Our Grandchildren’s World

When our 1st grandchild was born, I experienced a heightened awareness of and sense of responsibility for the world he and his generation are inheriting from our generation. I began to wonder if other grandparents were going through the same process, and if we might be able to work together to ensure a better world for our grandchildren. In order to find out, I'm circulating the following message.

Picture the world in which you would like your grandchildren to live. If you don’t have grandchildren, picture the world you want for your children, nieces, nephews, your friend’s kids, future generations, etc. And of course, great-grandparents are welcome here too!

Now picture where the world actually seems to be headed- what the world will be like for your grandchildren and future generations if the world continues down its current path.

If these two pictures (the world you would like for your grandchildren and the world they appear likely to inherit) are pretty much the same, you need read no further. We envy your optimism, and we hope with all our hearts that you are right.

If not, we invite you to picture yourself working with other grandparents to turn things around so the world becomes more like the safe and wonderful place that we would wish for our grandchildren.

Some of our thoughts about this are listed below. We’re hoping to start a conversation and see where it leads. Whether you agree or disagree, we’d love to hear from you.

Why focus on grandparents?

·        We love our grandchildren!

·        We want the world to be a good place for them (and their grandchildren) to live.

·        We’ve lived long enough, and experienced enough to begin to take a longer view of things.

·        There are a lot of us-

o       About one-third of American adults are grandparents.

o       The United States has 70 million grandparents, and the total will be 80 million by 2010 as the Baby Boom generation of 76 million people (born between 1946 and 1964) become grandparents.

·        Many of us are well positioned to make a difference. We’ve got time, energy, motivation, experience, expertise, resources, connections, influence, positions of power and responsibility- we can make a difference.

·        For grandparents, a good world for our grandchildren is a non-partisan issue. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, conservatives, liberals, Christians, Jews, Muslims, people of all faiths, non-believers- we all love our grandchildren.

·        As grandparents, as our own family has grown, we’ve come to see that we don’t always agree with all of our other family members, across the generations. What we can agree on is that we love our children and our grandchildren and we’d do anything for them.

·        The song of change has been sung for generations. Changes have been made, and more changes need to take place. Change can only continue in our lives and the lives of our children, grandchildren, and so on, as long as we continue to sing the song of change. We must teach the song, and the best way to teach a song is to sing it. (William M. Stokes)

·        Do you agree? Disagree? What you add? What would you subtract? What would you revise?

Goals of the grandparent movement

·        Build a consensus for taking a longer view so political and economic decisions are made with consideration of how they will impact future generations, not just the next election or the next balance statement.

·        Identify and build broad consensus for individual and systemic changes which we believe are most necessary to move the world in a direction beneficial to our grandchildren’s future.

·        Identify actions that will promote these changes.

·        Link members to opportunities for individual and collective action. For example- http://www.grannyvoter.org/index.htm, http://momsforthefuture.org/Index.php,  and http://www.aarp.org/issues/

·        Empower, motivate, and support each other’s individual and collective action.

·        Engage in individual and collective action.

·        Do you agree? Disagree?  What you add? What would you subtract? What would you revise?

Assumptions

·        There is room for honest disagreement among people of good will about what the future holds, how serious the situation is, what issues are most important, what changes are necessary, and how to accomplish them.

·        At best, even looking at the bright side of things, we are not doing everything we could to ensure the best possible world for our grandchildren.

·        At worst, there is a lot of evidence that the human species is drifting towards disaster. Some believe that if we fail to change our ways, we risk extinction.

·        Unless we change direction, the world our grandchildren grow up in will not be as good as it could be. It may be in much worse condition than the world we grew up in, and may not even be livable.

·        Change is possible.

·        Taking a longer view will result in political and economic decisions that lead towards a better future for our grandchildren.

·        If enough of us care enough and work hard enough, we can move things in a better direction.

·        Do you agree? Disagree? What you add? What would you subtract? What would you revise?

Reasons to despair

·        World’s population is above optimum sustainable number and continues to grow.

·        Pollution poisons the air, water, and food.

·        Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere appear to be changing our climate with unforeseeable consequences.

·        Non-renewable resources are being used up.

·        Germs and viruses develop strains our medicines can’t manage, possibly leading to plagues and epidemics.

·        War and terrorism continue; nuclear/chemical/biological weapons of mass destruction may be unleashed intentionally or accidentally.

·        Social structures, families, communities, relationships are breaking down.

·        Species are becoming extinct, the rain forest is disappearing, and coral reefs are dying.

·        Many people are oblivious, in denial and despair, unaware of the danger and/or unwilling to change, are grabbing what they can, and are building walls to defend themselves.

·        It doesn’t seem like there’s anything a person can do that would make any difference.

·        There are so many serious problems it’s overwhelming.

·        Many powerful interests are heavily invested in maintaining the status quo and are reaping huge short-term profits based on the current system.

·        Huge groups of people are so hopeless and/or angry they don’t care what happens.

·        Some groups see the end of the world as pre-ordained, inevitable and desirable.

·        The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.

·        Politicians and voters focus on the next election instead of the next generation.

·        Corporations and stockholders focus on the next quarter instead of the next 25 years.

·        It may already be too late to turn things around.

·        Do you agree? Disagree?  What you add? What would you subtract? What would you revise?

Reasons to hope

·        There is a growing awareness of what the challenges are, a growing consensus that things need to change, a growing number of promising solutions, and a growing number of people working effectively for change.

·        Creation is resilient, evolving, life-seeking, complex, and surprising.

·        All the major faith traditions promote loving neighbor as self, and believe in a higher power which created the earth and cares for/about creation.

·        We can be kind, loving, dedicated, patient, persistent, proactive, wise, altruistic, creative, brave and hopeful.

·        We love our children and grandchildren, we want the best for them, and we are willing to sacrifice for them.

·        Good things, miracles, serendipity, and grace happen.

·        We can laugh, even at our troubles, and even at ourselves.

·        Lots of good work is being done by good people to solve these problems.

·        We can recognize problems and change our ways- e.g., holes in ozone were letting in dangerous rays, but this appears to have been solved by banning fluorocarbons; and apartheid ended in South Africa without a bloody struggle.

·        People can figure things out and work together to make good things happen.

·        There may still be time to turn things around.

·        Do you agree? Disagree? What you add? What would you subtract? What would you revise?

How can we make the world a better place for our grandchildren?

·        Identify/increase/promote/support the beliefs/values/actions that lead to a better world for our grandchildren, and reduce/resist those that don’t.

·        Develop and implement a strategic plan to accomplish this over the next several generations.

·        Identify and prioritize those changes which are most urgently needed, and most do-able.

·        Working with others, figure this out and make it happen.

·        Identify other people to involve. Develop strategies for engaging them.

·        Identify and collaborate with others already doing something similar to this.

·        Identify individuals and organizations who would support our mission. Develop strategies to engage them and to increase/build on/enlarge this support.

·        Identify individuals and organizations who would oppose our mission and develop strategies to reduce this resistance.

·        Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be, start small, don’t wait until it’s perfect to start doing it.

·        Communicate about this movement in a bi-partisan, ecumenical manner, attract as many people as possible, and repel as few people as possible, keeping the focus on a better world for our grandchildren.

·        Identify well-known, universally respected grandparents to serve as spokespersons for this movement.

·        Identify grandparents in positions of power and encourage them to join this movement.

·        Frame this both in terms of the kind of world we want for our grandchildren and the kind of world we don’t want for our grandchildren.

·        Come up with a logo/picture- how about an older person handing the earth to a child?

·        Within our family and social groups and at work, we usually avoid discussing controversial issues in order to avoid conflict. Perhaps if we would talk about these issues while keeping the focus on what is best for future generations, it would reduce the polarization in our country. Agreeing to disagree, respecting the rights of others to hold different positions, and finding areas of common ground could begin close to home.

·        One way to build consensus among members of this movement might be to do a survey- list issues so people can identify what they think is most important for this movement to address

·        Make the survey on-going so as new people appear their input is added in and influences the movement’s direction.

·        Do you agree? Disagree? What you add? What would you subtract? What would you revise?

Next steps

·        Discuss this with other grandparents. Ask for their input and incorporate their thoughts into this draft.

·        Start a mail/e-mail list.

·        Develop objectives, action steps, a timeline and get to work.

·        What next steps would you recommend?

This sounds promising- how can I participate?

·        Tell us what you think- Do you agree? Disagree? What you add? What would you subtract? What would you revise?

·        Let us know you’re interested by contacting Jack and Lorry Denniston, 406 Colony Woods Drive, Chapel Hill, NC27517, 919.968.0784 jldenniston@intrex.net

·        Discuss this with other grandparents.

·        Make suggestions- how to get this going, next steps, what to focus on, etc.

·        Offer to help-

o       develop a list serve

o       improve the web site http://ourgrandchildrensworld.net

o       automate a survey

o       set up e-meetings

o       serve on the advisory board

o       create a logo

o       join the community of practice

o       set up and conduct an evaluation

o       market this movement

o       dream up an acronym

o       think up a name for this movement

o       write an article for publications like AARP magazine

o       you name it

·        Believe that together we can make the world a better place for our grandchildren.