Poll reveals new generational gap in America today

Americans may be experiencing another huge generational change.

That is what is indicated by the results of a new poll released by the Pew Research Center this week which finds there are sharp differences in viewpoint between younger Americans, those age 18 to 29, and older Americans, especially those over age 65.

Perhaps some would think this is normal, and to some extent it is, but the level of disagreement found in the Pew poll has not been this high since 1969. According to an Associated Press report, some 8 out of 10 people in the poll said there are major generational differences today, even higher than the 74 percent recorded 40 years ago.

That date should raise an alert. That was the era of the flower child and the Vietnam War, of the civil rights movement and political activism and of "free love" and the drug culture.

People who lived through that era know it was the dividing line between the establishment era of the 1950s and the counterculture, anti-establishment movement of the 1960s. Many young people rejected the values of their parents, and a great divide - symbolized by the Vietnam War protests - developed which in some cases was never repaired.

Is the same thing happening today? Perhaps, although the poll researchers did not find the level of animosity and youthful activism that was present 40 years ago. "Today, it's more of a general outlook, a different point of view, a general set of moral values," noted one researcher.

Older people would probably describe that as a lack of true commitment, again underlining the differences between the two generations.

The two youthful generations separated by 40 years tend to have some things in common. Both were more tolerant than the older generation, especially in terms of social values and morality.

For the current young generation this is reflected in widespread support for President Barack Obama, someone who has come to symbolize the idea of change and tolerance in American society, who was supported by a 2-to-1 margin by 18- to 29-year-olds.

It is significant that Obama has been compared to John F. Kennedy, the change figure admired 40 years ago, who also represented a new era in American politics. But that generation became pessimistic about politics in general after the assassinations of JFK, his brother Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

One notable difference cited by Pew poll respondents between younger and older generations involves the work ethic. The commitment to work seems to be less important to younger people, something older people dislike. They also feel young people have too much of a "sense of entitlement" rather than an understanding that they must earn what they get.

Religion is another area of disparity. It is important to about two-thirds of older Americans, but to less than half of younger people.

Technology is another great divide, one we see each day. Young people are constantly using cell phones and the Internet while older people are more resistant or put off by technology. Less than 1 out of 10 Americans over 65 frequently use their cell phones. The great majority of young people embrace cells phone, especially texting, with nearly 90 percent saying they do it regularly.

The great irony to me with the Pew results is that it is likely that some members of the older generation interviewed for the poll are actually that younger generation from four decades ago, that counterculture generation that split with their parents because their views were so wildly different.

The baby boomers who made up that earlier generation are now going into their 60s and preparing to retire. They are now experiencing what their parents felt, an alienation from their children's attitudes and values.

Could it be that what we are seeing here is just the continuum of life as generations move from youthfulness to old age?

Back in the 1960s, young people used to say you couldn't trust anyone over 30, meaning their views and values would be different. The Pew poll seems to show they were right. Did that generation 40 years ago know they had met the enemy and it was going to be them?