A Dedicated Generation

There are reasons to feel good about the younger generation of Americans. And a lot of it is found in the adversity of the War of Terror.

One Vietnam vet, still in the Army, says, "I've talked to many of these kids on their second tour, and they talk about, 'When I reenlist ...' " says Vickers by phone. "When you see that kind of dedication - when they know what's out there - it makes an old Soldier like me proud to be an American."

Read the whole article here.

I feel that there is a waxing and waning found in the moral direction of recent generations of Americans. You have corruption and debauchery of the roaring twenties followed by the sacrifice and solidarity of the WW2 generation. Then you have the sixties and seventies… yikes! But now you have a generation of folks, 25-35 years old, who have chosen to go a different route than their parents.

I definitely see this in ministry. Boomers, even reserved, responsible, non-hippies, are nevertheless significantly more self-centered than a typical 30 year old Gen X person. In fact, the 30 year olds appear to be a lot more interested in church and ultimate truth and right and wrong than the boomers seem to be (maybe a little more like their grandparents). There are certainly exceptions, but the pattern tends to hold true.