A Good War Will Set Gen X Straight : History: If the twentysomething generation lacks an identity, it’s the fault of their elders.

It has been said that Generation X, or is it the MTV Generation? or is that the Slacker Generation or maybe the Baby Busters, or whatever it’s called, it’s been said that this generation of which I, being 27, am part is aimless, apathetic, unmotivated. These twentysomething Americans, it’s been said, are spoiled, don’t know how good they have it, are nothing but crybabies, whiners with degrees. Naturally, all this is said by our elders who, no matter the era, always feel it their duty to disparage the younger generation.

But while this younger generation may be apathetic, spoiled, lacking purpose, etc. (just look how many different names it’s called and then tell me it doesn’t have an identity problem), let me add one more whine and say: It’s not our fault.

Throughout this century, the older generation has consistently supplied the younger generation with a cause that conferred an identity: the Lost Generation of World War I, in which the older generation thoughtfully supplied its offspring with a catastrophic war to scar their remaining years; the Depression/World War II Generation, in which the older generation supplied the younger with two catastrophes for the price of one; the Baby Boomer Generation, in which the older generation supplied the young with an unpopular jungle war, causing them to take drugs and protest and drop out.

Which brings us to the present younger generation. The preceding generations’ identities were forged mostly in response to war. And therein lies our problem. Our elders have failed to provide us with a suitable war to forge an identity around.

Oh, sure, our noble leaders have done their best to get us one. Ever since the mid-80s they have tried and tried again with no luck: Panama, Grenada, El Salvador, Somalia, Haiti, the Persian Gulf. Unfortunately, all these efforts failed, either through bungled leadership (Haiti, Somalia) or, worst of all, excessive success--wars that have lasted only a matter of hours or days. How are we supposed to forge an identity around Operation Desert Storm?

That one, by the way, was the great hope. Over the course of a couple of months, while President Bush (God bless him) assembled our military might in the heart of Arabia, I could feel a generation bursting forth: Nirvana played incessantly on the radio, “Slacker” was fast approaching status as an official cult movie and the Clash’s “Rock the Casbah” was the first song to be blasted on the armed forces radio in the liberation of Kuwait. I remember being in Santa Cruz in January of ’91 as students and others took to the park for a protest against the encroaching war--a real antiwar protest!--and then, right there on CNN, there it was, a generation forming on the tip of a missile as it pierced the roof of an Iraqi building and blew to pieces everything and everyone inside. What a glorious moment that was.

And then it was over. American troops defeated Iraq in what--six days? Give me a break. World War I lasted about a year and a half after America entered the fray. World War II took almost four. And Vietnam ran somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 years. Six days? What is that?

And so my generation continues to drift here and then there, whining every so often and turning on MTV (but not really watching) and falling asleep and waking up, not knowing really what to do with ourselves, waiting for our fearless leaders to give us a cause, something to care about. The Soviet Union is no more, the Eastern Bloc is being swallowed by NATO and Central America is safely capitalist again. Nelson Mandela is president of his country and Manuel Noriega isn’t. Sure, there are issues, there always are issues, but that’s not good enough. We need a war.

Where exactly is Bosnia?