Agreed. I would note too that the closest thing to a broad-spanning "formative" experience for US baby boomers was the Vietnam War -- but unlike WWII, elites es

Agreed. I would note too that the closest thing to a broad-spanning "formative" experience for US baby boomers was the Vietnam War -- but unlike WWII, elites essentially sat that one out, afflicted as they were with "bone spurs" and the like, and not that many people actively participated in it. (And, it was a more politically and morally problematic conflict than WWII to boot.) Anecdotally, I find that the baby boomers I personally know who did serve in Vietnam tend to be more politically conscientious/open-minded and less tribalistic than those who didn't.