Generation We
28 October 2008
From: SNS Special Letter: Generation We: How the Millennial Generation Is Taking Over America and Changing the World
By Eric Greenberg with Karl Weber
…The Millennial generation has already begun to emerge as a powerful political and social force. They are smart, well-educated, open-minded, and independent – politically, socially, and philosophically. They are also a caring generation, one that is ready to put the greater good ahead of individual rewards. And they are already spearheading a period of sweeping change….
[Mark Anderson comments] Many of the Millennial inclinations documented here remind me strongly of conversations held over the last few years at Future in Review. Specifically, I am reminded of an onstage conversation I had with our good friend Bob Hormats, Vice Chair of Goldman Sachs International, who had just given a keynote discussion that focused on changes in education needed in the U.S., one of the key areas picked for needed change in Eric’s study.
“Who is going to make this happen?” I asked him. “Is it the government?” No, he said, it isn’t the government. “Then it must be the people in this room,” I suggested, and Bob agreed.
A year later, this and related conversations led me to propose the FiRe Mantra, which seems a direct reflection of the Millennial perspectives Eric describes:
It isn’t about problems, it’s about solutions.
It isn’t about the future, it’s about now. And
It isn’t about them, it’s about us.
I think, with assistance from Eric and Karl, we may have found real reason for hope after eight years of increasing darkness.
Read the complete article here: http://www.tapsns.com/selected.php?issue=2008-10-22
Then visit the Generation We website to get involved.
One Response to “Generation We”
November 29th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
I like the idea of a caring generation. I seem to remember some in the past too… the new deal I think, and wasn’t their something under LBJ? I seem to periodically read that we American are still one of the most generous per capita.. I suppose its time for the pendulum to swing again.
The problem I have is mandated caring by governments at all levels. Ask me and I’ll more than likely donate. Make me and I’ll dig in my heels and give as little as possible. I don’t think I’m alone in this…