Reading "The Glory and the Dream"

Roosevelt said:
"Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference" and
"There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected." (Glory and the Dream, p. 142)

Which government do we have now, and which generation are we in?