History is just a collection of four-generation length movies that take 80 years to make. George and Tom played leading roles in the classic documentary, ‘The American Revolution.’

The second flick, ‘the Civil War’ took only 71 years to produce because Abe was shot before completion.

Following this tragic-drama, Teddy foreshadowed America’s leap on to the world stage in ‘the Great Wars of WWI & WWII.’

Our movie, our very own contribution to the fabled glory of the Generational Time Continuum, began in 1943, with in theater viewing scheduled no later than the summer of 2026. ‘Millennial’ was the generic title given, however, after Trump won in 2016, ‘Apocalypse Soon’ has been suggested.

Having a front row seat since September 1943, I am going with The Cultural Wars as my title for this 4th and possibly last Turning flick.

 1st Turning The HIGH (1943-1963)

Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945


The PROPHET: Churchill 1874, Stalin 1878, Harry Truman 1884, Mao Tse-tung 1893, Ho Chi Minh 1890, Chiang Kai-shek 1887, Charles de Gaulle 1890, Nikita Khrushchev 1894, David Dwight Eisenhower 1890


Every great movie spills out in four stages, what Neil Howe in his book, Fourth Turning, calls turnings. The first act, in Howe lingo the 1st turning, (1943-1963) opens with the situation, where we are, at that point in time.

Marion, aka my father, ditched his slide rule and retired to Altamonte Springs, Florida circa 1978. Three years later D.H. Baldwin Cincinnati home of Baldwin Piano & Organ had shipped all manufacturing to the Sunbelt, diversified into financial services and gone bankrupt.
  • Bretton Woods Conference 1944
  • The Bomb 1945
  • Korean War 1950
  • Cuban Missle Crisis 1962

2nd Turning the AWAKENING (1963-1986)

Ruby Shoots Oswald November 24, 1963

The NOMAD: Reagan 1911, JFK 1917, Nixon 1913, LBJ 1908, MLK 1929
In the sequence of things, the next act belongs to the NOMAD, the pot stirrers, the men of action, the go-to-guys that get the show on the road for the 2nd turning referred to as the Awakening  (1963-1986)

Nixon’s 1972 visit to China , a handshake from Mao and a noodle lwsson by Zhou Enlai.

3rd Turning the UNRAVELING (1984-2008)

The HERO: Bill Clinton 1946, George ‘W’ 1964, Obama 1961, Putin 1952, Merkel 1954
The 3rd turning is always called the Unravelling  where history gets out of hand and the super HERO is born.  (1984-2008)

World Trade Center 11 September 2001

4th Turning A Crisis (2008-2026)

January 2020 COVID 19 arrives.

The ARTIST: Trump 1946, Xi Jinping 1953, Putin 1952. Obama 1961
At last we get to the uncut action scenes with real and unrehearsed special effects, the 4th turning A Crisis (2008-2026). The tension keeps building until the climax, followed by the resolution. This is always the best part of any story.

 As an investor from China once told me, “When the donkey and elephant make war upon each other, few in your country benefit.” The bitter partisan divide in America today is a strategic liability. This division will affect the trade, economic, technology, and space policies of this country—at a time when consistency and bipartisan leadership is needed in all these areas. Until we recognize China’s threat and rally as one nation, America’s surrender to China in the new cold war is assured.