I’ve been having a lot of similar conversations lately that deal with the new reality of unmet expectations and the mess that accompanies dashed hopes and dreams. Based on all the massive shifts in our culture as a whole, I wonder if we’re undergoing changes that will redefine the “new norm” for many of us.
For example, what if Tom Brokaw is right when referring to the Baby Boomers as an “ageless generation”? A must see that’s now available online here. Brokaw coins “ageless” because many Boomers have experienced a perspective on life that has caused them to assume that things will always get better – based on their experiences growing up in a post WWII, industrial boom. This includes values that infer progress, productivity, efficiency are always good and that setbacks are just that - temporary. This is why millions of Boomer’s leveraged their homes during the last housing boom, taking equity out at a dizzying pace, expecting that home prices would continue their spectacular increases. It’s also why many Boomers are struggling to find their feet in a difficult job market, and why retirement may not bring fulfillment for many as credit dries up for those without current employment. The new reality of busted bubbles may redefine the way people invest their resources with new skepticism that’s seeping into the consciousness of millions that are beginning to connected the dots, and now recall the .com busted bubble in the winter of 2000 that still leaves the NASDAQ nearly 50% below it’s all time highs. Not so different from our recent housing/credit crash that could take decades to rebound.
So, what if the economy doesn’t fully recover for at least a decade or more? What if health costs continue to eat into the pockets of Americans? What if Social Security and Medicare are not enough to provide future generations a standard of living above the poverty line? What if the growing Chinese economy and education system do to the U.S. what the U.S. experienced in comparison to much of Europe for the past 50 years? What if the markets and housing prices stagnate as food and energy costs continue to create a felt inflation challenge to the lower/middle classes? What if “trying to get by” replaces the slogan, “keeping up with the Joneses”? What if the gap between the rich and poor continues to expand – leaving a bigger burden on the government to help the “least of these”? Thus, causing further debt spending even above the unfathomable 14 trillion dollar number (about $45,000 per man, women, and child in the U.S. today)?
Those issues alone are enough to scare many senseless, but what if we add to that an increasing burden on future generations to find meaningful relationships amidst social networking and it’s digitally connected, but physically remote reality. Like the car commercial that pokes fun at a college student who thinks her parents are missing out on something by traveling and enjoying recreational experiences with people they meet on the road, while their daughter tracks Facebook friends, alone, at her dining room table. In the not-so-distant future, a person could reasonably go to school, work, shop and even attend church on their 60″ flat screen, entirely online and at home – leaving the only human contact the delivery agent (assuming the shipment requires a signature).
And then there is the church. What if decreasing church attendance across denominations continues at its current trajectory? What if American church attendance dips into the single digits like much of the other western countries? What if the success of the mega church is the last big finale that will now begin to fade as the super-celeb pastors begin to retire, leaving a leadership chasms and huge buildings to maintain to a generation that’s just not into the notion that ‘Bigger is Better’? Not to mention that health issues are beginning to knock boomers and their families into an unfamiliar reality of pain and grief – will the church be there to help mend the hearts and souls of those connected to an ‘aging’ generation?
I realize this sounds a bit foreboding, but it’s just one possible reality as seen through the eyes of one individual. I hope that I’m being overly dramatic and pessimistic for myself, my family, and my friends. But, what if these are early signs of an impending New Norm?
—Will it change where we find significance and meaning?
—Will it bring back into focus some of the simpler things that really do matter?
—Will our value for time win out over our value for money?
—Could the New Norm bring with it some much needed progress in the Right direction?
—What do you think?
Tags: culture, economy, finances, Jesus, medicare, missional, social security
