Between the Greatest Generation and much on-going ado about their children, the Baby Boomers, those of us born between 1925 and 1942 don’t get much respect. We are known as the Silent Generation, a term coined for us by Time Magazine in 1951, and we have been called “withdrawn, cautious, unimaginative, indifferent, unadventurous” and of course, silent. According to a succinct Wikipedia’s entry, we are generally considered conformists, plagued by indecision, the “suffocated children of war and depression.” Personal note: Howard remembers the World’s Fair of 1939 and “Doctor, what brand do you smoke?” Marika remembers everyone in uniform, the jitterbug, and post-war rationing in England.

If you are a Silent (or even if you’re not), consider this:

Silents have been ignored by marketers (we’re good with that!), the popular culture (Elvis, ignored?), and employers (maybe, because we wore our gray flannel suits to work and did our jobs). We may also be the last generation to receive a pension from employers, and the majority of us are retired (not us!)

No Silent was ever elected to the presidency. To this we say, Martin Luther King, Jr., more influential than any president since Truman in changing the course of American history. We say: The Beatles, Bob Dylan, not-so-Silents whose music changed the course of politics in the 60s.

Celebrate Silents with Frank Kaiser. Read historian David Kaiser’s (no relation) blog History Unfolding on the impact of Silents in public life today. Check out Time Magazine’s 70s interviews of prominent Silents like Gloria Steinem. Tell us what you think.