BoomerBikerOnline.com - Tip of the Week # 8

And I feel - Like I've been here before! ©CSNY

As a hippy growing up in the 60's, I can still vividly remember excitedly waiting for the mailman to deliver the latest edition of the "Mother Earth News" Catalog.

That catalog contained what seemed to me at the time to be an endless amount of information about how each of us as human beings, could do our part to take care of Mother Earth and help make this planet a better place in which to live.

Back then I was filled with the enthusiasm and optimism of my youth - at a time when a large number of my peers were equally aware and concerned about our environment. If you too are a Boomer, like me, you can probably remember terms like "Tree Hugger" a moniker coined in the 60's to describe environmentalists who used to climb trees - refusing to come down as a means to stop commercial loggers from clear cutting our forests.

Then there was Greenpeace - another popular environmental group of the day whose members first gained worldwide notoriety for protecting whales and scuttling whaling ships.

I can also remember personally refusing to buy any products packaged in Styrofoam because that substance doesn't biodegrade. Then there was recycling; cans, bottles, carpooling, tree planting, etc. etc…

But unfortunately, time passed, the 60's changed and so did I. But now, here I am today suffering from what I consider to be - a really bad case of Déjà vu. Your subconscious may also be hearing the same haunting lyrics as I - "We have all been here before!" -- from the old Crosby Stills Nash and Young song/Album of the same name. And recently, it seems that I haven't been able to get them out of my head.

If I had ever been here before I would probably know just what to do Don't you? If I had ever been here before on another time around the wheel I would probably know just how to deal With all of you. And I feel Like I've been here before Feel Like I've been here before And you know It makes me wonder What's going on under the ground

Do you know? Don't you wonder? What's going on down under you.

We have all been here before We have all been here before We have all been here before We have all been here before © CSNY

And I feel - Like I've been here before! © CSNY

I also feel like I haven't been true to my inner self all these years, Yes I abandoned what has proven to be my core beliefs and values as the 60's terned into the 70's, 80,s and so on.

I really screwed up! Nobody is perfect and I'm far from it. But, now that my life is starting to slow down a bit, I've had a chance to step back and evaluate my surroundings. And I really don't like what I'm seeing.

"Global Warming" It really scares the hell out of me. It could possibly be an indicator of the beginning of the end of civilization. And these climate changes are a direct result of the negative effect we humans have had on our environment.

But what bothers me even more is the realization that this current generation of American youth either doen't get it or they just don't care about anything other than themselves!

"Teach your children well" © CSNY

In my opinion, it's up to all of us (aging Baby Boomers) to do whatever we can in the time that we have left on this earth to set the standards for human behavior and responsibility in the 21st century.

And just how can that be done?

For starters, we Boomers should band together (like we did back in the 60's) and work as diligently and as hard as we can to pass on to our children and grandchildren all the wisdom that we have learned since.

We should work tirelessly to pass on our sense of community, of political activism and the respect for our environment that we had as young Americans. We need to change the perception that the questioning of authority is un-American. Such behavior is, after all, totally American and one of the fundamental cornerstones of our Democracy.

After all, aren't those the beliefs and behaviors that served all of us Boomers well in the 60's? And aren't they exactly what's missing today? And, isn't their absence ultimately a contributing factor to Global Warming?

Protecting the environment, political activism and questioning authority -- those behaviors are all extremely important and fundamental to the continued health and ultimate survival of our Democracy.

Our responsibility and our goal, as aging patriots, should be to invest whatever time and energy it takes to insure that all the aforementioned, but apparently dormant, traits are awakened and ignited in today's American youth.

And if we accomplish this goal - what a splendid legacy for all of us Baby Boomers to pass on!

Respectfully,
Bruce Hosking and the rest of the "Gang" @ BoomerBikerOnline.com
2174 Nursery Road, Suite 110
Clearwater, Fl. 33764
USA
727-729-4270

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