Believers: Born 1972 – 1983

It is tempting to dismiss Believers as victims of a bad patch of history and to simply offer generational condolences. Certainly Believer value formation takes place in an era of broad political, economic, and social dissolution, and there is hardly a more representative phrase than “power outage” to describe the general tone of the times. But to be frank, the term “power outage” is a common aspect of the characteristic Believer personality. What makes the Believers such a fascinating group, however, is an appreciation of the skills they develop to cope with and survive the issues posed by such a low-wattage value formation period.

Along these lines, some of the defining qualities of Believers include empathy, patience, and, perhaps most importantly, the faith that rescue may be near at hand. To some observers, the idea that things are simply going to get better of their own accord may seem rather naïve and escapist, but the overriding “truth” of the Believer value formation period is that at its darkest hour the Ronald Reagan administration comes along and things suddenly do get better. Grace, Believers seem to inherently know, can only arrive if one makes room in the spirit for its possibility.