Why Millennials Should Embrace History — 1987, a year in review

The danger of focusing on hype (like your Klout score, for instance) is something we repeatedly, generation to generation, and collectively forget. Today, we have Millennials freely exchanging ideas and thoughts in public venues such as Facebook and Twitter. It’s almost like the free love of the 60’s, just do it. What could possibly go wrong?

Step back just 20 or so years (the results of free love had just surfaced). Back then, I was in my 20’s, a borderline Boomer/Gen X’er, and I thought I could take on the world. But, there were others that were really doing it, like on Wall St. Yep, you saw the movie, and you may have read the excellent book Liars Poker. Have we forgotten how all of that turned out? Let’s see, I was just moving to New York when Black Monday hit, Oct 19, 1987….

• Analysts from Moody’s were clambering to get my job as a bank examiner with the government

• Stock brokers who were making millions a year, lost everything

• The real estate market then folded in on itself.

These peop…