"What have we done for the next two, three or more generations? Not much."
Earlier this week, I glanced at an editorial which I was going to bookmark and keep. I didn't, and now I am kicking myself. I don't even remember what the name of it was. I do however, remember what the subject was. And it is something I have been preaching for years. In fact, I often bring this topic up when talking to young folks from the Gen-X or Millennium generation. The article had to to with Baby Boomers. And how we have totally hosed this country up.
Yes, as part of the Baby Boom generation, I have apologized many times to those younger than I. What we did was not fair. Why? Because the Greatest Generation, the World War II generation, our parents, left us a well set table. And what are we leaving for the Gen-X crowd and the Millennials? A messy table, left unset.
Keeping with the table analogy, we not only neglected to set a fine table for the next generation in the same manner our parents did for us, we also left all our dirty dishes on the table for the next generation to clean up! Seriously!
Many of the parents of Baby Boomers lived through or right after the Great Depression, fought a great war for the survival of humanity, then came home and built the greatest economy the world has ever seen. What did they leave for us on the table they set? A future.
What have we done for the next two, three or more generations? Not much. First off, we invented entitlement programs which are now bankrupting the nation. In fact, Social Security Disability is set to run out of funding before the end of the year. Knowing these entitlement programs are not sustainable, what does my generation do? Elect Barack Obama twice! Then he adds yet another unsustainable entitlement program called ObamaCare. The wheels are coming off ObamaCare as we speak.
Right now, going into this election, the country seems on the verge of some kind of civil war. We have somehow gone from respectful disagreements, to passionate dislike, to visceral hatred of the other side. We are divided in many more ways than we were ever united. Our money is gone, we are $20T in debt, our military is vastly in need of upgrading, our infrastructure is crumbling, and many of our good paying jobs have been exported overseas. We wonder why so many young people today are tuning out and living withing the confines of their phones or tablets.
I feel bad, real bad about the way things are right now. It is not right. It is not fair. I wish I could change it, but I can't. I think of the lyrics to a song sung by Joan Baez, who unfortunately is also one of us Baby Boomers. The song is called The Salt of the Earth, and part of it goes as follows:
Raise your glass to the hard working people,
Let's drink to the uncounted head...
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who want leaders but get gamblers instead
Amen Joan Baez, amen. A week from Tuesday, this country is poised to elect yet another gambler, and put this country on a trajectory which includes more debt, higher taxes and fewer jobs. It is a dirty, messy table we are leaving for our kids and grand kids.
To keep saying we are sorry is not nearly good enough. Some how, some way, we need to fix this on election day. We need to stop voting for gamblers like we did the past two elections. We need to vote for a real leader this time. Time has all but run out.
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