today lives in a time where they have not experienced situations such as a great war or, as

in the late 1920's, a great depression. T.H. Watkins, a professor at Montana State

University, mentions how his students, and the people of the Boom Generation, may be

too optimistic. This statement is not entirely true. T.H. Watkins makes this assumption

for the entire generation solely by observing the students in his Western American studies

class. Although it is somewhat true that many students are optimistic about their lives

today and in the future, why is this a set back? One can agree that Professor Watkins has

a pessimistic view on the society of today and its future.

Of the students, Watkins states, "They save little, spend much, use their credit

"Above all, they cannot conceive that it could happen again-that to one degree or another,

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past calamities of American society, believing that history will repeat itself. Watkins

seems as if he fears that unfortunate times are inevitable in the near future. He is

statement, but who is to say that the fall from prosperity has to be so drastic? America has

it will happen again, and maybe to them." From this statement, one can draw the

generation learned with brutal clarity, innocence and hope are fragile shields against the

It has been concluded that the students mentioned in this article are in fact not too

may enter a period where it will have another crisis, but one could assume that it will

ages 18 to 20, the ages of which Watkins speaks of, students are con

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Approximate Word count = 578
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)