We’re talking, of course, about those of us enjoying “the best years of our lives.” The 50-plus gang. Folks who have redefined the concept of aging. We are the generation who produced not only Madonna (just barely — she’s a mere 50) but Mick Jagger (65) and Paul McCartney (66), too. We also produced Willie Nelson (75) and Tony Bennett (82). And best of all, we still enjoy listening to their music as much as they enjoy making it.

Quite a legacy. But more important, quite a testament to our ability to age … shall we say, gracefully? Nah. Sounds too much like we are going gently into that good night. There is very little of that attitude in the energetic way we live our lives. We’re having far too much fun to tiptoe through the day.

Which is not to say, of course, that we are free of the challenges of aging. At a time when many of our 401(k)s have devolved into 201(k)s, no one is kidding anyone about the difficulties inherent in living well when the economy fails to cooperate with our interests and desires.

And, yes, the effects of decades of bad health habits are not easily reversed in a newfound regimen of diet and exercise when muscles and bones have a long-established mindset of their own. The spirit may be willing, but the body (if not the flesh) is weak.

But there is no doubt that we don’t think or act or, for the most part, feel the way our parents’ generation did. Many of us, in fact, have reached an age our parents never even achieved. It is a startling realization that American culture has only recently begun to face.

In Barack Obama (47), we now have a president who — though he squeaks inside the limits of boomerdom — represents the country’s next cultural generation. But he has surrounded himself with our contemporaries — Joe Biden (66), Robert Gates (65), Hillary Clinton (61). And John McCain (72) — not to mention Robert Byrd (91) — are likely to remain fixtures on the American political scene for some time to come.

We may have reached an age where our doctors and lawyers and even the president are our juniors, but we remain well within the mainstream. People 50 and older account for fully half of all consumer spending. And our clout is increasing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the over-50 age group will be the only age demographic to grow between now and 2015.

Lest younger people think the impact of our clout will be to temper progress, let it be known that we enthusiastically embrace the technological and lifestyle advances that have so dramatically changed American life. Two-thirds of adults between 50 and 64 use the Internet. And research shows that older users access the Internet more often, stay online for longer periods and visit more Web sites than younger users.

As much as we like to wax nostalgic about the days when long-distance calls constituted major family events, we empathize with President Obama as he is forced to give up his cell phone. Most of us would be lost without ours as well.

So here is our message to the rest of the country: Listen up. We are here to stay. And not just for a little while. We love life and we insist on living it fully and completely, enjoying it and contributing everything we possibly can.

And why not? After all, it’s our turn now.