An Era's End

Are we in merely another pothole of history or are we actually turning a corner into the unknown? Does western liberalism stand a chance of continuing, or have personal grievances and greed turned us away from a melting pot or a mosaic and into hundreds of millions of separate fortresses? We’ve moved from a post-World War II period of working hard and advancing, saving some money, buying a house, and retiring at 65 to live about three more years, to a society where people change jobs and houses as often as they change socks and “quietly quitting.” There is a confusing oleo of media and reporting so that viewers and listeners don’t know whom to believe, and the lines among editorial, reporting, and advertising are blurred to indistinction. When I grew up teachers and police were respected and slightly feared. If you had a run-in, your parents always took their side. There was a family dinner table, religion was in vogue, and schools had strict rules and values. Today, even the Boy Scouts are under fire, religious institutions are less attended than ever and not trusted, the family dinner table has disappeared as have, to an alarming extent, intact families. This isn’t about millennials or Gen X or Gen Z. It’s about a sea change apparent in society which doesn’t seem to be producing new, attractive values but, rather, advocating everyone for themselves. If this is the end of an era, then we’d better prepare to repair it or accept what’s coming if we don’t.