Trust Me

“The destinies of a fast-changing world cannot be shaped effectively by a party traditionally opposed to change and progress.” John F. Kennedy, Senate speech, June 14, 1960

Does it strike anyone strange that Barack Obama speaks to the same things John F. Kennedy spoke to—hopes, dreams, a better future—yet so many Baby Boomers have, and continue to, support Clinton?

It seems odd that Obama says many of the same things about reaching forward, moving ahead, and standing up for change for our generation that JFK said. Yet Baby Boomers have had such had difficult time supporting him.

Is it because they are still holding onto the idea that they, their generation, may change the world. Not ours. Not us. But them. They should have done it.

I mentioned a few days ago that my mother has expressed hope to me that she, and her generation, can still change the future. Again, not ours. Not us. But them.

I believe they still have a chance to make change. Baby Boomers, while annoying to me in their selfishness, do still have the chance to enact change in our lives and future, and they should continue to do all they can.

But it’s also time for them to pass the torch. It’s time to trust us to make differences that don’t break their backs or the backs of our children.

It’s time to realize they’ve reared children who have an invested interest in this country.

Children who are now adults who care as much now about the issues we face as they cared in the 60s and 70s. It’s time for them to realize that we are just as competent as they were when they were our age. And, maybe most importantly, we’re just as hopeful as they were when they were 25, 30, and 35-years-old.

It’s the hope of youth with experience that holds us together as generations—that makes us similar in so many ways.

They had Vietnam to change their view of the government in times of war. We have Iraq.

They had the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy to shake their foundations; their core. We have September 11, 2001.

They had Kent State to see how government uses its strength to overpower the powerless. We have Waco.

They had Watergate to see administrations take more than allowed. We have countless executive orders, signing papers, and civil liberties violated by the Bush Administration.

We’re not so different—Baby Boomers and Generations X and Y.

We have the same hope for the future. We have the same belief that we can, and will, change the world for the better.

It’s time to turn it over to us. You reared us. You loved us. You taught us to be rightful, honest citizens.

Now it’s time to trust us with the country, with policies, and with our sustainability as a nation. You reared us to be the best citizens we can be. Now trust us to be exactly what you hoped we’d grow up to be—interested, hopeful, remarkable citizens.

Trust us as a generation.


Or, if you can't do that, just trust me.



L.