Once again, a president has called upon our nation to give back to this country.
President John F. Kennedy did so during his inauguration speech in 1961 when he implored us to “ask not what your country can do for you… ask what you can do for your country.”
Now, President Barack Obama has done the same. First, it was the “day of service” the new president organized the day before his inauguration in January. This month, he sent to Congress the Serve America and GIVE Acts, a bill that has passed the House and seems certain to be approved by the Senate.
Neither president has called upon the Baby Boomer generation in particular, but our generation has without question been a major focus of both efforts.
President Kennedy formed the Council on Physical Fitness to encourage the youth of America to get in better shape. He also formed the Peace Corps, an organization for all ages but one that was focused at the time on people entering adulthood.
President Obama is calling on all generations to pitch in during our country’s tough economic times and during his efforts to turn the nation around. However, he certainly is looking to the Baby Boomers to be a major part of his renewal plan.
The Serve America and GIVE Acts would establish an army of 250,000 volunteers. In the March 30 edition of Time magazine, the president wrote a column detailing the legislation’s goals. He said they would range from modernizing schools to building affordable housing.
Our nation has done well over the decades at volunteerism. Last year, 62 million Americans gave 8 billion hours of service. Baby Boomers have long led the charge. As a generation, we volunteer more than any other age group and we volunteer more than our parents did at our age. Volunteerism seems to have been instilled during our youthful heydays of the 1960s.
Now that we are nearing our retirement years, it seems like a good time to kick the effort into a higher gear. Many Baby Boomers have raised their children and are winding down their careers. This gives us more free time to devote to volunteerism. This fact has not been lost on non-profit organizations. Many have begun campaigns to recruit volunteers over the age of 50. The Peace Corps is among these groups.
President Obama is also calling on us. Baby Boomers will certainly make up a large portion of his Serve America troops. We should heed his call, just like we did when President Kennedy issued his plea.
There are 78 million Baby Boomers, the largest generation in the United States. With our numbers and our volunteer spirit, we can make a big difference.
Education is the arena we can probably have the biggest impact. In my book, “10,000 Days,” I call for a “10 percent solution” in this field. If 10 percent of our generation volunteered in our nation’s schools, that would produce almost 8 million extra hands to help teachers in the classrooms. Could there be a better use of our time?
I urge all Boomers to seek out a cause they believe in, whether it be the environment, health care, education or military families. Commit yourself and donate your services.
The time is ripe. We once again have a president asking us to serve. Baby Boomers can make good use of their later years. Let’s ask what we can do for our country.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Another Boomer Invasion
Baby Boomers have done it again.
We have used our overwhelming numbers to take over another segment of society.
This time, it’s Facebook.
Boomers have discovered the on-line social network and are flocking to it.
It’s probably not what Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg envisioned when he and some classmates started the web page in February 2004.
For most of its five-year history, Facebook has been the province of college-age students. Not anymore.
First, people in their late 20s signed on after leaving college campuses. That was intrusive enough. Now, the 78-million-member Baby Boom generation has discovered the phenomenon. It’s officially an invasion.
Facebook has 150 million members. Its fastest growing demographic is people over 30. In fact, there’s been a 276 percent surge in Facebook sign-ups of people ages 35 to 54 in recent months.
I enrolled last fall. Since then, I’ve been joined by my relatives and high school classmates as well as former co-workers at my television station. Baby Boomers are flooding onto the site and, more importantly, are using it.
What is our generation’s fascination with Facebook?
First off, we’ve never liked to be left out. Even in middle age, we want to be part of whatever wave is washing over the country. That was true with rock ‘n’ roll and it’s still true with technology. As a generation, we are not afraid of e-mail, cell phones or Tivo. We may not know how to work the new electronic devices as well as the younger folks, but we want to at least have our fingers on them.
Second, let’s face it, we are a self-absorbed generation. That was true when we were teen-agers and it’s still true today as we approach retirement. Facebook is perfect for us. We can post our photos and tell everyone what we had for lunch, what movie we saw last weekend and what we plan to do tomorrow.
Third, we’ve always been a generation that’s placed an emphasis on friends. We hunkered down in the bunker together during our protest years. Now, we can get back in touch with some of the former flower children we lost track of.
Facebook is also relatively simple. Many Baby Boomers get a little overwhelmed at MySpace and they aren’t sure yet what Twitter is. Make no mistake. At some point we will get those destinations, much to the chagrin of the younger folks. Heads up, generations X and Y, most of us are still working. Wait until we retire. You won’t be able to get rid of us anywhere.
It’s fine and good Baby Boomers are staying connected. However, society could also benefit if the country’s largest generation put some of the time and energy it’s using on the Internet into something that benefits our communities.
Baby Boomers do volunteer more than any other age group, but we could do more. There are plenty of classrooms, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, social agencies and foster children who could use our expertise, knowledge and understanding.
So, go ahead. Write on that former college classmate’s wall. Nothing wrong with that.
But also do a web search on volunteer groups in your area and give them some face time, too.
We have used our overwhelming numbers to take over another segment of society.
This time, it’s Facebook.
Boomers have discovered the on-line social network and are flocking to it.
It’s probably not what Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg envisioned when he and some classmates started the web page in February 2004.
For most of its five-year history, Facebook has been the province of college-age students. Not anymore.
First, people in their late 20s signed on after leaving college campuses. That was intrusive enough. Now, the 78-million-member Baby Boom generation has discovered the phenomenon. It’s officially an invasion.
Facebook has 150 million members. Its fastest growing demographic is people over 30. In fact, there’s been a 276 percent surge in Facebook sign-ups of people ages 35 to 54 in recent months.
I enrolled last fall. Since then, I’ve been joined by my relatives and high school classmates as well as former co-workers at my television station. Baby Boomers are flooding onto the site and, more importantly, are using it.
What is our generation’s fascination with Facebook?
First off, we’ve never liked to be left out. Even in middle age, we want to be part of whatever wave is washing over the country. That was true with rock ‘n’ roll and it’s still true with technology. As a generation, we are not afraid of e-mail, cell phones or Tivo. We may not know how to work the new electronic devices as well as the younger folks, but we want to at least have our fingers on them.
Second, let’s face it, we are a self-absorbed generation. That was true when we were teen-agers and it’s still true today as we approach retirement. Facebook is perfect for us. We can post our photos and tell everyone what we had for lunch, what movie we saw last weekend and what we plan to do tomorrow.
Third, we’ve always been a generation that’s placed an emphasis on friends. We hunkered down in the bunker together during our protest years. Now, we can get back in touch with some of the former flower children we lost track of.
Facebook is also relatively simple. Many Baby Boomers get a little overwhelmed at MySpace and they aren’t sure yet what Twitter is. Make no mistake. At some point we will get those destinations, much to the chagrin of the younger folks. Heads up, generations X and Y, most of us are still working. Wait until we retire. You won’t be able to get rid of us anywhere.
It’s fine and good Baby Boomers are staying connected. However, society could also benefit if the country’s largest generation put some of the time and energy it’s using on the Internet into something that benefits our communities.
Baby Boomers do volunteer more than any other age group, but we could do more. There are plenty of classrooms, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, social agencies and foster children who could use our expertise, knowledge and understanding.
So, go ahead. Write on that former college classmate’s wall. Nothing wrong with that.
But also do a web search on volunteer groups in your area and give them some face time, too.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Time Has Come
Many Baby Boomers never thought they would live to see this day.
On Jan. 20, 2009, an African-American man, Barack Obama, was sworn in as the nation’s 44th president.
For those who were beaten working on behalf of civil rights four decade ago, the time has come. For those who endured the political setbacks of the 1980s and the downward spiral of our country the past eight years, the time has come.
What many worked for and dreamed of has come to pass. Make no mistake. The work to set our country on a better path has just begun. But for a few hours on Inauguration Day 2009, we can bask in the glory of knowing the time did indeed come.
Now, for Baby Boomers, the time has also come for us to take on a new role.
Our generation needs to acknowledge that we didn’t do a superb job when we had the reins of power. We produced two presidents that presided over a sharply divided nation. The businesses we have managed, for the most part, are not good corporate citizens. Our nation is not the happy patchwork of people we talked about when we were coming of age.
However, we have set the table for the future. We have started the wheels rolling on issues such as equal rights, the environment and technological achievement.
Most of all we raised young people who proved to be the engine for the election of President Obama. These younger generations are more tolerant of people of different ethnicities. They are strident when it comes to gay rights. They care deeply about the ecology of our planet. And now they are politically engaged and they have a leader who will inspire them.
Baby Boomers should be content to hand over the levers of power to our younger generations. Let them rule the White House, the board rooms and the school yards. We have brought forth young citizens quite capable of doing good.
Baby Boomers can now assume the role of senior advisors. Much like Vice President Joe Biden will provide in the Obama administration.
We can show the way by volunteering, mentoring and setting a better example. We can become tribal elders by using our half-century of experience and knowledge to guide the younger people when they seek our counsel.
We still have 30 productive years left. That’s 10,000 days. It’s a different role for us. But it is an important one. It is one we can be remembered for.
On Jan. 20, 2009, an African-American man, Barack Obama, was sworn in as the nation’s 44th president.
For those who were beaten working on behalf of civil rights four decade ago, the time has come. For those who endured the political setbacks of the 1980s and the downward spiral of our country the past eight years, the time has come.
What many worked for and dreamed of has come to pass. Make no mistake. The work to set our country on a better path has just begun. But for a few hours on Inauguration Day 2009, we can bask in the glory of knowing the time did indeed come.
Now, for Baby Boomers, the time has also come for us to take on a new role.
Our generation needs to acknowledge that we didn’t do a superb job when we had the reins of power. We produced two presidents that presided over a sharply divided nation. The businesses we have managed, for the most part, are not good corporate citizens. Our nation is not the happy patchwork of people we talked about when we were coming of age.
However, we have set the table for the future. We have started the wheels rolling on issues such as equal rights, the environment and technological achievement.
Most of all we raised young people who proved to be the engine for the election of President Obama. These younger generations are more tolerant of people of different ethnicities. They are strident when it comes to gay rights. They care deeply about the ecology of our planet. And now they are politically engaged and they have a leader who will inspire them.
Baby Boomers should be content to hand over the levers of power to our younger generations. Let them rule the White House, the board rooms and the school yards. We have brought forth young citizens quite capable of doing good.
Baby Boomers can now assume the role of senior advisors. Much like Vice President Joe Biden will provide in the Obama administration.
We can show the way by volunteering, mentoring and setting a better example. We can become tribal elders by using our half-century of experience and knowledge to guide the younger people when they seek our counsel.
We still have 30 productive years left. That’s 10,000 days. It’s a different role for us. But it is an important one. It is one we can be remembered for.
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