Gen X to Boomers: We Get It Now

Sorry, boomers, for taking so long to drop the cynicism and eye-rolling, writes Heather Havrilesky in Salon. But to those who "became rational adults at the exact moment a reckless frat boy boomer became president," your generation's idealism and tales of '60s radicalism fell flat, she spills. Barack Obama's win changed that. Gen X'ers get it now, understanding "there's no shame in throwing ourselves into this new future with full hearts, with tears in our eyes."

Until the election, the only politics known to Gen X were when "Al Gore had the election stolen out of his hands, and then the twin towers collapsed." Now, suddenly, Obama's ideal of change makes sense. "Sure, we'll still be our irreverent, self-deprecating, exasperating selves—but we also want to believe," notes Havrilesky. (More Generation X stories.)