12-01-2019, 05:29 AM
I would argue that Sub-Saharan Africa is on a different saeculum to the West and they are currently in an Awakening which started in the 2010s.
I will start with South Africa, which I argue is currently in an Awakening which started in 2012. Their last Crisis was roughly from 1976 (with the Soweto uprising) to the end of Apartheid in 1994. Also, I can see both the Boer War and the the revolution Shaka initiated which created the Zulu Kingdom which is a period called the Mfecane ("Upheaval" or "The Crushing"), as part of previous Crisis's. The current South African zeitgeist while it has soured a bit, is still quite optimistic and the institutional order is relatively strong. South Africans remember the period roughly from 1976 to 1994 much differently, they consider it among the darkest periods in their history. Indeed, the South African zeitgeist is the total opposite of South America, which is very deep into a Crisis.
When it comes to South African generations, the “Generation of 1976” are described in a way that is so consistent with a Civic Generation, since they are praised for the sacrifices they had so that the modern South African nation exists today and the South African media have reported how active older people seem to be today. While The Born Frees (the description of which is very consistent with a Prophet generation), those born after the end of Apartheid are very fiery and some are challenging the order their parents the “Generation of 1976” established although that is a bit simplistic. Because some of the Generation of 1976 have always been revolutionary and starting to exhibit hubris as they have taken the reigns of power. For example; the recent exportation of White owned farmland without compensation, initiated by a Civic generation president Cyril Ramaphosa (1952).
Indeed, South Africa’s presidents have showed very clear reflections of their generations, with PW Botha and Nelson Mandela as Prophets, FW De Klerk, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma as Nomads. While the current president Cyril Rampaphosa is a member of a Civic Generation.
The sort of zeitgeist that indicates an Awakening to me, is not just restricted to South Africa either. A former Fourth Turning forum user, who speaks to a Nigerian guy born in the 1980s, said that Nigeria is currently going through an Awakening and that guy is a member of an Artist generation. Also, I have some observations from Uganda as well.
The story goes I was dating online a woman from Uganda (1988 cohort), who we met through the OkCupid website, for a few months. We got to know each other very well, also I learnt a lot about Ugandan society and even read local newspapers. Well, the impression I got Uganda is not a society in a Crisis currently. Rather the societal mood would be something more consistent with a society in an Awakening. Ugandan society is currently in an optimistic mood, although the established order is being challenged especially by the young people. This makes a lot of sense, given the events of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, which scream totally like a Crisis event to me.
An example; there are young people in Uganda who are part of the student climate action strike movement. However, they have not managed to mobilize huge groups of their peers in their activism, which I found surprising because here in Australia that has exactly happened. This woman’s job is a public health worker, specializing in providing clean water to communities (especially refugee camps) in the North of the country. She is also a single mother; whose son lives with her parents in another part of the country.
Her personality to me did not fit into either a Nomad or Civic archetype, rather come to think of it her personality is very consistent with that of an Artist, entering the midlife stage in a society in an Awakening. The contrasts between her and my former Peruvian (1982) girlfriend who is very much a Nomad "tough cookie" is very striking.
Indeed, she found my midlife Nomad personality intriguing, however yet baffling at the same time, especially that I have become very cautious in recent years.
I will start with South Africa, which I argue is currently in an Awakening which started in 2012. Their last Crisis was roughly from 1976 (with the Soweto uprising) to the end of Apartheid in 1994. Also, I can see both the Boer War and the the revolution Shaka initiated which created the Zulu Kingdom which is a period called the Mfecane ("Upheaval" or "The Crushing"), as part of previous Crisis's. The current South African zeitgeist while it has soured a bit, is still quite optimistic and the institutional order is relatively strong. South Africans remember the period roughly from 1976 to 1994 much differently, they consider it among the darkest periods in their history. Indeed, the South African zeitgeist is the total opposite of South America, which is very deep into a Crisis.
When it comes to South African generations, the “Generation of 1976” are described in a way that is so consistent with a Civic Generation, since they are praised for the sacrifices they had so that the modern South African nation exists today and the South African media have reported how active older people seem to be today. While The Born Frees (the description of which is very consistent with a Prophet generation), those born after the end of Apartheid are very fiery and some are challenging the order their parents the “Generation of 1976” established although that is a bit simplistic. Because some of the Generation of 1976 have always been revolutionary and starting to exhibit hubris as they have taken the reigns of power. For example; the recent exportation of White owned farmland without compensation, initiated by a Civic generation president Cyril Ramaphosa (1952).
Indeed, South Africa’s presidents have showed very clear reflections of their generations, with PW Botha and Nelson Mandela as Prophets, FW De Klerk, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma as Nomads. While the current president Cyril Rampaphosa is a member of a Civic Generation.
The sort of zeitgeist that indicates an Awakening to me, is not just restricted to South Africa either. A former Fourth Turning forum user, who speaks to a Nigerian guy born in the 1980s, said that Nigeria is currently going through an Awakening and that guy is a member of an Artist generation. Also, I have some observations from Uganda as well.
The story goes I was dating online a woman from Uganda (1988 cohort), who we met through the OkCupid website, for a few months. We got to know each other very well, also I learnt a lot about Ugandan society and even read local newspapers. Well, the impression I got Uganda is not a society in a Crisis currently. Rather the societal mood would be something more consistent with a society in an Awakening. Ugandan society is currently in an optimistic mood, although the established order is being challenged especially by the young people. This makes a lot of sense, given the events of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, which scream totally like a Crisis event to me.
An example; there are young people in Uganda who are part of the student climate action strike movement. However, they have not managed to mobilize huge groups of their peers in their activism, which I found surprising because here in Australia that has exactly happened. This woman’s job is a public health worker, specializing in providing clean water to communities (especially refugee camps) in the North of the country. She is also a single mother; whose son lives with her parents in another part of the country.
Her personality to me did not fit into either a Nomad or Civic archetype, rather come to think of it her personality is very consistent with that of an Artist, entering the midlife stage in a society in an Awakening. The contrasts between her and my former Peruvian (1982) girlfriend who is very much a Nomad "tough cookie" is very striking.
Indeed, she found my midlife Nomad personality intriguing, however yet baffling at the same time, especially that I have become very cautious in recent years.