How Shall We Live In A "Fourth Turning?"

Wherein I try to give the reader hope for the future.

My last post was well, depressing. If the cycles of history repeat as outlined in Neil Howe’s book “The Fourth Turning Is Here,” the next ten years or so could be rough.

Howe makes the case that the United States is in the midst of a crisis period that should resolve if history is any guide, around the year 2033. The three previous crisis periods in American history culminated in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War II. Yikes.

What I want to want to do now is give you some hope for the future. After a crisis, Howe tells us, comes a “high.” What he means is that once the crisis has been resolved, America has always rebuilt and prospered. Many Americans saw their freedoms expand after the crisis. Think about it. After the Revolutionary War, the new United States freed from an overbearing Monarch, grew and expanded across the continent, taking its place among the leading nations of the world.

As a result of the Civil War, slavery was abolished and African Americans became citizens. Of course, many African Americans still experienced hardship, persecution, and racism, especially in the South, but the institution of slavery had ended.

The post-World War II period thrust America into a position of global leadership and dominance, with unprecedented economic prosperity. WWII also sowed the seeds of the Civil Rights movement that would fully flower a short time later, bringing more freedom to African Americans.

While high periods bring about imperfect results, they do represent advances toward what Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to as the “promissory note” of freedom expressed in the Declaration of Independence. What step might we take in the next high toward the fulfillment of that promissory note is unknown at this time. But it is fully within our power to determine. So don’t despair. As the saying goes “this too shall pass.” Morning follows night. The sun will rise tomorrow.

In the meantime, each of us has a responsibility to our nation and future generations. Will we rise to the occasion, pull ourselves through the crisis, and toward the high that follows? I know many Americans are pessimistic about our nation’s future but look to the past. I can imagine that the days leading up to World War II were filled with pessimism. It wasn’t that long ago really. We all likely remember parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents telling stories of those times.

The United States was in an economic depression we seemed incapable of escaping. Despite massive government intervention into the economy, many were still unemployed, or underemployed - struggling to provide for their families. Dictators were consolidating power around the globe, building up their military capabilities, and threatening neighboring countries. As Hitler’s plans became known I’m sure many thought the end of the world was at hand, and who could blame them for thinking that? The world had never seen barbarity on that scale, and how on earth could such power and evil be defeated? Yet, young men signed up to fight. Young women stepped into roles they hadn’t been asked to fill before. Leaders stepped up with courage and led. Political differences took a back seat to deal with the crisis at hand, and despite paying a heavy price, freedom prevailed.

It would be tempting to survey the current American political and cultural landscape and conclude we’re incapable of dealing with any crisis, much less one on the scale of World War II. But remember that every generation of Americans that have gone through such a crisis period was doubted as well. They rose to the occasion and got the job done.

Each of us has a responsibility to those who have gone before us to preserve, as best we can, the freedom and prosperity we’ve been given. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less. Don’t give in to the pessimism all around us. It’s not time to put a brick on the gas pedal and jump out of the car. It’s time to regain control of the car and get it back inside the lines. Thankfully our law and constitution give us the tools to do just that if we are willing to work within the system and stop considering others our enemies. Instead, we should view friends, strangers, and enemies as fellow humans, made in the image of God and worthy of our love and respect. Even if we profoundly disagree with them.

Imagine if we actually put into practice Jesus’ Golden Rule, not just to those in our “tribe” but to everyone.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 7:12

How much better would our political and cultural landscape be if more people lived their lives by the Golden Rule? Maybe those of us who call ourselves Christians should be the first to give this a shot. I think doing that would help our crisis period come to a more peaceful end and create a more hopeful future, for everyone.