The Signs of the Times

Every year, TIME magazine selects a person(s) to adorn the cover of their magazine as the “Person of the Year.” This year, they selected Greta Thunberg, the youngest recipient since they began this tradition back in 1927. Sixteen-year-old Greta isn’t a prodigy, a scientist, a politician, a princess, a monk, a billionaire or a celebrity (until recently). The TIME’s article states, “she is neither the first to sound the alarm about the climate crisis nor the most qualified to fix it.” She is just a schoolkid from Sweden who fears that the current course humanity is taking isn’t going to end well. In her TED Talk she says, “either we go on as a civilization or we don't. We have to change.”

Let me stop for a moment to point out that TIME didn’t select a politician, a visionary, a titian of commerce, a guru or sage, a scientist, a doctor, a movie star, or even an activist, but instead a young girl who hasn’t even finished high school. Ironically, in 1966, TIME chose the entire generation of people under 25, as the “Person of the Year.” This was my generation, known as the “Baby Boomers.” The editors of the day wrote “[this] generation looms larger than all the exponential promises of science or technology: it will soon be the majority in charge.”

What happened to this promise of the new world the Boomers would bring?

Trust in all levels of authority are at their lowest. The list of abuses of power continues to grow exponentially in all sectors and levels of society. Greed, deceit, and arrogance are commonplace. Who are the leaders today that are guiding the social conscience of this planet?

Today, the world is experiencing a huge vacuum in leadership, which is desperately needed. We are rudderless in uncharted waters. Not surprising, an articulate young girl like Greta can fill this void. However, she also knows that she doesn’t have the answers to the world’s problems. She just knows we can’t continue blindly on our current path. Her passionate innocence is reaching not only her generation, but the world leaders who seem to be paralyzed or preoccupied.

She isn’t alone in trying to influence the world’s conscience. Students in Hong Kong are still protesting relentlessly to protect democracy. American youth rally to stop gun violence while students in France, Chile, Indonesia, Pakistan and Lebanon are hoping to change their political realities. Youth unrest seems to be a global theme.

I congratulate Greta Thunberg for her courage and for putting aside her life and education for a noble cause. But I am perplexed that the people who can make a significant difference aren’t visibility taking action against climate change. Where are the Boomers?  The preordained generation who were going to make the world a better place. Are we expecting our children to step-up and take action?

Eventually, the youth of today will inherit a global environment in distress, dysfunctional governments in disarray, oligopoly controlling digital data giants, and indebted and broken economies.

There is still time for the largest generation to help make this world a better place. Collectively, they still have the power, wealth, and loudest voice to make a positive impact. Our legacy shouldn’t be our children telling us what to do. If we ever want a chance to be on the cover of TIME’s again, we need to take action now.