't been baffled by their progeny.
The latest folly? Ann Hulbert today has some Pew survey data that charts young people (18 to 25) as more in favor of gay marriage than elders, but slightly less supportive of abortion than 50- to 64-year-olds.
Oops No. 1: She says "roughly a third" of we younguns "endorse making abortion generally available." That's versus, wait for it, 35 percent of older people. Wow, that's stark.
Oops No. 2: She uses this faulty data point (margin of error, anyone?) to conclude that "A hardheadedness, but also a high-mindedness and softheartedness, seems to be at work." You'd have to read the article, but trust me, there's no support for this odd statement
Oops No. 3: She hopes that maybe this means the 18-25 crowd will be more generous and help people in our lives. Well I hope we help the world too, but who said previous generations have never acted gallantly? Or is she too bitter to be a Boomer and not a member of the Greatest Generation to respect her elders.
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