Describe the patterns of change that flow through a nation from generation to generation. Many times, people learn from the past so as not to repeat the same mistakes in the future. Likewise, they learn from the past when something went well and try to emulate the action or attitude. This is the reason studying history is so important. It creates—between generations—an opposite and equal reaction to things. For example, during the 1950s, many Americans were very religious. Whether they went to a house of worship or not, they tended to be very conservative in their beliefs and often adhered to the concepts of right and wrong, honesty, integrity, and so forth. Ah, but then the '60s came along! That generation did everything they could to irritate the '50s, so to speak. They rebelled at everything having to do with the establishment. Why? Well, the '60s generation saw a whole lot of inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the previous generation and did not want anything to do with them. The '70s was all about recovering from the 1960s and in the process, that generation saw the mess created by years of war and protests and wanted nothing of it. By the end of the decade, society had drifted right back into its conservative mode. The 1980s saw conservative values reign once again only to be replaced by more liberal thinking the following decade. Now, here you are in the new millennium. Be prepared to answer the following questions. Instructions Write a 500+ word essay in which you answer the following questions: In your opinion, is your generation more or less conservative in its value system than the previous generation, and why? In your opinion, how do you think the next generation of teenagers will feel about their value system? Will it be more or less liberal than yours?