03-04-2022, 12:10 PM
(10-17-2021, 12:53 PM)galaxy Wrote: Obviously it's still very much a 4T, but I can't help but notice it gets a little awaken-ish sometimes.
There have been some 2T-isms in different ways - 2012-2015 stands out as a period of "cultural awakening" to me. At the time it kind of seemed like we were heading toward another sexual revolution, for example. New media was appearing everywhere, the world was superconnected and it seemed to be going well (the Internet at the time only showed tiny hints of the dark side it would fully reveal later in the decade). It felt like the cultural future would be bright, even if the environmental (climate change not really being seriously fought) and political (endless gridlock) futures looked dark. And at least to me, it felt like the national mood steadily brightened from about early 2012 until the middle of 2015. Or maybe that "bright cultural future/dark material future" thing is just the last bits of Unravelingism dying away (very clear that 2016-2020 was a period of rapid 4Tification).
Meanwhile, looking at the current time, it kind of feels like ever since later in 2015 we've been retracing the 1890s - high inequality, high political polarization, lots of social movements, fake news and just general "media wars" ("the new yellow journalism"), and then of course there's the remarkable comparison between the 2020 and 1896 elections.
I'm not sure what it means, if anything, but it's been on my mind lately as I begin to speculate about near-future elections. Will 2024 look like 1900? From where I am right now in October 2021, it kind of seems like it might, and that 2020 might be the realigning election that begins the Seventh Party System, which might be a mirror-image of the Fourth Party System (which began with 1896)?
Definitely not been heading toward another sexual revolution. From what I have understood the so-called hookup culture is not the new free love. In fact it has been disclosed that many of those sites are propped up by numerous fake ads. In some ways I would like to see another sexual revolution but so far is not only not happening, but sexual activity in general, even among married couples, has been on the wane for quite some time. Many of us, even before the Covid disaster took hold, could not feel enthusiastic and energized enough to participate in that kind of activity. This even though the concern over AIDS has also been on the wane. Although we still don't have an established cure, there are lots of drugs which help prolong life and minimize the ravages of this disease.