The Next Great Generation

Long time no see...where ya been?

As Americans, we live in an amazing world and great country. Every state has it's perks but Texas just keeps on giving and keeps on growing. As I sit in this hammock, I am thinking about baseball-- the Houston Astros open up the season this weekend. I think about the Shell Houston Open-- also being played this weekend and I am reminded of the financial trials many people face, where they can not experience these classic past times. Meanwhile the G20 meets in London amongst riots and North Korean missile launch threats and our unemployment rate waxes closer to 10%.

I am currently reading Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation" which poetically and somberly, in a cadence that only Brokaw's voice can march on, tells the stories of WWII Americans. These were men and women who faced the Great Depression and battled a the most massive war of our time. People who were earmarked for college and business gave up their hopes and dreams for God and country. This generation lived day to day with uncertain futures but pure convictions and steady minds. Brokaw reminds us that they were not without fault, as these same men and women enabled McCarthyism and the Vietnam War. They also gave birth to the Baby Boomers. They gave us Medicare along with breakthroughs in medicine, science and civil rights legislation. Truly a great nation.

Most of these Americans were 18-35 years old when all of these changes were being formulated. Brokaw makes the distinction that generations are a product of society as a whole and not a set age group. However, if you were in your mid-twenties during the late 30's and early 40's then you were a member of the Greatest Generation. A time of war heroes, fighter aces, families, farmers and factory workers moving together. This was a time when people loved one another, they loved their country and they would not be ashamed to share their love.

Herein lies our generational gap. I know we have passion and power and purpose...but do we have love. Do we have love of country and do we love one another. I believe we are the next greatest generation. We face an economic crisis unlike any other. We face wars abroad and uncertain futures. If you are between the ages of 18 and 35 then you are a people that must overcome outstanding odds. In our formative years as young adults and societal leaders we have come to know global terrorism, economic strife, civil unrest and a new world focused on continuity rather than sovereignty. The nation-states have changed since FDR and the formation of the UN. Monetary value has come into question again. Now our world is a chessboard being surveyed and staked for natural resources and we must determine how to distribute our resources well.

We can create a new global economic paradigm. The next ten years will determine our next 50 years...but I only want to work with people who will tell me what it is they love. What will we create? What is worth fighting for? ... I want to work with the Greatest Generation.