Trust the Young

I’m just not feeling the Bern. It’s probably an age thing. The young are flocking to Sanders’ revolution. They want to change the world . . . or so I’m told. At my age, it’s hard just summoning the energy to try and tweak it. Back in the 1960s when we didn’t trust anybody over 30, we too set out to change the world. But along the way we gave up or we gave in or we dropped out. The world changed, but not because it bent to our will. Still, I read with hope that today’s 18-29-year-olds are among those who most disdain Trump – and most strongly support Sanders.

I’m not yet ready to join them. For one thing, I believe in the power of a free – and fair – marketplace to effect change. Not the one where corporate cartels – too big to fail and too entrenched to regulate – ride roughshod over the common good, but the one where start-up businesses breathe new life into their neighborhoods; where impact investing is a powerful social, environmental and economic tool; where young entrepreneurs bring their creativity and passion to Detroit, intent on making not just a fortune but a difference. Will they stay? Will the dig in? Will they hold onto their visions? With the young, you never know. But it's exciting.

The young are the future, and they have historically been the forerunners of change. Though I’m not ready to join them on Bernie’s bandwagon, I support their journeys, and I look to them to lead the way.