The Latest Generation

Redux - The Lone Silent


Listen Later

On the occassion of President Joseph Biden's 81st birthday, re-upping some observations on the first and last Silent Generation POTUS. 

 

(Even if he only made the Silent cutoff by about 6 weeks.)

=====================================

President Joseph Biden is the first President from the Silent Generation, and presumably the last. Is that going to be a problem, here in the Fourth Turning? Perhaps not, considering how little we understand about how leaders change in the later Elder period of life. His governing style might not be the standard for how the Artist archetype is expected to manifest.

 

Here's the excerpt again:

 

“As the forces of history amass under Boom leadership, the Silent can remind Boomers of kindness, 13ers of conscience, Millenials of caution. The danger will lie in any attempt by aging Silent leaders to get too much in the way of the thickening forces of history - for example, if an eightyish President (or Supreme Court) insists on scrupulous process at a moment when younger generations begin to coalesce around the need for decisive action. The last time this happened, during the Presidency of old Compromiser James Buchanan, the foot dragging of elder Adaptives helped foment the most destructive crisis in American History. The same could occur if antiquarian Silent leadership helps usher in the Crisis of 2020.”

 

Neil Howe & William Strauss, Generations, published 1991, page 395 the Silent generation section of “Completing the Millennial Cycle”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_age

Reagan's meetings with Gorbachev in the last 18 months of office. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Summit_(1987)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Summit_(1988)

Mitch McConnell was born 2/20/1942, is a more definite silent, if only by a few months.

Nanci Pelosi was born March 26 1940 a solid Silent 

Chuck Schumer was born November 23 1950 and is a very solid Boomer…but even he is 70 

The generational attributes come from Chapter 12 of Generations, the last two rows of Figure 12-7, Peer Personalities, by Generational Type

 

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Latest GenerationBy Patrick Bowman

  • 3.3
  • 3.3
  • 3.3
  • 3.3
  • 3.3

3.3

3 ratings