Historian Neil Howe has spoken and written extensively on the collective personalities of today’s generations. With co-author William Strauss, Howe coined the term “Millennial Generation” and wrote the best-selling Generations, 13th Gen, The Fourth Turning, and Millennials Rising. Howe’s articles have appeared in such national publications as The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. What follows are excerpts from his address to UMW graduates at the May 12 Commencement Ceremony. A generation is a group of people who share a basic outlook on life shaped by their common age location in history, their common “generational setting.” Youth, on the other hand, is just an age bracket. It’s like an empty hotel room that different generations move into – with their own baggage – and then soon leave. Sometimes that room swells with sweet music, sometimes it throbs with death metal, sometimes it’s utterly silent. But it’s never the same. Bottom line: All of you Boomer … [Read more...]