The Long Boom & Culture Wars (Third Turning, 1984–2008) opened with triumphant “Morning in America” individualism; drifted toward celebrity scandal and a stock market boom; experienced a brief moment of “war on terror” unity; and then ended with yet another equity bubble. People felt optimistic about their personal lives, but pessimistic about the country. They worried about rising violence and incivility, widening inequality, and the splitting of the national consensus into competing “values” camps.

• Silent entering elderhood
• Boomers entering midlife
• Xers entering young adulthood
• Millennials entering childhood