Getting Rid of Sociopathic Generations

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The Living Force
Former Venezuela Presidential Chief of Staff Beatrice Rangel on how post-baby boomer generations are set to lead countries across the Western Hemisphere from Argentina to Brazil to Venezuela to the U.S.A.

Sunday Feb. 3, 2019 - Getting Rid of Sociopathic Generations
Latin American Herald Tribune - Beatrice Rangel: Getting Rid of Sociopathic Generations

The best way to understand the roots of the disarray that predominates in world affairs is to read Bruce Cannon Gibney's book "A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America."

The basic tenet of this incredibly well researched and superbly written treatise is that because baby boomers were the first generation that did not have to participate in a war, were coddled by their war-torn parents and educated by TV (which to the author is "a training and reinforcement mechanism for deceit) are selfish, deceitful and prone to instant gratification.

Accordingly, they became a generation of rent extractors and political manipulators.

To Gibney's mind, this explains why baby boomers have overused infrastructure and fail to address climate change, adequate education and healthcare.

Facing these challenges would have demanded a minimum of sacrifice which baby boomers did not stand ready to take, given their inclination towards instant gratification and aversion of pain or any suffering.

The result is ballooning debt and cultural dualism typified in the coexistence of a top demographic cohort that is hyper-educated with a bottom demographic cohort that is functionally illiterate despite attending primary school.

The top cohort thus can enjoy all possibilities to grow and realize their talents.

The bottom cohort's most probable residence will be the ever-growing private prison system.

The baby boomer virus spread through the international system with effectiveness and speed given that -- except for Europe, Japan and lonely stars like Chile, Singapore, Costa Rica, Canada and New Zealand -- elites in most countries of the world are corporativist.

Corporativist culture is rent extracting, short in vision and exclusionary. In sum, God created these elves and globalization brought them together. And just as the U.S. is the least developed among the developed countries in terms of infrastructure, education, health care and fiscal virtue, the rest of the world is a humongous factory of frustration, addictions, illicit trade, violence and despair.

Under such circumstances democratic stability becomes challenging.

Because the baby boomer culture upholds the principle that one must live long and prosper at the expense of everyone else. And while not all boomers were cut in the same mold, most benefited from the instant gratification culture, as a generation they are all "jointly and severally liable."

But since the universe does not tolerate imbalances for too long, a change is about to happen. Baby boomers are being retrieved by nature and displaced by biology especially in politics where their culture proved to be most damaging.

In the U.S., the truly disgusting tit-for-tat between President Trump and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is beginning to convince U.S. voters that the time has come to vote out baby boomers.

Everywhere in the US a new generation of leaders is coming to prime. Let's pray that this generational spring will be in full force for the 2020 elections.

In Brazil the country clearly rejected the baby boomer culture in favor of a political leader that is promising Brazilians to go back to family values, to create jobs and to support individual initiative. He is younger than most predecessors and completely untied by political and corporativist networks of the past.

In Venezuela, a young and fresh leader -- Juan Guaido -- has taken the lead of the National Assembly in the midst of the worst constitutional crisis the country has ever faced.

Yes, not only is the Venezuela of today producing one third of the oil it produced when president Chavez was elected in 1998 but it has seen its infrastructure, health care and educational institutions collapse.

People die on the streets of hunger and disease. The rate of suicides is the highest in the hemisphere and 3 million Venezuelans have left the country in a regional stampede seeking to escape from death in the hemisphere's killing field known as Venezuela.

Contrary to his predecessors Mr. Guaido has not engaged in a world rainbow tour but has spent most of his time participating in grass roots townhalls aimed at educating Venezuelans on what it means to live in the midst of a constitutional crisis and how he thinks the country could recover its democracy.

His speaking style is absent of grandiloquence, preferring to be colloquial and simple so that his message is perfectly understood by all.

In some fashion his speeches remind many witnesses of the political scene in the 1960s of the rhetorical style of Romulo Betancourt, the founder of Venezuela's democracy.

And from the personal view point, contrary to most political leaders in Venezuela, Mr Guaido has exposed his life in street protests against the regime.

In sum, Venezuela is also shaking away corporativism which is the baby boomer strain in emerging markets.

And the trend will most probably take hold in Argentina where either Mr Macri or Mr Urtubey will lead that nation. Neither of which is a baby boomer predator.


 
May the Prime Creator have mercy on us. Of course the Baby Boomers were bad enough but then what will we see from the next Generation X and more SJWs on the scene.

Generation Xers were children during a time of shifting societal values and as children were sometimes called the "latchkey generation", due to reduced adult supervision as children compared to previous generations, a result of increasing divorce rates and increased maternal participation in the workforce, prior to widespread availability of childcare options outside the home. As adolescents and young adults, they were dubbed the "MTV Generation" (a reference to the music video channel of the same name). In the 1990s they were sometimes characterized as slackers, cynical and disaffected. Some of the cultural influences on Gen X youth were the musical genres of grunge and hip hop music, and indie films. In midlife, research describes them as active, happy, and achieving a work–life balance. The cohort has been credited with entrepreneurial tendencies.

I can only hope that the work-life balance kicks in and pushes us back towards some family values.

Work–life balance is the term used to describe the balance that an individual needs between time allocated for work and other aspects of life. Areas of life other than work–life can be, but not limited to personal interests, family and social or leisure activities.[1] The term ‘Work-Life Balance' is recent in origin, as it was first used in UK and US in the late 1970s and 1980s, respectively. More recently the term has drawn on some confusion; this is in part due to recent technological changes and advances that have made work and work objectives possible to be completed on a 24-hour cycle. The use of smartphones, email, video-chat, and other technological innovations has made it possible to work without having a typical "9 to 5 work day".[1]

According to 2010 National Health Interview Survey Occupational Health Supplement data, 16% of U.S. workers reported difficulty balancing work and family. The findings were more prevalent among workers aged 30–44. For example, the reported challenges of balancing both spheres of life for non-Hispanic black workers was 19% compared with 16% for non-Hispanic white workers and 15% for Hispanic workers. As for the divorced or separated workers (19%) compared with married workers (16%), widowed workers (13%), and never married workers (15%). In addition, workers having a bachelor's degree and higher (18%) compared with workers having a high school diploma or G.E.D. (16%), and workers with less than a high school education (15%). [2]Workers in agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industries (9%) had a lower prevalence rate of work–family imbalance compared to all employed adults (16%). Among occupations, a higher prevalence rate of work–family imbalance was found in legal occupations (26%), whereas a lower prevalence rate was observed for workers in office and administrative support (14%) and farming, forestry, and fishing occupations (10%).[2]
 
Former Venezuela Presidential Chief of Staff Beatrice Rangel on how post-baby boomer generations are set to lead countries across the Western Hemisphere from Argentina to Brazil to Venezuela to the U.S.A.

Sunday Feb. 3, 2019 - Getting Rid of Sociopathic Generations
Latin American Herald Tribune - Beatrice Rangel: Getting Rid of Sociopathic Generations

The best way to understand the roots of the disarray that predominates in world affairs is to read Bruce Cannon Gibney's book "A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America."

Ms. Rangel starts out ok re the selfish Boomers, but by the end it's a thinly veiled propaganda piece for neolibs Guaido and Bolsanaro. Bolsanaro is praised for his call to return to 'family values', while Gauido is speaking at town halls 'and how he thinks the country could recover its democracy.' She completely misses that both are stalking horses for strengthening US dominance in the region. Or maybe she doesn't:

Beatrice Rangel is President & CEO of the AMLA Consulting Group, which provides growth and partnership opportunities in US and Hispanic markets. AMLA identifies the best potential partner for businesses which are eager to exploit the growing buying power of the US Hispanic market and for US Corporations seeking to find investment partners in Latin America. Previously, she was Chief of Staff for Venezuela President Carlos Andres Perez as well as Chief Strategist for the Cisneros Group of Companies
 
Sorry for missing the main point of the article. It all about drumming up support for Guaido not really generation gaps.

From Latin American Herald Tribune
Beatrice Rangel: Three Dialogues - Three Moments in the Americas
Former Venezuela Presidential Chief of Staff Beatrice Rangel – just back from meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the CAF conference in Washington – reports on the dialogues that have worked in Latin America in the past and dialogue's chances for success in Venezuela.

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By Beatrice E. Rangel

News about the potential initiation of a settlement dialogue in Venezuela came wearing -- like most recent news about that country -- the robes of controversy.

The opposition block known as MUD for its acronym in Spanish (Mesa de la Unidad Democratica) almost by unanimity voted no-confidence in its director for international affairs after he seemed to be leaning towards the easing of international pressure when the rest of the world is going the opposite direction.

Certainly, the international community, the people of Venezuela and organized opposition groups all agree that this is the time to exert pressure on the Government of Venezuela so that it sits at the negotiating table and agrees to a democratic solution to the humanitarian crisis engulfing the country.

The episode has triggered a debate among Venezuelans and interested foreigners on the relative value of dialogue as compared to letting the ongoing collapse proceed.

And while in Latin America’s recent past dialogue has helped abort armed conflicts that would have been devastating, some believe Venezuela’s institutional framework has degenerated to such a point that there is nothing to be kept.

Most observers however seem to side with negotiations given that a deteriorating regional environment could serve as fuel for a never ending conflict should the collapse proceed.

Those that side with a negotiated solution which demands as primary input a national dialogue seem to think that a violent conflict in Venezuela would soon take over Colombia and neighboring Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Bonaire, Aruba and Barbados.


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With this in mind, I think it is useful to analyze past regional experiences where dialogue has prevented conflict while strengthening the institutional framework. Two such occasions come to mind. The 1978 border dispute conflict between Argentina and Chile over the possession of Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands located at the Beagle Pass and the scope of the maritime jurisdiction associated with those islands; and the resolution of the Ecuador -Peru border dispute in 1995.

The Beagle crisis exploded when Argentina’s dictatorship concocted the operation Soberania to take over those islands disregarding an international arbitration of 1977 awarding the territory to Chile. The move came as the authoritarian regime was driving the country to economic prostration thereby facing a popularity crisis.

The Chilean military government led by Augusto Pinochet was well aware of the move and had mobilized all the army to the confrontation area. When war seemed to be inevitable, the Roman Pontiff, John Paul II, sent Cardinal Samoré to Buenos Aires to offer his good offices. The Argentinean government backed off well-informed of the popular support the Vatican had in an overwhelmingly Catholic Argentina. By January 1979 the Act of Montevideo signed by both countries formally launched the Papal mediation.

In the case of the Ecuador-Peru dispute an international committee provided good offices and through its mediation the dispute was settled through a peace treaty signed in 1998. The triggering event was the bombing by Ecuador of a Peruvian Army Guard Post located four kilometers from the borderline with Ecuador.

The attack occurred as diplomatic steps were being taken to settle the bilateral tension provoked when Ecuadorian and Peruvian military patrols exchanged fire on January 9 and 11, 1995.

With the mediation of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United States, a peace treaty was negotiated and signed in 1998. The treaty turned out to be a road map to opening the borders and to building avenues for trade and development. Ever since, trade has acted as the best conduit for peace as it has grown from US$310M to US$1.2B from 1999 to 2010.

In contrast to these two experiences, there is Haiti where no mediation, treaty or even election seems to settle the domestic discord that prevails in that country -- virtually since 1810.

Haiti’s institutional framework continues to be weak and unable to aggregate interests and resolve disputes.

It further seems unable to establish the foundations for the rule of law to take hold.

Consequently, the country is submerged in poverty, violence and destitution as its economy is in constant collapse. Political fragmentation and economic mercantilism prevail among the elites, condemning the country to constant failure.

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This brings us back to the Venezuelan momentum. Two things jump to our eyes.

First it will be virtually impossible for Venezuelans to build a consensus on their own.

The wounds run too deep in the heart and soul of the middle classes that have been subject to a slow motion process of dispossession and house arrest. These were hard-working people who had little or nothing to do with the works of the elites. They, however, are being severely punished for failing to share with the ruling clique their authoritarian mindset and their penchant for rampage of public assets.

The poor, on their part, felt better off at the beginning of the revolution and now think that the sudden deterioration in their living standards is attributable to the early death of the caudillo. Both abhor the current head of state and would like to sack him soon. But that is about it.

Second, no one seems to have a plan to pull the country out of its current predicament. President Maduro’s potential demise to abort chaos needs a negotiated road map to bring the country back on its feet. And that is where dialogue is essential.

But for this to happen, the government and the opposition need to agree and trust a mediator or committee of mediators that secures the occurrence of the recall referendum and brokers a road map to internal peace. For this to happen international and national pressures need to continue.

Beatrice Rangel is President & CEO of the AMLA Consulting Group, which provides growth and partnership opportunities in US and Hispanic markets. AMLA identifies the best potential partner for businesses which are eager to exploit the growing buying power of the US Hispanic market and for US Corporations seeking to find investment partners in Latin America. Previously, she was Chief of Staff for Venezuela President Carlos Andres Perez as well as Chief Strategist for the Cisneros Group of Companies.

For her work throughout Latin America, Rangel has been honored with the Order of Merit of May from Argentina, the Condor of the Andes Order from Bolivia, the Bernardo O'Higgins Order by Chile, the Order of Boyaca from Colombia, and the National Order of Jose Matías Delgado from El Salvador.

You can follow her on twitter @BEPA2009 or contact her directly at BRangel@amlaconsulting.com.
 
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