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We’ll Gain More Through Shared Interests Than Turning on Each Other

January 18, 2014 by Paul Edwards Leave a Comment

I spend a lot of time reading, both because I like to do it  – not surprising from someone who had a dream as a young boy to write a book – and because I need to do it in order to give my consulting clients and what I write and talk about to be current.

In growing up, we learned to respect and care for our elders. In contrast, I experience anger from  many younger people, sometimes directed against the boomer generation. You see this in comment sections of blogs and articles as well as sometimes experiencing verbally. Other times younger people, facing difficult life situations themselves, express their anger, living off their parents. This anger is not an accident. First, we’re experiencing a change of generations as boomers retire and Millenials are coming of age. Both groups are Generation Gapexperiencing significant problems.

This change of generations has historically produced tensions. Think of how the boomer generations dissented from the prevailing cultural norms of their parents – hippies, the demonstrations at the 1968 Demonstration Convention in Chicago.  Generations have different personalities – some generations are more activist like boomers and today’s Millenials. But both have common interests, though it’s sometimes hard to think of this when this generational change is complicated by additional forces, such as:

  •  The rapid change in technology and trade that is affecting every sector of the economy and life: interconnectedness from smart phones to all kinds of devices, changes in health care, robots replacing workers, food supply and energy. Changes in retailing are apt to result in the closing of stores that have been household names for generations.
  • Big-money backed foundations have been stoking anger at social security for years, setting for the idea that it won’t be around for the Millenials.  Millenials blame the boomers for too many wars, overusing the nation’s resources and having a Congress that 9 in 10 people do not respect. A dangerous situation for a nation based on consent of the governed.
  • Expressions of anger can be felt and seen in flash mobs, the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements. the actions of individuals like Edward Snowden,

Generational anger has happened before. The noted authors of Generations and other titles, William Strauss andNeil Howe, after analyzing 500 years of American history and the histories of a number of other nations, find patterns repeating themselves. This is expressed in ideas, attitudes, dress, music, wars, and in every facet of our lives.

The fact of the matter is that the deep interests of Millenials and Boomers are not different – if we eliminate the blaming game. It’s not in anyone’s interest to allow the problems we face together are simply a matter of the young versus the old. After all the overwhelming majority boomers have had no or little role in the problems this nation now faces. While Millenials are burdened by student debt, older people are being pushed out of jobs and careers as businesses change the technology of work. According to the National Academy of Social Insurance , only  one in five seniors have incomes more than $58,000 a year.  The other 80% rely on Social Security as their primary income source.

The upshot is we’re all in this together. As Richard Eskow wrote in a recent article, “The generational war is a hoax.” Bridges need building that will foster cooperation, not competition among generations.  People of all ages have common cause in finding solutions that will enable a new era in this nation’s journey.

Comments and questions on the substance of this blogs are welcome. If you have other questions about this website, please contact me directly for a consulting appointment.

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Filed Under: Changing The Economic Direction, The Future, Whatcha Gonna Do to Stay Afloat Personally Tagged With: anger, Boomers, flash mobs, generational war, Millenials, Occupy Wall Street movement, Tea Party

Mad Max Revisited

August 14, 2011 by Paul Edwards 2 Comments

Two years ago we wrote about our take on a future that would resemble the world of Mad Max. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie on which this scenario is based, it’s a fantasized snapshot of a future characterized by violence, fear, and brutality. In such a world, the three priorities in life will be food, guns, and ammo.

At the time, this was not our view of how we need to think about or plan for the future. Our reasons were:

We said: You can’t build a wall high enough or have a gun big enough to withstand the kind of weaponry too readily available today. If we want a secure future, our best bet is being part of a sustainable community of people who work together to support each another in providing for our basic needs and well-being, including physical security.

Update: We still hold this view and have working in Let’s Live Local to achieve it.

We said: In a Mad Max world, to defend against nations and terrorists who bear grievances or perceive gains by vanquishing America … it is doubtful the population could produce enough wealth and resources to support such a military.

Update: The current concern about the size of the U.S. debt. A recent article in the Economist portrays debt in many nations of the world.

We said: Do we want to risk the emergence of a Mad Max world?

Update: Events indicate it is happening:

Flash Mob Robberies
Stealing copper piping
Foraging for food in public parks
Dumpster Diving
Rioting in London

Finally we asked “shall we begin now to build resilient local communities based on renewable energies that will enable us to adapt to a declining amount of cheap fossil fuel? For myself, the latter is my choice. In part, because surviving in the social order or disorder of a Mad Max world would not allow me to be the kind of person I am willing to be.

Update: We still hold this view.

Comments on the substance of the blogs are welcome. If you have other questions, please contact me directly for a consulting appointment.

Filed Under: The Future Tagged With: brutality, dumpster diving, fear, Flash Mob Robberies, flash mobs, foraging for food, Let;s Live Local, Mad Max, Mad Max future, resilient community, rioting, sustainable community, U.S. debt, violence

About Me

Paul with his wife, Sarah Edwards, are award-winning authors of 17 books with over 2,000,000 books in print.

Paul provides local marketing consulting through the Small Business Development Center. He is co-founder of a new website: DigitalDocumentPros.com.

Prior to becoming an author, I practiced law, served as CEO of a non-profit, and operated a public affairs consulting practice. [Read more...]

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