Watching political generation gap

In 1970, President Richard Nixon invited Johnny Cash to the White House. Nixon asked the country music star to sing “Welfare Cadillac,” a parody about a shiftless man who took his government checks to buy a luxurious car, and “Okie from Muskogee,” an anti-hippie anthem of that time.

Instead, Cash sang a protest song he’d written, with a chorus that goes: “And the lonely voice of youth cries, ‘What is truth?’”

Vietnam was raging as “Nixon’s war” while the phrase “generation gap” had been coined to describe a deep national divide between older and younger Americans — with Nixon decidedly on the older side of that gap.

However uncomfortable Cash’s selections were (he also sang, “Man in Black” and “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” according to reports at the time), Nixon was reportedly gracious throughout, even giving John and June Carter Cash a personal tour of the White House’s living quarters.

Imagine what would happen if, say, Taylor Swift were invited to the White House, to meet and sing for President Donald Trump. … yeah, like that will ever happen.

Indeed, we have another generational gap these days, one in which Trump represents the worst of the baby boomer generation while the voices of idealistic young people are again calling out for “truth” regarding the hard realities of our world today.

Of course, I have no illusions that Swift is the new spokesperson for all millennials, any more than Cash spoke for all the younger voices of his time. But I do hear younger people finding their voice these days, speaking truth to power.

Greta Thunberg didn’t just appear out of nowhere. Her protests over climate change, and her searing criticism of the world’s older generations and our inaction in the face of the coming crisis resonates with a lot of young people all over the world.

Likewise, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, is no anomaly. Her surprising election in New York’s 14th congressional district, where she beat a 10-term incumbent, was one of the biggest upsets of the 2018 mid-term elections, and her outspoken ways have made her a sensation among young Americans who are fed up with being left behind economically while the older generations prosper.

It’s ironic that, for a 30-year-old woman of color who represents a newer, more urbanized voice of youth, she’s endorsed an old white man. At age 78, Sen. Bernie Sanders is the oldest presidential candidate out there, but he has Ocasio-Cortez’s enthusiastic endorsement.

Why? Aside from their political similarities — both are unapologetic democratic socialists — I think it’s Sanders’ integrity. Say what you want about his political leanings, Sanders has always been Sanders; his positions on the issues have been consistent throughout his many years in public service. That’s something young people appreciate; they haven’t yet been tainted by the hard compromises that come with a long life.

Joe Biden, by contrast, hasn’t been so consistent. Instead, he’s the older generation’s pragmatic choice, the man with the best chance to beat Trump. Sanders offers a bold alternative that younger voters seek, and therein lies his popularity.

“And the lonely voice of youth cries, ‘What is Truth?’”

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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