Generations #249
By Hank Silverberg
In his inaugural address in 1961, John F. Kennedy talked about a turnover in leadership. He used a metaphorical torch being passed to a new generation. Going out was the generation of Eisenhower and Roosevelt, and coming in was a new generation:
"...proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed..."
Today we are again on the threshold of a new generation of leadership. That Baby Boomer generation which took Kennedy's torch and ran with it for 60 years for better and for worse, has lost its momentum and perhaps its desire to continue in that role. We are now passing the torch again.
The change has already taken place in Congress with the announcement this week by 82-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 83-year-old Majority Leader Steny Hoyer that they will give up their party's leadership roles in the 118th Congress that convenes in January.
It is also likely that Joe Biden, who turned 80 this past week, is the last Baby Boomer to sit in the White House, whether he runs for re-election or not.
For the Boomers who have inexplicably become a joke to Gen Z, it is a time of disappointment. We are still here, and many of us are still active in our communities and in politics. But it is clear that our influence has faded along with our buying power, and it will now be up to a younger generation to lead the country.
There is a great deal of talent in Gen X, but it appears many of them have a chip on their shoulders because, like King Charles III, they have had to wait a long time to take over, maybe too long.
Gen X will also be pressed by the often undisciplined and impatient Millennials who have been spoiled a great deal by their Baby Boomer parents and expect solutions overnight to long-running problems with little effort.
I won't drop in those often-used quotes from Socrates or Plato complaining about the flaws of the younger generation. For thousands of years parents have chided their children for not knowing anything about life. The parents were usually wrong. The so-called "Greatest Generation," which held the torch in the mid-twentieth century, certainly got things wrong with the Baby Boomers. (The Boomer's accomplishments are more than you may think, but that is a subject for another blog.)
Today, when technology may have outstripped humankind's ability to control it, what we need is a hybrid. We need to take the best of the Boomer's legacy and experience and mix it with the competence of the Gen Xers and the exuberance of the technological skills of Millennials.
And the Millennials and Gen Z who will control things in the mid-21st century need to learn that old age brings experience and wisdom that can help focus their enthusiasm into a constructive future for all. Generational turnovers are nothing new. But we can change the way we deal with them. Perhaps we can start by replacing the flame in that torch with a solar powered LED light.
The Final Frontier!
John F. Kennedy and his short three years in office inspired many things. The Peace Corps comes to mind right away. But perhaps his greatest accomplishment came six years after his death, on July 20h,1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the Lunar surface. Kennedy, with the Cold War in mind, was the inspiration for space flight, though the famous speech was actually written by speech writer Ted Sorensen. https://www.rice.edu/jfk-speech
"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
We should note that the space program would not have happened without the often-forgotten commitment and political skill of Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson.
I was reminded of Kennedy's legacy this past Wednesday as I watched the Artemis 1 space mission lift off using the most powerful rocket ever launched from Earth.
https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-orion-close-flyby-moon
It is the latest step in NASA's return to the Moon mission that will eventually lead to a trip to Mars sometime in the next decade. The Orion capsule will zoom past the moon on Monday (11/21) and then go into a distant retrograde orbit on November 25th. Then on December 1st another engine will burn and if all goes as planned, the capsule should return to Earth, hit the atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast on December 11.
A manned mission to the Moon is slotted for Artemis 3 in 2025. That would put the first human beings on the Moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972. For the record, in Greek mythology Artemis is Apollo's sister. NASA says the crew of Artemis 3 will include a woman.
While many people may not be excited about a new Moon mission or even a trip to Mars, the final frontier may be where mankind's future lies.
It's pretty clear to anyone who has been paying attention for the last few decades that we are running out of natural resources, including fossil fuels. And even drinking water could become scarce as climate change progresses. Seeking out new places to live for people and going boldly where we have never been before may provide a better future. Mankind took one small step in 1969. It's time to take a few big ones before it's too late.
Not a Sermon, Just a Thought!
Here is a bit of an editorial with my straight- forward opinion. So, what is going on at twitter? You know what? I don't care. Yes, it's one of the places I use to distribute this blog, but not the only one. If it disappeared tomorrow someone would come up with something better and we would all run there to get our fake news, political and personal insults, hate speech, and an occasional news article from a respected source.
Social media is here to stay, and unfortunately it is very hard to control. Elon Musk is going to find that out the hard way, and it could cost him millions of dollars to do so. Perhaps that will humble him a bit, which would be a good thing. Musk is to be respected for what he has done promoting electric cars at Tesla and for his help (not control) in the space program, but he is not infallible. Like most of us he makes mistakes. Like many corporate leaders he is making a classic one, thinking that the company, its gadgets and its branding are more important than the people who do the work. People makes things go. If you are a good corporate manager, you find good reliable and qualified people. You pay them well and you treat them well and they will make your company great.
History is littered with failed corporations which never adopted this concept.
And as an aside, that works in government too, something our last Republican president never understood.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
The quote sounds rational. It's a simple expression of sympathy for the families of those killed in the Club Q shooting in Colorado. But it's who it comes from that makes it this week's dumbest and most disgusting quote of the week.
Yes, the tweet is from the gun touting, gay bashing Congresswoman for Colorado's third district--Lauren Boebert. Boebert, whose Christmas card last year was her whole family posing with guns and who has consistently trolled and bashed anything to do with LGBTQ+ rights, tried to express sympathy for the death of five people in a shooting at the gay bar. She was immediately and rightfully attacked as a total hypocrite. It's hard to fathom what makes this obnoxious woman tick. And it's hard to fathom why she is still in Congress.
Boebert barely won re-election in last week's midterms beating her Democratic opponent by less than 500 votes. By state law there will be a recount, but her opponent has already conceded, and it's not likely to change the results. So, Colorado, and unfortunately the rest of the USA, is stuck with her for another two years.
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)
My book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:
HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.)
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796
Love your blog Hank! Very insightful. Congratulations on your success! Looking forward to reading your book!
ReplyDeletePeggy Fox
Hello Peggy. Just found your comment. Thanks for reading. The blog is out every Sunday night. Enjoy the book if you buy it. Great to hear from you.
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