From a friend I’ve known and worked with for 35 years.
Brad – like you, in the 7th decade of our lives, there seems to be three truths:
1. Every generation has thought the end is near (ice age, nuclear threat, etc.) – always in the next 8 – 10 years, blah, blah, blah – has never happened 2. Every generation thinks the younger generation is being ruined by the latest technology – radio, television, internet, blah, blah, blah – has never happened 3. Every technology has been predicted to end employment for masses of people – electricity, machinery, computers, blah, blah, blah – has never happenedI responded with the following…
I hope you aren’t wrong either.
But, consider that you are also looking at it from a humanist, contemporary perspective. “Every generation” seems to be linked to the last 150 years (if you start with electricity). And, I know you are a traveler of the world, but this feels like a very Western perspective.
We (humans) don’t understand “time” very well. One’s view of time (generations) is generally +/- a few generations from their existence. For us, that’s probably the 1800s to the 2200s. However, if you ask me to predict what will happen in 2201, I’m clueless, especially since I don’t think I can predict what will happen next week.
When someone says, “This is the worst it has ever been” or “This conflict is the …” or “This <leader> is the most <adjective>” this is never a true statement, as there is always something +/- epsilon from this…