http://www.freedomblog.com Giving a voice to thinking people Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:21:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Dear Grandchildren: Your future prospects leave my life in turmoil. My heroes are gone. My peers are retired. The "Boomers," are preparing for what they believe to be their "well-deserved retirement from plotting and scheming to avoid the margins of consensus." The "X'ers" are floundering, awaiting their turns at "the executive ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/25/11-to-be-a-patriot/ Dear Girls and Boys: Today as I took you to school, I asked about the two worlds that you live in: Our world, the "World of Our Reality;" Your world, the "World of Your Virtuality." You spoke of your attraction to Cyber-space and Cyber-families. You really feel secure in defining your own ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/24/9-time-and-unconditionality/ With attribution to David Riesman, perhaps the best that can be said for our generational profiles may be summarized by the new members of "The Lonely Crowd:" "The G.I.s" were "tradition-bound visionaries" by the great American traditions—cultural relating, participative governance, free enterprise. "The Competents" were "inner-directed implementers" in following through on the ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/23/9-the-lonely-crowd/ When I was in Venezuela, more than 20 years ago, I had dinner with the imposing Arch Bishop of Caracas. In the course of a delightful evening, this priestly man shared the regret of his life: "My greatest regret is that I never got to know my parents—they were killed in ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/22/8-all-forgotten-americans/ What gives us a great advantage in analyzing the levels of participation in The American Experience is our personal experiences with these generations: Our families come from homes with many "G.I." stars in the windows. We ourselves were front-line warriors of the "Silent Generation." We were mentors to thousands of "Boomers." We have adopted ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/21/7-the-american-experience/ When I picked up the phone on the conference call, I realized that we had another crisis on our hands. First, there was the crisis at The Village Charter School which we needed to process. Now, there was a second—even greater crisis—of generational experience. I began by saying "We have to ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/18/6-the-generational-experience/ Finally, it is easy to understand why our children of The Village Charter School are deprived of the "Entrepreneurial Enterprise Experience." Major corporations have abandoned the people of Chester. The only viable entrepreneurial opportunities are in the illegal realm: dealing dope, car jacking, pimping, prostitution, and the like. Eighty-five percent ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/17/5-entrepreneurial-enterprise/ It is also easy to understand why our children of The Village Charter School are deprived of the "Participative Governance Experience." They live in a "Monochromatic Landscape." Their only real contact with government is with the police who conduct the "revolving door" where 85 percent of their fathers and brothers ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/16/4-participative-governance-2/ It is easy to understand why our children of The Village Charter School are deprived of the "Cultural Relating Experience." They live in a "Unicultural Society:" 100 percent black, mothers on welfare, fathers "on leave." In a recent crisis, eight of 88 mothers showed up for an urgent meeting concerning ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/15/3-cultural-relating-2/ I had occasion recently to keynote the opening day of an inner-city charter school, Chester Village Charter School in Pennsylvania. As I walked among the teachers and parents of the 100 percent African-American children, I said the following: "We are going to dedicate ourselves to giving these children 'the American Experience'." Immediately, ... http://www.freedomblog.com/2008/07/14/2-the-american-experience/