Pondering “Change” and The Future
November 6, 2008 by Randy
Filed under Book Review, Christianity, Civil Rights, Culture War, Current Affairs, Life, People, Religion, Worldview, family
Today I was talking with a friend via email. I love my smarter than me friends … which is all of them. They get me to thinkin’.
I have been reading a lot of commentary today. The constant theme I am seeing is dissatisfaction with the established mindsets of both sides of the culture war. And it isn’t simply the Left hating the Right and vice versa. It’s also a dissatisfaction of both sides with both sides. I am sensing that a true “change” is coming to the United States but I think Obama is just one symbolic part (at the moment) of the overall picture.
Bad Metaphor Alert: It would seem people don’t want a game changer … they want a different game altogether. I know I do (without abandoning the core principles of my faith and the country we live in.)
I am very skeptical that Obama can take us there because the problems transcend his pay grade. Sorry… couldn’t resist. Restated: the problems manifest in many more ways than public policy.
Regardless, there is a book I recommend quite often called The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe. In it they say a lot of very smart things that go sailing way above my head. However, the book floored me with their observations and very well thought out analysis and theories. Their assessments of social dynamics and inter-generational conflicts and complementarities is astounding. And from what I see through the filter of a lay-person’s perspective, they seem to be quite accurate.
One example is that when GenX comes to power (which would be about now) the utopian vision casting Boomers (from any angle) will be cast off of their self-imposed pedestals and the people will demand pragmatic answers at every level of society.
One odd observation they make is that this casting off of unrealistic expectations will Include the eventual rebellion against plastic surgery and choosing to be authentically old! These guys get really detailed.
If I remember correctly, The Fourth Turning means that every “generation” of a nation runs 80 to 100 years and there are four “turnings” within that time span. The fourth one is a negative world changing kind of thing that threatens the nations existence and forces each generation to their best or worst. They do an *amazing* job of documenting this in US History and a little bit into World History. The next “fourth turning” is predicted to occur when the GenX’ers are in full power but it will be the Millenials who actually pull off what the GenX’ers plan to do to rescue us. This will give GenX an opportunity for great good or great evil. It will also give the Boomers an opportunity to become practical wisdom sharers or drift off into the despair of unrealized expectations of the “perfect” world (whatever they had defined that to be.) The Fourth Turning said that the Millennials will be self-focussed like the Boomers (GenX is too scattered as the “abandoned” generation) but will demand practical answers.
The ideal that Strauss and Howe put forward as strengths for each generation is that the GenX would be practical, taking life experience advice from wise boomers and allowing/working with the young to actually accomplish the sacrifice needed to survive “The Fourth Turning.” Here is my nutshell bullet point list …
Boomers - Wise Vision Casters working with
GenX-ers: Pragmatic Problem Solvers working with
Millennial: Brave Implementers.
That breakdown is my analysis of their analysis so take it with a healthy grain of salt.
I know … It’s all so complicated. Just read the book. There is so much more to it than that AND I hope I got that part right.
Why is this coming up? Because I am sensing that this is the “point” the United States is coming too. I pray to God that we don’t have a “fourth turning” any time soon but if Strauss and Howe are correct, we need to re-orient away from the same old same old culture war mantras and start focussing on what can actually be accomplished.
That’s saying a lot without a lot of practical “today” application but … that’s where my meditations are at currently.
This book is not a Christian book even though it starts with a quote from Ecclesiastes and says that it is a secular prophecy. Meaning, it doesn’t incorporate any sense of the United States being a Christian nation reliant on God. It does acknowledge the spiritual inclinations as they play out in society and in the generations. I read the book five or six years ago but as events unfold… I am always reminded of it and drawn back to it. After skimming through the highlights and dog ears of the book I am again amazed at the wisdom found in it. If you read it, I would love to know your thoughts.
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