06-18-2020, 11:09 AM
(06-18-2020, 07:28 AM)LPDec63 Wrote: I can guarantee that 2020 is the worst year of my life. On top of everything else, I lost my Mom in January from a long cumulative illness. So yup, definitely the worst year ever.
Regarding the topic, I think I am going to stick with 2008. This crisis is a Culture War/Cold Civil War. 2008 was not only the Economic meltdown, it was also the election of Obama. The Obama election made team Blue ecstatic. But it was an existential threat to team Red, who not only saw it as a policy threat, but the harbinger of their demographic fall from power. They've been fighting back tooth and nail ever since.
Much about the years 2008- 2016 seem relatively mild, but there were two extremely reactive elections during that time ('10 & '14) with the "Tea Party" swamping the sleeping Team Blue who only barely woke up for Obama's re-election in '12. It true that for most of that time our individual lives were pretty much business as usual, so maybe those years can be called "Phony 3rd".
If you are in the camp that believes the ACW fell well within that 4T and the start was Bleeding Kansas (and a few other related issues a bit less dramatic), then 2008 is fully rational as the beginning of this 4T. Yes, we're in the midst of a multi-dimensional crisis, but we didn't arrive here by accident, as you noted. It's also obvious that the damage done will not be repaired by a single election. Societal change is a must -- right in line with 4T expectations.
For a long time, I was concerned about a failed 4T -- literally one that failed to launch. We still can do the wrong things, but this is a full-blown 4T. This is our shot, or yours anyway. I'll be over in the cheap seats, cheering you on. By the time the 1T arrives I'll be in my late '70s or early 80s, so that's your 1T. I already had mine.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.