It’s Time for Baby Boomers to Exit the Political Stage

Elections and Governing are About the Future, Not the Past

Despite the recent physical, verbal, and cognitive wobbling, President Biden remains steadfast and defiant. Determined to helm his campaign, win re-election, and oversee a successful second term. I want to believe the president and support him.

Outside the expected vitriol from the far right, I think Biden has done a commendable job, worthy of re-election. From my vantage point, I feel reassured and optimistic, despite my concerns of an elderly man facing the challenges of old age.

As a Generation Xer, I’m also confused and dissatisfied. Flustered with what is happening, where we are, and how we got here. I share the angst, concern, and malaise of my own and subsequent generations.

I listen to younger people daily. Do these sentiments sound familiar?

“I can’t believe these are our choices. These guys will be dead during the most consequential years of my professional life, while I’m stuck navigating their legacies and policies.”

“These two are older than my grandfather. What do they know what’s best for me and my future that I don’t?”

“I have nothing in common with either candidate.”

What I see, are 20–40-somethings dealing with the consequences of older generations calling the shots. In all fairness, it’s a challenging map to navigate.

9/11, the Great Recession, and the Covid-19 Pandemic. Three historical and extraordinary events have disrupted, altered, and shaped their lives. A detour from the American Dream is an understatement.

And we read the headlines daily. The articles, podcasts, and social media rants: The spoiled, lazy, and entitled younger generations.

Maybe it’s the age gap pushing back. Every generation has a rebellious streak. Questioning and deviating from what’s come before, how it’s done, and the status quo.

Younger people these days seem to favor a work-life balance with a work-to-live mentality. And who could blame them? The architects of bubbles, and bailouts? Stock dumps and Ponzi schemes?

I never hear Baby Boomers taking responsibility for the state we’re in. The transfers and hoarding of assets and wealth. Inflation, housing prices, and stagnated wages — more obstacles for younger generations to get ahead and in front of student loans.

All across federal and local government, countless baby boomers hanging on to power, refusing to step aside and off the stage. Their egos and stubbornness drag this status quo and country, into what seems, like a race for mediocrity.

For the most part, the world we share is the one they have crafted, engineered, and influenced, and thus be passing on. Whether the boomers like it or not, as soon as 2028, there will be a new wave and brand of politics.

A fresh pool of candidates, platforms, and visions. Not just different and alternative, but new voices from younger generations. And the feeling I get, no 70- to 80-year-olds need to apply — especially for the Oval Office.

This could and might be the saving grace and silver lining of 2024. If it’s Trump or Biden, it’s a one-and-done, lame-duck term.

In the end, this may be our last baby boomer presidency. In the meantime, how this election and the next four years unfold is anybody’s guess.

I will always believe in America’s vision and resiliency. Its grace, autonomy, and ingenuity. It’s call to action and duty. It’s empathy and justice. The prowess to pivot and fight for what is right and worth protecting. All spawned by our core values and principles.

We do have bad elements and people — there’s no way around it. However, on the whole, I believe that America remains a righteous republic with a fair-minded citizenry.

And I am grateful for many of the Baby Boomers’ contributions. Our civic sectors are full of older people who believe in our future and those younger generations called to steward the nation. They are leading by example while mentoring, guiding, and supporting our future leaders.

Their wisdom will serve our new and younger generation of leaders and society. The best and brightest boomers could still serve in mentor and consultant roles — except for holding higher office.

My other concerns and questions are in the here and now. We need programs in place that will encourage, nurture, and support our future leaders.

The creation of think tanks that are inclusive and accessible to the brightest minds who wish to learn and serve. A bastion to breed confidence and strategy that our systems of government work.

Politics needs a return to noble forums, and politicians to be statesmen and women, despite the noise found in chat rooms, cable TV, and social media. As toxic as the current media can often be, it’s here to stay and part of our landscape.

The younger generations are more apt and savvier when it comes to such outlets and platforms. They have a better understanding of its reach and scope. Its power and pitfalls.

I’m optimistic that this knowledge will translate into responsible ideas and forward-thinking solutions. Positive and beneficial legislation. They are thoughtful, well-educated, and hard-working people, despite the criticisms from older generations.

They could also prove to be more collaborative and diplomatic. Rewriting the playbook of partisan politics and gridlock. Criticized, ridiculed, and even lampooned by their upbringing, the younger generations may already possess the traits to govern both efficiently and effectively.

Their sense of inclusion, justice, and empathy could enable a higher, wider, and deeper reach. A natural fit for elected officials to serve the common man while solving social problems on a larger scale. If these traits translate, we could all enjoy a more productive government. More than that — an example and blueprint for future and successive generations.

Reaching across the aisle to better serve society and solve its social problems will be a sign of progress instead of weakness — exactly how our Founding Fathers envisioned the Congress to function in the first place.

It’s time. Time for Baby Boomers to pass the political baton. Time for the rest of us to show faith and courage for the future. To dismantle the status quo, only to bring its best and working parts for the new apparatus.

The future is coming. Let’s find the right people to straddle it. To move all of us, our country, and the free world forward.