Why? Because the two main political parties being what they are, the best shot for achieving a Gen X America lies in compromise, finding common ground between a vibrant Gen X right and Gen X left. Real compromise used to happen in Washington — say, when Reagan worked with the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass major immigration and tax reform. It has been rarer since the boomers took over Washington in 1995, but it could happen again, if we can move past the their decades-old ideological blood feuds.

Generation X won’t have a congressional majority until at least 2019, “and it could happen as late as 2024 if Gen Xers shy away from running or if incumbents in their late 70s and 80s continue to postpone retirement,” Rosen says. A report on Gen X by the ad agency Sparks & Honey last year found that when Gen X does take power, however briefly, it is “predicted to add more inclusion and transparency to the political system, as well as a willingness and ability to compromise.”