The youngest Boomers are not quite fifty; the oldest have already turned sixty-five. A generation that started out in the 1960s, determined to be young forever, is now asking what the point is of growing old. Convinced they were special, Boomers discounted authority and charted their own course. They believed they could make the world better by pursuing freedom.The legacy of the Boomer experiment is becoming evident. Freedoms that were new when Boomers were young are now taken for granted, and we are living "after freedom." Are our freedoms real or illusory? Can we count on anything to be certain? Do virtue and character matter? In a secular age can we recover respect for the sacred?The time is ripe for Boomers to reconsider those good things in the past they refused to honor, to voice their blessings for generations who will shape the future, and to reclaim conviction as they stand firm and dare to say, "This is what I believe."
