I read this poem in a book called "Secrets of Super Achievers" (Philip Baker). It's credited to unknown, but (apparently) first appeared in the book "A Shattered Visage: The Real Face of Athiesm" by Ravi Zacharias. I think it holds some truth.

Sense Of Hope

In the 1950's, kids lost their
innocence. They were liberated
from their parents by well-paying
jobs, cars, and lyrics in music that
gave rise to a new term - the
generation gap.

In the 1960's, kids lost their
authority. It was the decade of
protest - church, state and parents
were all called into question and
found wanting. Their authority
was rejected, yet nothing ever
replaced it.

In the 1970's, kids lost their love.
It was the decade of me-ism,
dominated by hyphenated words
beginning with self: self-image,
self-esteem, self-assertion. It made
for a lonely world. Kids learned
everything there was to know about
sex but forgot everything there was
to know about love, and no one had
the nerve to tell them the difference.

In the 1980's, kids lost their hope.
Stripped of innocence, authority
and love, and plagued by the
horror of a nuclear nightmare,
large and growing numbers of
their generation stopped believing in the future.