A message, and a plea, to America's young adults.
With deference to Tom Brokow, I believe that there are no great generations, only great challenges to which ordinary generations like yours and mine must rise. My generation failed you. Your challenge is to remove all the tarnish on the America that you have inherited.
But heed this warning: if you expend your youthful energy on the small and transient issues, you will fail. If you focus on righting historical wrongs, you will forfeit a much larger opportunity to shape the future. And if you focus on the issues that America alone cannot resolve, you will fall short.
No - yours must be the generation that brings to America a form of government which fosters the political maturity of its citizens. You must insist they be empowered to make the national policy decisions that govern their daily lives. Yes, this is a radical new concept that's never been tried in America. Some people call it "Democracy".
Our present government is parental in nature. Not only does it not give its citizens the keys to the car, it won't even let us sign up for Driver's Education. In 1776, we Americans declared our independence from an onerous foreign government that was stifling our natural growth. In your time, there is, again, a need to declare our independence from an onerous government that is stifling our natural growth. This one is not foreign -- this one is home-grown.
Yours can be the greatest generation to date - the one that finally reimagines America, takes democracy to the next stage of its natural evolution, and makes our nation, once again, a beacon of enlightenment.
The torch is passed. Become the "Citizen v2.1 Generation".