Testing, testing… one, two, three, four… test, test… hello, is anyone out there? Is anyone listening? Are you on-line, tuned-in, turned-on? Are you tired of being mischaracterized by the media and disrespected by politicians? Do you feel as if the boomers pretend we don’t exist rather than make the effort to learn our language? Do you resent the slacker image and defy the grunge stereotype of our generation? Is “Generation X” a name you’d rather not attach to yourself and your friends? If you’ve said yes to any of these questions, then NeoPolitics is for you.
Welcome to the charter issue of NeoPolitics, the on-line magazine of political thought designed, produced, and written by members of our generation, for our generation (born between 1964-1984). As a forum for presenting principled alternatives to the noise of post-modern political culture, we hope to provoke your thinking, challenge your assumptions, and bridge the communication gap between the generations. While our elders identified and exploited the gap between them and their parents, we are determined to stop it from widening lest it destroy our nation, and our future. We want to identify the reasons for the gap and work together to bridge the time between us.
Though seemingly resolved, the generation gap has merely been silenced by neglect. If anything, it is sweetened by boomers whose profits grow in proportion to the culture’s acceptance of the “Generation X” paradigm. Only by moving beyond the spoon-fed influence of the boomer-dominated mainstream media and pop-culture will we begin to develop the skills critical to leadership. We must take it upon ourselves to weigh our beliefs and be willing to change them where they are inaccurate. Only then will we be informed, moral, and effective leaders for the future, worthy of a legacy and a new name.
A Timely Metaphor
Our boomer parents took our kid brothers and sisters to see Disney’s The Lion King. Appropriately, the title song to the movie – The Circle of Life – provides a powerful metaphor for human connections. In it, Elton John sings, “From the day we arrive on the planet/and blinking step into the sun/there’s more to see than can ever be seen/more to do than can ever be done/there’s far too much to take in here/more to find than can ever be found/but the sun rolling high/through the sapphire sky/keeps great and small on the endless round//It’s the circle of life/and it moves us all/through despair and hope/through faith and love/till we find our place/on the path unwinding/in the circle, the circle of life.”
As the song says, it is only by working together that we may accomplish the potential that lies before us. Each generation will always be limited in its ability to accomplish things – it is necessarily dependent on the generation that went before and the one that is to follow. Human beings are the only creatures on earth capable of being remembered by their posterity – their immortality is generationally linked. If parents are not actively preparing their children to perpetuate their successes, their successes will die with them.
Join us as we endeavor to reach our elders, to teach them the language of our generation, and challenge them to teach us what they have learned along their path to success. The baby boomers have been the most successful generation to date – but in many ways, it is a hamstrung success. In pursuing their career and economic goals, too many boomers have abandoned their responsibilities to their children. They have crafted a legacy but are hesitant to pass it on. Citing our unpreparedness, they curiously shirk the job of training us to receive it. Yet, they, of all people, should be most ambitious in their attempts to perpetuate their unprecedented achievements.
We are generationally linked, whether we acknowledge it or not. NeoPolitics acknowledges that link and is designed to establish an awareness of it and a renewed respect for it. The challenge is twofold. We must get the attention of our elders and help them see that they are not communicating successfully across generational lines. Once we have their ears, we must be prepared to give an account, to tell them what we think, and what we want. Being prepared with an answer must take precedence over attention grabbing, lest we find ourselves speechless before an influential audience – a scenario that would be worse than our current circumstances. What little credibility and voice we do have would be silenced.
It’s Up To Us
As children of the eighties, we looked forward to following in the footsteps of our parents’ successes. With the dawn of the nineties, too many of us have accepted the end of the most successful decade by resigning ourselves to strive for mediocrity. Enterprising coffee shop owners and garage band members are our heroes now, and we are hesitant to hope for more. But achieve more we can, and must. America is our nation as much as our elders’, but the future is limited to us and our children. Whether we have the help of the boomers, or we go at the task alone, we must get ready to receive the reigns of leadership. Our future depends on it!
In sheer numbers, our generation has the potential to comprise a formidable voting bloc, and should, for the sake of our future, use that influence. We should voice our economic concerns, along with the fact that our support in November is contingent on a balanced budget. Although we are diverse in our political views, America’s economic health is one issue on which we may all agree. Re-election of the current Congress, and of the next President, should rest on a commitment to sound budgetary policy, to fiscal responsibility, and to accountability.
Balancing the national budget and tackling the national debt are critical to our economic health now, and in years to come. Like a runner poised to sprint the final leg of a relay, we should anticipate the day when our elders will pass the baton of leadership to us, and raise concerns when every day without serious budget reform finds the baton growing increasingly heavy. Adrenaline aside, even the best runner would be unable to lift a 200 lb. baton, let alone complete the race with it. If we are to run the race set before us, we must encourage our forebearers to complete their leg of the race to the best of their ability. Anything less will be detrimental to our own best interest, the interest of the nation, and of future generations.
