The Greater Generation -- FPC sermon excerpt
Great. Greater. Greatest.
When it comes to describing generations, we Americans tend to attach the adjective “Greatest” to the group of men and women who braved the Depression and won World War II.
Think G.I. Joe and Rosie the Riveter.
They were a tough and courageous generation, so there’s nothing wrong with calling them “The Greatest.” But how about a label for their children, the Baby Boomers?
Would you say “Great” … or even “Good”? Unfortunately, the adjectives that people so often attach to the Boomers are more along the lines of childish, selfish, noisy, and materialistic. Boomers are great, some will say — great at pitching a fit when the Starbucks barista botches their latte order.
But these insults are way off base. Boomers deserve credit for a whole range of positive changes in American life. Environmental protection. Improved race relations. Women’s liberation. Tolerance, openness, and equality — these are all legacies of the Baby Boom generation.
According to Leonard Steinhorn, a professor at American University, our country is far more open, inclusive, and equal than at any time in our history, and he gives Boomers credit for these positive changes. The title of his new book says it all: the Baby Boom is, in his opinion, "The Greater Generation."
With regard to women, he writes that “the Baby Boom era has been one of breathtaking change — in a single generation, American women have effected one of the greatest social metamorphoses in recorded history.”
Of course, the women of the Baby Boom were not the first generation to experience breathtaking change. Open the pages of the Bible, and you will find women in both the Old Testament and the New who shattered traditional expectations and moved with the power of God into a new and more faithful future. Look at the story of Ruth in the Old Testament, and Mary in the New.
They were the Boomers of their era. And both were part of a Greater Generation.
When it comes to describing generations, we Americans tend to attach the adjective “Greatest” to the group of men and women who braved the Depression and won World War II.
Think G.I. Joe and Rosie the Riveter.
They were a tough and courageous generation, so there’s nothing wrong with calling them “The Greatest.” But how about a label for their children, the Baby Boomers?
Would you say “Great” … or even “Good”? Unfortunately, the adjectives that people so often attach to the Boomers are more along the lines of childish, selfish, noisy, and materialistic. Boomers are great, some will say — great at pitching a fit when the Starbucks barista botches their latte order.
But these insults are way off base. Boomers deserve credit for a whole range of positive changes in American life. Environmental protection. Improved race relations. Women’s liberation. Tolerance, openness, and equality — these are all legacies of the Baby Boom generation.
According to Leonard Steinhorn, a professor at American University, our country is far more open, inclusive, and equal than at any time in our history, and he gives Boomers credit for these positive changes. The title of his new book says it all: the Baby Boom is, in his opinion, "The Greater Generation."
With regard to women, he writes that “the Baby Boom era has been one of breathtaking change — in a single generation, American women have effected one of the greatest social metamorphoses in recorded history.”
Of course, the women of the Baby Boom were not the first generation to experience breathtaking change. Open the pages of the Bible, and you will find women in both the Old Testament and the New who shattered traditional expectations and moved with the power of God into a new and more faithful future. Look at the story of Ruth in the Old Testament, and Mary in the New.
They were the Boomers of their era. And both were part of a Greater Generation.
posted by Henry Brinton | 12:16 PM
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