Hazel McCallion, the current mayor of Mississauga, west of Toronto, has decided to run for mayor for another term. She has been mayor for over 36 years and Mississauga has never been in debt for the entire period. Pretty impressive when you think of it--both Ms McCallion's longevity as a politician and her track record. She is 89. Is she too old? Or does her record stand for itself and, thus, she can be elected again based on it? Or does her longevity, in a way, keep younger and, possibly, different or better politicians out of the running? Or, further, she is of an age when she could just die and should that reality preclude her? Mind, anyone, age indiscriminate, could just die, too; car accidents happen.
It is hard to know what to think.
I look at the matriarch who almost ran out the door today in anticipation of lunch with my husband. So much of her behaviour is excused by age and I look at Ms McCallion and wonder if anyone excuses her behaviour because of her age. Of course not. Everyone agrees she is, obviously, behaving in the best interests of Mississauga and, most likely, she is not called a "selfish, old lady" behind her back. But is she being selfish by running for election again? Sometimes I think the matriarch behaves the way she does because she always has; she has always gotten up in the morning and so she always will until she doesn't. Ms McCallion has always been mayor and, probably, always will be until she isn't. It is a strange kind of parallel and my perspective is biased by my age; I live in the shadow of 2 baby booms, the generation after the war who won't give up their youth and the generation of the Eighties who won't assume their adulthood. My generation just seems to be stuck in the middle. I mean, on the face of it, when an 89 year old woman is the best choice in an election, it doesn't say much for any of the alternatives. However, being honest, I don't think anyone is running against Ms McCallion.
The matriarch will eat peanut butter and jam for dinner today; she will have a filling lunch with my husband, she will drink her hot chocolate with whipped cream and have a pleasant time. She will not spit out any of her fish and chips and she will be quite content. I wonder if Ms McCallion has similar uncomfortable habits?
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The Matriarch and Hazel McCallion are members of The Greatest Generation, women born before the Great Depression and who came of age during WW2; they are the mothers of the Baby Boomers; one of the unique features of Boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before; your mother's generation, because the birth rate was so low in 1944 and 1945, is excluded from all demographics; Generation X, women born between 1961- 1981, studies revealed were a generation who "sleep together before they were married, didn't much believe in God; disliked the Queen, and didn't respect parents.; the latest generation is Generation Y, 1990 - ? or the Millenium Generation, or Net Generation. Characteristics of this generation vary by region, depending on social and economic conditions. However, it is generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies. In most parts of the world its upbringing was marked by an increase in a neoliberal approach to politics and economics.This generation is also sometimes referred to as the Boomerang Generation or Peter Pan Generation, because of the members' perceived penchant for delaying some rites of passage into adulthood, longer periods than most generations before them. These labels were also a reference to a trend toward members living with their parents for longer than previous generations.[
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