Voices of Our Clergy

Why do we identify younger generations by letters (Gen X, Y, Z) while we define older ones by characteristics (Greatest, Silent, Baby Boomers)?

One theory is the letters began as placeholders while we waited to see what would define each generation.

Gen X knew the first personal computers. Gen Y are Millennials because they became adults at the turn of the millennium. Gen Z — I think we’re still waiting.

While I don’t idealize the past — memory often allows us to curate what we keep — recent losses in our community, from lesser known Memphis citizens to the visionary Fred Smith, have illuminated a universal need: a critical mass of individuals in every generation who prioritize community betterment above self.

Human nature leans towards selfishness, which is precisely why every society requires individuals regardless of age to step forward.

For figures like Fred Smith and the unsung heroes he publicly admired, success was a means to a life of significance, not an end in itself. 

I recall a deeply moving moment in recent years at the National Civil Rights Freedom Award ceremony when Fred Smith was honored. I happened to be sitting in the front section surrounded by many of his FedEx colleagues. When he accepted the award, Smith displayed a photo of his commanding officer during his service as a Marine in Vietnam, a hero who had perished.

Smith lauded his mentor for lessons that had saved his own life. He then revealed he had continued to call the commander’s son since his father’s death.

“While I do not take this honor lightly,” Smith continued, “and since I cannot give this award to my hero, I must give this to his son who is sitting up close.”

The polite guy in front of me, whom I had said hello to, rose for the clearly unexpected recognition. I, along with many others, wept, moved by yet another selfless gesture from our city’s finest.

Were Smith alive, he would shrink from such praise, preferring Dr. Martin Luther King’s sentiment: “Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”

In a faith landscape often lacking multigenerational houses of worship and a society where personal ambition often overshadows public service, the future of American cities like ours hinges on communal betterment rather than individual advancement.

While we are undeniably more self-focused today and the rise of individualism has eclipsed our obligation to the greater good, I do not believe Americans under 50 years old are inherently busier than prior generations.

I continue to marvel at the sacrifices and ingenuity of my grandparents’ and parents’ generations who made ends meet without the comforts I, as a young Baby Boomer, now have.

It might seem overly optimistic to bridge the gap between “selfie-snapping 20-somethings” and “slower-walking 70-somethings.”

Similarly, it’s unfair for older generations to mischaracterize younger ones. My own children in their 30s, for example, demonstrate a stronger work ethic than some of my contemporaries.

However, I am convinced the vital institutions and societal fabric of our cities — whether faith communities, nonprofits, civic organizations or businesses — cannot be sustained by a “me-first” mindset.

Sacrifice, with mutual prosperity serving as a means to community betterment, is what distinguished the Greatest Generation. We need all generations to become the architects of a better tomorrow.

This will require dedicated Memphians who are proud to live here and willing to invest the time necessary to elevate our city. 

What Memphis truly needs are those who love this city, whether native or newcomer, seeing it not just as it is but as it could be:

Less blighted and more prosperous. Less violent and more just. Less narrow-minded and more inclusive. Less guardedness and more giving.

We simply need more hands on deck, whether young or seasoned.

Let’s not wait for history to put a label on this season of life in Memphis. Let’s choose for ourselves what traits will define us.