Having been born in 1964, I have never felt part of any particular "generation." Technically I am lumped in with the Baby Boomers, but I feel as much attachment to that generation as I do to Gen Z. Boomers, in my mind, were the generation that either fought or protested the Vietnam War, which ended when I was 11 years old. 

Gen X, on the other hand, technically began in 1965, but culturally, it is the generation that grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. They are in the Morning in America generation and the Clinton years. The Soviet Union fell, but trust in government was already on the wane. "The era of big government is over."

What always struck me about Generation X was that they grew up in an environment that promoted self-reliance. They were the "latchkey" kids who grew up before helicopter parents, participation trophies, and for whom political idealism seemed idiosyncratic. The Boomers were proud of their self-professed idealism; Gen X rolled their eyes, rightly so. 

Loving that Gen X is the only generation with a majority who voted for Trump.

To my Gen X brothers and sisters: pic.twitter.com/KQKJdOa9Cw

— Matthew Kolken (@mkolken) November 11, 2024

It is striking that America has never had a president from Generation X. Trump is a Boomer and Vance is a Millennial, so that record won't likely be broken any time soon. Even Kamala is from my sort-of silent generation in between the Boomers and X. 

This is fascinating. Any hot takes on why Gen X decided the election? https://t.co/ONhg2HR8ft pic.twitter.com/eVw20W84Az

— David Zweig (@davidzweig) November 6, 2024

But a funny thing happened this election cycle: Generation X chose the winner. Generationally speaking, they voted for Trump at higher rates than anybody else. 

Two years ago, I wrote about Gen X's future impact on politics.

While ebbing in the 2022 Midterm, the Gen X Tsunami arrived in 2024.

According to @cygnal 2024 exit polling, Gen X swung hardest right...moving from R+1 to R+13 for @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/sAwBssPkIz

— Athan Koutsiouroumbas (@Athan_K) November 18, 2024

I was a latchkey kid, but I am in no way as psychologically impressive as I think of Generation X kids. I was as "free range" as you could imagine--no doubt my parents would, quite literally, be arrested today for leaving us kids alone for days once my older brother turned 13. 

I can't say why, but Generation X kids learned to be much more resilient than I ever did. Perhaps that is simply because of my personality, but I have admired Generation X character traits for decades. While many Boomers complained bitterly about how politically incurious kids from that generation were, I recognized that their cynicism about society made them much more grounded than generations that came before or after them. 

They weren't fragile like Generation Z tends to be and not as politically bombastic as Boomers were in their youth. They just put their heads down and worked hard to secure their own futures. 

For starters, they learned to adapt at an early age. Moms began joining the workforce in droves, and these “latchkey kids” would roam around the streets playing with friends all day. They knew when the street lights came on, you got home! pic.twitter.com/hIDQxIydlO

— 🇺🇸Jessica🇺🇸 (@Jessica_4_Trump) June 5, 2024

Lastly, the one thing that sets them apart from all others, was the ability to mind their own business. Gen X doesn’t care what you do in your own home, as long as you don’t mess with them.

They didn’t fit in with the traditional left or right. They were their own party. pic.twitter.com/GPkq9zDd5p

— 🇺🇸Jessica🇺🇸 (@Jessica_4_Trump) June 5, 2024

Justine Bateman, while barely a member of Gen X, seems to embody the vibe of the generation. She has become a symbol of the relief that Generation X people feel about the Trump Derangement fever breaking. Unlike many people who are elated that Trump won, she isn't out making grand political statements about MAGA or even revealing who she voted for. She doesn't care who you voted for. 

But she sure is tired of the moral posturing, walking on eggshells, and feeling of repression that have been our burden to bear in the anti-Trump years. 

Justine Bateman on America’s Big Awakening. pic.twitter.com/9cpWNVknmT

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) November 15, 2024

Bateman is eviscerating the performative sorrow and rage videos put out by the woke. As a former actress and now director, she provides critiques of the performances--not even bothering to take the content seriously because it is puerile virtue signaling. The technique drips with appropriate contempt and emphasizes how performative all these videos are. 

George Clooney wouldn't do it.
Tom Hanks stood down.
Meryl Streep looked the other way.

It took a former sitcom star, whose career doesn't burn as brightly as these celebrities, to defend free speech.

God bless Justine Batemanhttps://t.co/K4AxRvTuz1

— Christian Toto (@HollywoodInToto) November 18, 2024

That's Gen X in a nutshell: cynical and focused on being left alone to live our lives. 

Get out of my face. I don't want to hear it. 

I’ve never in my life known that to be an American environment. It’s an environment I have encountered in smaller groupings (a church, a private club,a clique), but never before as a national blanket. It has been suffocating. Common sense was discarded, intellectual discussion 3/

— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 8, 2024

… was displayed in the “town square” of social media for all to see. This was the #MeMeMeMeToo moment, where every effort was made to divert attention to oneself, instead of recognizing how one contributes to the whole.This was the era of trying to exercise control over those 5/

— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 8, 2024

When you starve a society of those called to be independent thinkers and cultural and intellectual innovators, you rob that society of any forward movement. Those that tried to impose that control maintained a kind of “hall monitor” position by threatening others with damning 7/

— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 8, 2024

“Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” 9/https://t.co/DGAyyX2bwa

— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 8, 2024

I am sure there are plenty of Generation X MAGA folks and, similarly some who suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, but I think many people in Generation X ignored the ideological battle and moral posturing and voted for Trump for basic, pragmatic reasons. Make things work again. 

Plenty of them likely voted for Trump, not liking the guy but also not caring. They aren't marrying him. They are raising kids, saving for retirement, and don't want inflation to erode their life savings or make their kids' lives suck. 

I wish I were more like Gen Xers, to be honest. I would be happier and wealthier. Despite my cynicism about the system, I get wrapped up in politics and am way too idealistic. 

Ironically, it is the cynical, "leave me alone" generation who, more than anybody, saved America. Not because they are idealistic but because they aren't. 

They were just tired of the bulls**t.