“GUIDANCE AGAINST THE ODDS”   The First Thirty-Nine Years….…

The expectations of Guidance Against the Odds and this site Book My Story is entirely motivational.  With the core focus on inspiring young minds to read, to study history and to reach out to other youths across the nation, learning the art of communicating by listening with empathy rather than immediate discord for the sanctity of our Nation. With a world measured by speed, data delight, and sound bites, while politicians and social discourse increasingly becoming common core, there is a need for stability of reasoning. In short, it is a provocation for those who know and understand the cause and effect of the demagoguery of the past and a brainwave for millions who are turned off by the bully mindset that prevails in America today. “The AUDACITY of the MILLENNIALS,” a rhetorical statement, meant as a stimulus, to and for a generation (for the most part) who within a decade will be in the driver’s seats of the most powerful nation on earth. A mental make-up of divisiveness growing deeper in a country which possessively stands for “Liberty and Justice for All.”

In 1961, a wall was built in another part of the world. It does not matter today the reason, just that it divided people; with fear and hate as it’s motivation. It took 28 years with America’s involvement before the wall was torn down. In 2016, in the most powerful nation on earth, the conversation about walls further illustrates the inability of intelligent but power hungry people to set at a table of understanding. The wall is just one of many issues used to incite anger using fear and prejudices as kindle. As a nation, we don’t see how others countries see us as a people, mixing patriotism with hate. “Do as I say, not as I do mentality,” hypocrisy at it deepest, but money and power can tangle the soul, derailing the body from the Spirit of life.

The Audacity of the Millennia’s I would hope is not to follow in the footsteps of generation “X”, but as the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Generation X, parents of Millennia’s, population approximately 41 million are known as the generation having the lowest voting participation rate of any generation. Generation Xers have been quoted by Newsweek as “the generation that dropped out without ever turning on the news or tuning into the social issues around them,” giving suspect to the missing links. It would be a misnomer to say that Millennia’s are the same, with iPhones at their fingertips, breakfast lunch, and dinner. The question is, will Millennia’s smell the bacon and seal the yoke? As a Post-War Cohort, born in 1944, a military veteran, a grandparent, and a Baby-boomer, a generation which valued its comfort and security as America moved into the “Industrial Age.” I have lived long enough to see the continued demise of our political process, a decaying of social values and the increasing fearfulness of everyday existence. The African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child,” has been used extensively over the years. There is another African proverb; “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” As a nation, we are divided because of embedded supercilious attitudes blinding the causalities of our society’s woes.

Human beings are creatures of habit rather than logic and defensive by nature, even when we are wrong. We perpetually destroy the moral fiber of our being as we try viciously to trump each other, “no pun intended.” The ultimate faith of America will depend on the unity of an interim new generation of thinkers, void of offensive tactics; a utopia, but not impossible. Millennia’s’ are known as incredibly sophisticated, technology wise, immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches, many, not only grew up with it all, they’ve seen it all and exposed to it all since early childhood. Time is running, outside forces are radicalizing our youth as we procrastinate our way to self-destruction in the name of self-initiated “internal fear.”  A political philosopher by the name of Edmund Burke once wrote, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for enough good men to do nothing.” “No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”

Millennia’s, having a voting population expected to rise above 75 million for the 2016 election can be a game changer. The combined effrontery of a younger creative mindset, united, selflessly giving positive input with the power of the vote can be the refurbishment needed  on the inside the beltway mentality. Millennia’s make up over 25% of the U S population, having at least 21% of direct buying power and a huge influence on older generations. 46% of millennia’s have 200 plus friends on Facebook. These statistics alone is a show of strength if unified. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink, but you can sure have an influence on the pastures it feeds in.