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I’m Grant Symons. I convene Transition Edge to help us understand how
we can transition to a low carbon sustainable world using leading thinking and practices.
Why are we letting rip at Oldies this week? Well, it’s all part of exploring a problem.
The problem seems to be that
there is a gap between those who can, or want to, help with the transition and those young or inexperienced people who ought to be working productively on the transition.
This notional ‘Oldies’ cohort is the first cab off the rank! We thought it was only fair for us to have a go at our
peer group first. There are more to come, in our foray into exploring the intergeneration issues – in this case the problem of young people insufficiently benefiting from a group who are more experienced and resourced.
Which oldies are we referring to in this article?
There is a particular group that we have in mind. The comfortable, knowledgeable, calculating, who are across the existential issues, who have it all figured
out... and their interests are focus largely on their own survival and enjoyment.
The folks who know there is a big transition in play, but can't let go of their comfort, success and power… to do something that will really make a difference for humanity, now and in the near horizon.
Immaculately crafted excuses, disguises, diversionary strategies - all well-rehearsed – ensure their cozy lifestyles are all but guaranteed...until, of course, there is no one willing to take care of their heath. holiday home, car, house cleaning and so on in the future.
Safe investments, crafty advisors and everything in place to guarantee 'resort style living' in retirement. Wow! You did it folks. You won. You got the prize - you lived through the best the world has ever had to offer. But, is that it?
At its core, we sense most of what drives this type of behaviour and mindset is a sense of, ‘I made it'. It’s a denial that the world provided the opportunity to do so in the first place, a certain amount
of entitlement, selfishness and perhaps some ignorance about the real issues being faced now and in the near future:
- "We can't make a difference, why try?"
- "I'm too old to be interested anyway"
- "There is no way to young people would listen to me"
- "The young people will save us"
- "The young are so fearless and brave"
There is a good deal of side-stepping, disclaiming, distancing, and fobbing off that we are hearing from
our peers. Deathly silence on critical issues, the distracting away from their life being lived and that they expect to live in the future; all the while elevating and pumping up the - yet to be proven - abilities of the next generation.
Yet these generations coming through are facing the most complex problems and issues ever created by humankind. And while we (including the ‘oldies who suck’ group) have benefited from the
conditions that created this mess, all we can do now is tell our youth to toughen up, get a real job, do the business...while we quietly exit stage left. "Well not so fast" as my old mentor used to say.
All these decades
have made your life cozy and now you want the youth to pay the ‘bill’. LOL! Have you got a screw loose?
YOU have most of the resources, the capital, the property, the life experience, the assets and the financial portfolios...the young have nothing except for mounting debt, homes eight times more expensive than when you got on the property ladder and a growing mental health bi-product, brought
about by this ever growing pile of multi-faceted issues that is of nightmare proportions.
Don't you think that actually sucks?