I'm Gen X, but I didn't vote for Reagan. I wasn't old enough for his first term. For his second, I was in college. I'm actually not sure I voted at all that year. But I know I have only voted for democrats for president. (I have voted for many republicans otherwise.) I don't think my childhood was shaped by Watergate as much as by Vietnam and 70s sitcoms. I watched Archie Bunker until I couldn't stomach him anymore. George Jefferson didn't bother me because the foils for him actually succeeded. But there were also classics like Happy Days and M.A.S.H., depicting the war. I moved quickly to crime dramas whose main characters had a past in Vietnam (Magnum, MacGyver, etc.). I was in a diverse community, so music went from rap and hip hop to the rock of my older brother (born on the border year, 1965) and the disco in media. Perhaps all that TV I watched carried a hippy ethic. I certainly have some of it, living on the island of Harry Chapin and Billy Joel. And I still believe we can save the world. But I also know many of those old hippies voted for Reagan. They crossed 30 and had families and became more "me" focused.
Yes, lots of baby boomers (who may or may not have actually been hippies) did eventually turn quite conservative. But most of them also left behind their hippie ethics when they changed their political perspectives. It would have been hard to be for peace and freedom and vote for Reagan! :-) Interesting that you don't remember if you voted in 84. I was so eager to make my first vote in a national election, and got experience quickly about what a drubbing your side can take, even when you are so sure that no one would actually vote for that other guy...
In 84, I was too young to vote. I don't remember if I voted in '88. I do remember discussing the election, but I don't think campus was closed and someone would have had to drive me home after classes and then back. It wasn't far, I just don't know if I did it. My guess is no. Sophomore year was a tough transition for me. I never really felt trounced until Trump's first election, but even then I had hope the system would work.
I'm Gen X, but I didn't vote for Reagan. I wasn't old enough for his first term. For his second, I was in college. I'm actually not sure I voted at all that year. But I know I have only voted for democrats for president. (I have voted for many republicans otherwise.) I don't think my childhood was shaped by Watergate as much as by Vietnam and 70s sitcoms. I watched Archie Bunker until I couldn't stomach him anymore. George Jefferson didn't bother me because the foils for him actually succeeded. But there were also classics like Happy Days and M.A.S.H., depicting the war. I moved quickly to crime dramas whose main characters had a past in Vietnam (Magnum, MacGyver, etc.). I was in a diverse community, so music went from rap and hip hop to the rock of my older brother (born on the border year, 1965) and the disco in media. Perhaps all that TV I watched carried a hippy ethic. I certainly have some of it, living on the island of Harry Chapin and Billy Joel. And I still believe we can save the world. But I also know many of those old hippies voted for Reagan. They crossed 30 and had families and became more "me" focused.
Yes, lots of baby boomers (who may or may not have actually been hippies) did eventually turn quite conservative. But most of them also left behind their hippie ethics when they changed their political perspectives. It would have been hard to be for peace and freedom and vote for Reagan! :-) Interesting that you don't remember if you voted in 84. I was so eager to make my first vote in a national election, and got experience quickly about what a drubbing your side can take, even when you are so sure that no one would actually vote for that other guy...
In 84, I was too young to vote. I don't remember if I voted in '88. I do remember discussing the election, but I don't think campus was closed and someone would have had to drive me home after classes and then back. It wasn't far, I just don't know if I did it. My guess is no. Sophomore year was a tough transition for me. I never really felt trounced until Trump's first election, but even then I had hope the system would work.