By Julie Grenness
Dear young ‘uns, this is an open letter to all of you young people born in the 21st Century. I am writing to you all on behalf of the Baby Boomers. We were once upon a time, believe it or not, growing up at the same age you are now. We once had giant dreams. We thought we could change the world, the systems, and have it all at the same time.
We are giving the millennials a living legacy. Whoops! The economy is basically divided into the haves and the have nots, based on unemployment.
The world runs on a munitions industry, fuelled by oil. As Baby Boomers, we have chopped down billions of trees, and created suburban sprawls. So, we made climate change. An over- abundance of carbon dioxide, as global warming. We also mass-produced the plastic industry. Yes, we made plastic wrap, plastic containers, plastic in computers, phones and cars. Yes, millennials, we made fluoro-hydrocarbons as byproducts. These are leaching into our bodies, our waterways, and land fill, then into the underlying water table. That is a terrific living legacy.
Long ago, some of the Baby Boomers started dabbling in drugs in society. These days, drugs are prevalent. People will take drugs whether we want them to, or not. But we never read in the media about ‘good’ kids, who don’t muck up and do drugs. Along the way, some Baby Boomers also practised free love.
Now there are sexually transmitted diseases in society as well.
Whoops, Baby Boomers, part of our living legacy. What is next? We created a world of exorbitant housing costs, and a rising cost of living. Great, governments, great. We all vote for politicians. We ended up with, well, shall we say, politicians. Leaders with no statesmanship or visions for the future of the millennial generations. Great, Baby Boomers, great!
Shame, governments, shame! Hope you millennials forgive us for stuffing up democracy for you.
But wait, there is more! On our way, booming into old age, we have probably wrecked the once mighty health system of Australia. Now nurses are being retrenched, as funds are reduced for hospital beds. Graduate nurses are unable to find employment in their profession. Private hospitals are being closed. Graduate doctors cannot obtain placement as registrars, so shall never practice medicine. Medical researchers leave Oz, to seek work overseas. Great!
Any hospital in the western world is full of resistant germs, such as Golden Staph, and VRE.
“Long ago, some of the Baby Boomers started dabbling in drugs in society. These days, drugs are prevalent.”
Moreover, the ambulance system has been known to tell patients phoning 000 to summon a taxi for a medical emergency, then to fill in a taxi voucher. That was one day in NSW in 2018.
Two young mates were in a home workshop, one sliced his arm. The ambulance dispatch told his friend to take him to emergency in his own car. I read of a woman whose aged mother had a stroke.
We’ll be the ones making merry hell in the nursing homes.
On summoning 000, the ambulance never appeared, so she had to place her mother in her car, and also drive her to emergency herself. There her mother waited eleven hours on a gurney, before passing away. Yes, millennials, good luck if you need emergency medical treatment. Good luck if you need elective surgery, the waiting lists are expanding daily. We Baby Boomers hope you can forgive us.
Dear millennials, the Baby Boomers did start off young like you, once upon a time.
The Baby Boomers aimed to change the world. Whoops, our living legacy.
We are now growing into new old age. We shall never grow old as our parents grew old. We’ll be the ones making merry hell in the nursing homes.
The millennials shall have to look after us. They shall kick their own goals, and make their own mistakes.
The Baby Boomers did not mean to stuff things up like this along our journey. Our living legacy, whoops! Good luck, millennials, good luck.
Signed,
The Baby Boomers.
