Generation We: How Millennial Youth are Taking Over America And Changing Our World Forever

by Eric H. Greenberg, Karl Weber

Overview

In the last three years, the Millennial Generation has emerged as a powerful political and social force. Currently including young people up to30 years of age, the Millennials are the largest generation in history; they are independent politically, socially, and philosophically and they are spearheading a period of sweeping change in America and around the world. Generation We explores the emerging power of the Millennial Generation, shows how the Millennials (and their supporters from other generations) are poised to change our nation and our world for the better, and lays out a powerful plan for progressive change that today s youth is ready to implement. Generation We presents for the first time the results of a major research study into the characteristics of the Millennial Generation, including an in-depth survey of 2,000 individuals and a series of twelve geographically- and demographically-diverse focus groups, all sponsored by author Eric Greenberg and conducted by Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications, one of the most respected research organizations in the United States. Generation We also presents the major political, social, and economic challenges facing the Millennial generation. As Greenberg and Weber show, the best way to launch the Millennial revolution is with Project FREE a massive scientific and industrial program to move America beyond fossil fuels by inventing the next generation of energy sources. Project FREE will require a significant national investment. But it will produce millions of new jobs, dramatically reduce the environmental damage caused by carbon emissions, and free the country from dependence on unreliable, sometimes hostile foreign regimes. Ultimately, it even has the potential to revolutionize life on this planet, giving us energy that is virtually costless and producing many other huge benefits, from plentiful fresh water to an end to wars over resources. Generation We also answers the question, What can I do to help turn this vision of a better America into reality? It offers a list of specific steps citizens of any age can take to help promote the progressive ideals and program outlined in the book. It s the book that can inspire a generation to achieve new heights of greatness, allowing Americans to take back control of our lives, our communities, our country, and our future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780982093108
Publisher:	Pachatusan
Publication date:	11/03/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Eric H. Greenberg is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Beautifull, INC (www.Beautifull.com), a prepared, fresh food company focused on providing tasty, healthy, and real food for retail and home delivery.Greenberg has founded and established many businesses in his entrepreneurial career including wind farms in partnership with Native American tribes in the Great Plains; Acumen Sciences and the Acumen Journal of Life Sciences; Scient, a consulting firm focused on eBusiness and emerging technology; and Viant, an internet systems integrator. An award-winning philanthropist, he was named by Worth Magazine as one of the 10 Most Generous Americans Under 45. Karl Weber is a writer and editor specializing in topics from business, politics, and current affairs. Weber's recent projects include the New York Times bestseller Creating a World Without Poverty, co-authored with Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize (2008); The Triple Bottom Line, a guide to sustainable business co-authored with Andrew W. Savitz (2006); and The Best of I.F. Stone, a collection of pieces by the famed independent journalist which Weber edited (2006). Weber served as project editor on the number one New York Times bestseller What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception by Scott McClellan (June, 2008).

Read an Excerpt

1. This Moment In History


A nation adrift, a planet at risk

You don't have to look hard to find the bad news. It's everywhere-on the TV networks and the cable channels, on the radio talk shows, in our local newspapers, in every magazine, and all over the Internet. The economy is in the tank. Americans by the tens of thousands are losing their jobs. In Iraq, a wasteful war of dubious necessity grinds on, while terrorists in other countries regroup and hatch fresh plans. Pollution poisons our environment and junk food poisons our bodies. Millions go without health care. Corporate plunderers and speculators grab an ever-growing share of profits while worker salaries dwindle. The price of oil skyrockets, making everyday necessities more and more costly. Millions lose their homes as a nationwide mortgage crisis spirals out of control. And the mountains of debt we're all carrying-government debt, credit-card debt, student loans-continue to grow, burying our hopes for a secure future.
Yes, the bad news is everywhere. We worry about it. We gripe about. Bloggers rant about it. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert joke about it. Talking heads and politicians argue about it.
It's time we do something about it.

The moment is coming

History, someone said, is "just one damn thing after another." Usually it is-just a parade of presidents elected, of wars fought, of bills passed, of economic booms and busts.
But standing out from the parade there are the real turning points-the crucial moments, few and far between, when major changes occur that affect civilization and life on this planet for decades or centuries tocome.
It's always easier to recognize those turning points after they've come and gone. But once in a while-once in a great while-you can sense when such a moment is coming. And right now, millions of us are aware, vaguely or vividly, that Something Big is in the air . . . that a crucial moment of opportunity has come, when we can change the course of history for the better.
It's not about the arrival of a great leader-although crucial turning points in history often seem to conjure up the inspired leadership needed to make powerful changes happen (think about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr.). It's about deep-seated social, economic, and political forces that prepare the way for profound change.
And perhaps the greatest of those forces is the power of a generational shift.

The Millennials are here

Great leaders play an important role in shaping history. But an even greater role is played by the generations of ordinary people from whom the great leaders arise. Without those millions of people, sharing a common vision and ready to shape the future together, even great leaders can accomplish little.
Washington could never have led a successful revolution without millions of patriots ready to fight for their own independence. Lincoln could never have freed the slaves and reunited the nation without millions of Americans willing to put their lives on the line for that cause. Roosevelt could never have lifted the U.S. out of the Great Depression or spearheaded a victorious war against fascism without the heroism of what's now called "The Greatest Generation." And King could never have aroused the conscience of white America without the voices of thousands of courageous supporters who made up the ground forces of the civil rights movement.
Today, a new generation is about to seize the reins of history. This book has been written about them and for them. They are a generation that appears to be unique in American and world history-a generation that is incredibly well prepared to tackle the huge challenges we all are facing. They are often known as the Millennial generation. Born between 1978 and 2000, the Millennials currently include 95 million young people up to 30 years of age-the biggest age cohort in the history of the nation.
In the last three years, the Millennial generation has begun to emerge as a powerful political and social force. They are smart, well-educated, open-minded, and independent-politically, socially, and philosophically. They are also a caring generation, one that appears ready to put the greater good ahead of individual rewards. Hence our preferred name for them-Generation We. And they are already spearheading a period of sweeping change in America and around the world.
As this period of change unfolds, Generation We will follow (if possible), lead (if necessary). And because of their huge numbers and their unique new perspective, they will make dramatic changes happen, one way or another.
You probably already know a lot about the Millennials. You may be a Millennial yourself, or you may have read or heard about the Millennials in the media. During 2008, the Millennials have been getting a lot of buzz, thanks in part to the amazing rise of Barack Obama-the first presidential candidate to build a campaign largely on their support.
But few people realize how unique Generation We actually is, and even fewer have recognized the incredible opportunities they have to transform society for the better, both here in the U.S. and around the world.
The first purpose of this book is to explore the emerging power of Generation We and to show how the Millennials (and their supporters from other generations) are poised to drive the next great turning point of history. And the second purpose is to propose an agenda and a road map-to provide Generation We with some ideas and a rallying cry around which, we hope, they can begin to mobilize.
It's time we do something about the bad news. Generation We can lead the way.

A note to the reader

If you are a member of the Millennial generation, this book is a call to action. Our goal is to help you fully grasp the remarkable opportunity that you and others of your age group have to make our world a better place, and to encourage you to seize that opportunity while you can.
The book begins with a chapter that describes in some detail the characteristics of Generation We. (For you, this may feel a bit like looking in a mirror-though we bet you'll learn some things about yourself and your age-mates that you never fully realized before.) The rest of the book then explains how the special qualities of your generation have prepared you uniquely well to reshape our world, and suggests some of the ways you might go about doing that.
If you are not a Millennial, your relationship to this book will be a little different. You may have a child, grandchild, friend, acquaintance, colleague, or employee who is a Millennial, in which case you are likely to learn some interesting and important things about the world he or she will inherit and the unique perspective he or she shares with other members of Generation We.
Most important, if you are a citizen of any age who is concerned about the direction in which our nation and our world are heading, this book is directed especially at you. It describes the coming revolution that we believe Generation We is poised to lead. When that revolution begins, all of us will have a role to play.
What will your role be? Will you support, encourage, guide, and defend the best efforts of Generation We to remake our social, political, and economic systems and to protect the deepest interests of every person on our planet? Or will you stand aside, remain uninvolved, or even throw up roadblocks against the coming change?
The time to begin thinking about these questions and challenges is now.

Table of Contents

A Gift For A Better World

1: This Moment In History

2: An Amazing And Powerful Generation

3: The World They Inherit

4: A Clear Vision- Beyond The Red PILL And The Blue PILL

5: The Emergence Of Generation WE

6: Grand Alliance

7: Project Free And The Rest Of The Millennial Agenda

8: Making Change Happen

Epilogue
The WE Declaration

What People are Saying About This

Muhammad Yunus

In my travels around the world, I have been very impressed by today's young people. They are smart, caring, creative, and generous. I share the hope expressed by Greenberg and Weber that this new generation will help re-orient our planet and conquer the problems of poverty, war, and pollution that currently plague it. (Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank and Co-Winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize)

Tom Daschle

For too long, Americans have allowed themselves to be divided—liberal against conservative, rich against poor, race against race—while the challenges we face have gone unmet. It's time for a new politics based on innovation and a shared commitment to the greater good, and Greenberg and Weber explain how American youth are ready to help make it happen. (Tom Daschle, Former Majority Leader of the United States Senate)

Norman Lear

The Bible tells us, "... a little child shall lead them." Unfortunately, we fight that leadership tooth and nail. My own generation hated our kids' music until we started rocking to it, despised their fashions until we started, often absurdly, to wear them. In this book, Greenberg and Weber chronicle today's wonderful young people as they push, pull, and propel us all toward global salvation. (Norman Lear, Founder, DECLARE YOURSELF and the Declaration of Independence Road Trip)

Ron Wyden

This remarkable work sets out a thoughtful and optimistic agenda for America's future. The in-depth research and analysis in Generation We will help the Congress better understand the critical intersection of demographics, economics and ethics. Those seeking to build a bipartisan coalition to fix American health care will find Generation We a valuable guide because it provides policy solutions rather than political spin. (U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR))

Larry Brilliant

We live in amazing times—times of looming crisis as well as incredible opportunity. Tens of millions of young people around the world are eager for change and looking for ways to employ their unprecedented levels of knowledge, talent, and energy. Greenberg and Weber's GENERATION WE offers a roadmap for the revolutionary movement the Millennials are ready to launch. (Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.org)

Dick Morris

Ever since Strauss and Howe identified the potential of the Millennials in their book Generations, I have followed this group with fascination. They will change everything through their commitment to service and the common good, which is akin to that of Brokaw's 'greatest generation.' In Generation We, Eric Greenberg and Karl Weber offer us the first read on what is in store for our country and the world from these remarkable young people. (Dick Morris – NY Times bestselling author and former political strategist/advisor to Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) and President Bill Clinton)

Dean Ornish

The Millennials—and this extraordinary book, filled with passionate intelligence—have the potential to rock the world awake from its numbness at a time when it's most needed. Highly recommended. (Dean Ornish, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and author of The Spectrum)

Charles S. Robb

Greenberg's important study reveals some fascinating and encouraging trends among the Millennials, and he teams with Weber to challenge that unique group (and the rest of us) to seize the opportunity. By calling the status quo as they see it, and then painting on a large canvas with broad strokes, they will turn some heads—and they should. There is nothing timid about their agenda. It's the perfect antidote for today's pessimists. (Charles S. Robb, former U.S. Senator and Governor of Virginia)

Harry Reid

Energy, health care, national security, the environment—these are just some of the issues where Americans are hungry for solutions rather than slogans and posturing. I see hope in the fact that, as Greenberg and Weber detail in this important book, America's next generation will be prepared to help lead the search for real answers. (U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate)

Editorial Reviews

For too long, Americans have allowed themselves to be divided--liberal against conservative, rich against poor, race against race--while the challenges we face have gone unmet. It's time for a new politics based on innovation and a shared commitment to the greater good, and Greenberg and Weber explain how American youth are ready to help make it happen. --Tom Daschle, Former Majority Leader of the United States Senate

In my travels around the world, I have been very impressed by today's young people. They are smart, caring, creative, and generous. I share the hope expressed by Greenberg and Weber that this new generation will help re-orient our planet and conquer the problems of poverty, war, and pollution that currently plague it. --Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank and Co-Winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize

We live in amazing times--times of looming crisis as well as incredible opportunity. Tens of millions of young people around the world are eager for change and looking for ways to employ their unprecedented levels of knowledge, talent, and energy. Greenberg and Weber s GENERATION WE offers a roadmap for the revolutionary movement the Millennials are ready to launch. --Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.org

From the Publisher