Ummmm....."classical music" is a genre. There are modern classical music composers.
Also, there is more to classical music than just Beethoven's 5th, Night On Bald Mountain, and Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring. If you were to explore the entire catalog, even from just the 1700s, it would take you more than a lifetime. There is plenty of music out there, and while you might feel as though Haydn is the same as Vivaldi is the same as Brahms, then you can explore the sects of classical music, like chamber music, solos, concertos, percussion ensembles (a personal favorite), etc...
Yes, I see Beethoven as equal to, say, Prince or whomever--they're composers in their own right, and have widely-popular music. They're both on my iPod. I like them both. The "infantilism" I was speaking of was of the modern generation, and the apparent "stubborness" to not want to listen to various genres of music outside of modern pop. It would do everybody some good to listen to and appreciate a LOT of different music styles. I know some "classical guys" who listen to Katy Perry. In contrast, you don't often find the Carmina Burana or the Cello Suites on the average middle schooler's iPod...