Hi Matt,Welcome. Have you heard about the book, The Fourth Turning? Your statement above reminded me of the theory presented in the book. If you have read it, what do you think? If not, you'd probably find it interesting.
They describe how the generational cycles repeat themselves every 80-100 years. There is a detailed Wikipedia page describing the theory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strauss%E2%80%93Howe_generational_theory
-Dan