Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Any effort to understand the dramatic cultural and political changes that are taking place within present-day America prompts a necessity to refer to important literary works of the late 20th century and early within this century.

Two of those important works are “The Fourth Turning” by William Strauss and Neil Howe and “Coming Apart” by Charles Murray. Many simply refer to these changes as a paradigm shift; It is vital that these works be seriously studied if one is to grasp the significance of current and near-future events.

The growing evidence that America’s economy is embroiled in a solvency situation with an inadequate industrial base and a huge unresolved trade deficit portends dramatic changes to come. These changes were recognized very early by Strauss and Howe. Their Fourth Turning depicts the new millennium generation as being exhausted with lower incomes, higher poverty rates and those who will likely suffer an econo...