#DemographicShift #demographics #certainty #SureThings
“We’re on the cusp of a demographic, generational handoff that will test whether we are a tribal nation, or truly believe in – not what Thomas Jefferson did —but what he wrote in the Declaration of Independence.”
So wrote Jim Galloway, political columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who is retiring after a 41-year career at the paper. This passage is from his last column, published Jan, 17, 2021.
“There’s no escaping this. The only question is how we embrace it,” he continues.
Galloway, who started as a religion reporter, also conveys these lessons: “Don’t ask a Baptist why he isn’t Catholic, and don’t ask a Jew why she isn’t a Latter-day Saint.”
Conversions from one belief system to another are rare, he continues. Those that occur do so more often by experience, or an event, rather than an argument.
Then he adds, “as religiosity has declined in the U.S., … tribalism has increased.”
Though Galloway writes from the perspective of politics, particularly Georgia politics, his point can be universally applied.
First, rather than seeing a belief system changing in a person, it may evolve over time. Some people let the beliefs from which they were raised dictate how they think about everything. Such beliefs are based on faith, meaning they don’t have to be proved to be true. But, as people learn, and witness different worlds, beliefs can evolve.
Younger people, especially, can still believe in their ancestral teachings, yet adopt lifestyles that may not match what their ancestors would have wanted for them.
The same can be applied to work and money. Though one’s ancestors would advise him or her to seek security and “sure” things, people learn that sometimes taking risks can make dreams come true.
The demographic handoff to which Galloway refers is not just political. The new generation – younger and more diverse — that is taking the handoff may have more of an entrepreneurial, or risk-taking mentality that may have been honed as they witness “sure” things becoming more uncertain.
Others – and here’s where the tribalism to which Galloway refers comes in – fight to have old ways prevail and make “sure” things “surer,” even as events around them prevent that from happening.
So how do you fit on this spectrum? Have you seen your “sure” thing disappear, or, at least, become less certain?
Do you see the only way to achieve what you want in life is to look at what may be lurking outside of the “sure” things?
If you’ve acquired, or cultivated, such openness, know that there are many programs out there that allow you to potentially mitigate uncertainty, and eventually give you what you may want from life.
You don’t need specific education, experience or background – just a willingness to look for something to make things “surer” in your life.
To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, the shift, or handoff, to which Galloway refers cannot be stopped, no matter what you do.
You can certainly keep, and follow, ancestral beliefs if you choose. But know that the world is changing around you. The successful believer will meld that change with his or her ancestral beliefs. That combination can assure, if not prosperity, much less uncertainty.
Peter