Hard Times
In the Charles Dickens classic, HARD TIMES, one of the fundamental themes was about the effect of industrialization on humanity. It was about how the times sculpted and shaped the people living through it, some for the better and some for worse. It is truly remarkable how this work of fiction was able to capture with such vivid accuracy, how times make the man.
The WW2 generation was the last generation in the USA to know HARD TIMES firsthand. They grew up in the great depression, going without, often not knowing where their next meal was coming from. When they came of age, many were sent overseas to a strange land, to fight an army of sociopaths. Over there, they experienced all the atrocities war had to offer. Even the women of that generation were pushed out of their homes at an early age, and into factories to assist with the war effort. In true Dickensian fashion, the great depression and WW2 were seminal events which forged the will and the character of an entire generation. They learned firsthand, the value of freedom, the fragility of life, the importance of a work ethic, and the virtue of self-reliance.
Many of that generation looked to instill those same values into their kids, aka the baby boomers. The boomers did not experience firsthand the great depression and WW2, having only heard about it through their parents. As a consequence, the values the WW2 generation was trying to instill, took root with some of the boomers, but not all. When the boomers looked around as children in the 1950's they saw cities being built, and an expanding economy; the exact opposite of their parents who saw cities being destroyed and economic depression. A cognitive dissonance was created in the minds of many boomers because the reality they saw did not match what they were being told.
Never the less, many boomers were able to reconcile the dissonance, and went on to live happy, successful lives. The ones who couldn't reconcile the dissonance either lashed out (demonstrating on college campuses) or lived a more withdrawn lifestyle, often rife with drug use. Unlike the WW2 generation, which was very heavily skewed towards people of strong moral fiber, the boomer generation was much more evenly split with some of strong character, others not so much.
Enter Generation X, the boomers kids, born from about 1960-1980. Since the life lessons learned by the WW2 generation only took hold in about half the boomers, those lessons were passed on to Gen X, in even fewer numbers. In fact, strong character became the exception in Gen X, not the rule. As the Gen X members looked around at their parents generation, they saw nice cars, suburban homes, and regular vacations. What they rarely saw was the self discipline, hard work, and going without, it took to get those things.
With self reliance a rare commodity in Gen X, the entire generation began to look at government as a solution to their problems. As you might expect, government has been growing like a weed ever since. Government growth comes at a cost though, and that cost is freedom. Gen X willingly paid that cost, because they did not understand what the WW2 generation learned the hard way, about the value of freedom. Government is more intrusive today than ever, and we are all paying the price with diminished freedoms.
Unfortunately it does not get any better with Gen X's kids, the millenials, aka the "Me" generation. Sadly for the Me generation, they are so far removed from the WW2 generation, they really didn't have a chance. While the WW2 generation saw actual people dying in actual wars, the millennials saw it in video games and movies. In effect, the Me generation has been desensitized to the costs of war. This is what allows government to run endless wars, like the war on drugs, war on terror, war on Covid, etc... With Gen X outsourcing many of their parental duties to the Xbox, the value of life was severely cheapened for the millennials.
The endless push for equality, the incessant focus on fairness, and the positive affirmations are all signs Gen X was more interested in creating a positive self image in the their kids, rather than instilling actual values. What Gen X didn't understand about parenting, is positive self image is the result of success, not the cause of it. The millennials, having been raised by video games, participation trophies, and social media, are loaded with character flaws. Narcissism, materialism, laziness, and entitlement all run rampant. Rarely interacting with others and addicted to their screens, has left many of the millennials completely lacking in empathy & understanding. Textbook psychopathy. No wonder teenage suicides are at an all time high.
The millennial generation is just now reaching adulthood and beginning to assume some positions of power in society. It is highly likely many of those who reach the highest levels of power in the coming years will be complete sociopaths. Not that we don't have some sociopaths running things now, we do. Its just soon, they will be everywhere you look. Because of the control over others they offer, corporate ladders and politics are two of the biggest sociopath magnets on the planet. In a society completely run by sociopaths, it is only a matter of time until they create HARD TIMES for everyone. Just as the great depression and the world war did 80 years ago, the upcoming HARD TIMES will forge a new generation of people with strong character. Strong enough character to rid this country of those (Bounderby’s as Dickens would say) currently running it into the ground. When that day comes, these people of strong character will put this country on a better path, and the whole cycle will start again.