This blog post is reprinted with the kind permission of Grace Lee Boggs. It was originally published in the Living for Change Newsletter, published by the James & Grace Lee Boggs Center in Detroit.
The older I grow, the more I am convinced that the human race can only continue to evolve if we overcome the age segregation that has contributed so much to our dehumanization over the last few decades.
When I was an undergraduate in the early 1930s, I heard Ira D. Reid speak at a weekend college
“Mentors and apprentices are partners in an ancient human dance . . . the dance of the spiraling generations, in which the old empower the young with their experience and the young empower the old with new life, reweaving the fabric of the human community as they touch and turn.”
—Parker J. Palmer
American author, educator, activist
By Shae Hadden
According to Dr. David Suzuki, “it is not progress to use up the rightful legacy of our children and grandchildren.” He opened the first Elders and the Environment Forum on Monday in Vancouver, Canada with a keynote address that focused on the role of elders in the environmental movement and how we can make a difference:
By Jim Selman | Bio
Last evening we were having a lively family conversation about life in general and Eldering in particular. We talked about whether there is, in fact, a ‘generational divide’ and, if so, what can we say about it. To my surprise, my children and my son’s girlfriend all felt that there was less of a divide in the minds of people their age than in the minds of people my age. I asked the question, “What do young men and women talk to each other about that you would be reluctant
Brave Nation, an interesting five-part documentary series about committed individuals—both young and old—who are changing the world, is now available for online viewing. Each documentary includes conversations about areas of common concern between two generations, and include these notable environmentalists, human rights activists, artists and journalists:
Pete Seeger with Majora Carter, Tom Hayden with Naomi Klein, Anthony Romero with Ava Lowery, Bonnie Raitt with Dolores Huerta, andBy Shae Hadden | Bio
Traditionally, a generation was defined as the time between the birth
of parents and the birth of their offspring (about 30 years). Recently,
however, a more accurate definition would be a group of people born and
shaped by a particular span of time. The eras of Generations X, Y and Z
span much less than two decades each. And every generation experiences
life from a different perspective including changing societal values,
technologies and
By Jim Selman | Bio
A long time ago (in the late 60s I think). I read a book by John Gerassi called The Boys of Boise, Furor, Vice and Folly in an American City. Basically, it was a shocking journalistic reporting of how a city’s fears can create a kind of mass paranoia. Boise, Idaho isn’t quite the Wild West, but to
By Lauren Selman | Bio
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, GO!!! At midnight, on July 3rd, over nine hundred runners started off on a midnight fourth of July run in Seattle. Among the runners were my uncle and I. As I stood in the crowd waiting to start, I saw runners of all ages. From nine-year-olds to 85-year-olds, all of us were crazy enough to be standing in Seattle at midnight in short shorts and tank tops. It go me thinking. Here we were, all humans of different ages, gathering around to run.
Now, this
Barack Obama’s speech to the United States and the world last week moved me more than any political oratory I can recall. It wasn’t just the content of the speech I found moving but the quality of human being that he showed us—a man willing to take a stand for his convictions and tell the truth about a subject that has been an ‘elephant head on the table’ for decades. He will have my vote and whatever the maximum financial contribution allowed is to support his campaign.
I was also impressed
"When you find the right person, age doesn’t matter."
Intergenerational relationships are not a thing of the past. They are actually alive and well in North America. There is good coverage of the many people who work and volunteer helping seniors. However, reports like this one out of Tennessee show that women developing friendships across generations