Many members of Gen X and Gen Y, as we call them, seem to be trying to sort out a version of the insecurity paradox. On the one hand, they feel luckier than previous generations, because they enjoy a bigger cultural menu from which to chose a lifestyle, an identity, an authentic self. In the 1950s most women could hold their heads high only as married homemakers and mothers of two. In the 1990s a woman could be a doctor, a professor, a pilot, a single mom, a lesbian, a surrogate mom. If in previous decades large historic events drew people together and oriented them toward collective action, the recent double trend toward greater choice but less security leads the young to see their lives in more-individual terms.
Big events collectivize.
Little events atomize. Putnam pointed out the link between social engagement and national emergencies. Civic engagement increases before, during, and after wars. The challenge of the post-Clinton years, then, may be twofold. The Cold War is over.