Sub-Saharan Africa

[Teejay]

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.

[Teejay]

(12-01-2019, 06:22 AM)taramarie Wrote: I went to live in south Africa for some time and my ex funny enough was born in 1976. I definitely wouldn't call him a civic in any sense of the word. He was very VERY nomad in behaviour.

I can often recognize those who are fellow members of Nomad generation, this Ugandan woman I dated could not recognize as such, neither she was a member of a Civic generation either. However, come to think of it I can see her as definitely a part of an Artist generation, maybe with a few Idealist traits. Because she was so incredibly conformist and just desiring to become a housewife and wanting to raise another couple of children at least. 
 
The last woman I had a serious relationship with, the Peruvian born in 1982, she was very much a Nomad who grew up in a society in an awakening going into an Unravelling (according to her descriptions). Indeed, her childhood was so much like mine, down to her parents like mine letting her to spend an inordinate time in front of televisions and computers.  Not to mention despite growing up in a society with a brutal civil war, followed by hyperinflation, she took massive risks in her life. For example; she did a PhD in Japan and could have chosen an easy life in Japan or South East Asia. However, she decided to come to Australia and face the possibility of being deported once her temporary visa expired. She mentioned on many occasions they we were identical in many ways, so I can certainly see ourselves as carbon copies generational wise. Also, I know a considerable number of South Americans born in the 1980s who are either Nomads or are Nomad/Civic Cuspers.

[Teejay]

(12-01-2019, 06:22 AM)taramarie Wrote: I went to live in south Africa for some time and my ex funny enough was born in 1976. I definitely wouldn't call him a civic in any sense of the word. He was very VERY nomad in behaviour.

Those South Africans myself and others who were on the old Fourth Turning forum, would consider those South Africans born in 1976 as part of an Artist generation, who grew up through the worst years of the anti-apartheid struggle, making them effectively War Kids. If they are an Artist generation, given what that generation went through, they must have been deeply scared by having to witness the anti-apartheid struggle. Therefore; they would be often very afraid of those dark days returning, this is true of those Irish born approximately from 1977 to 1995 who experienced the darkest days of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, in that they are afraid that a "No Deal" Brexit and the tearing up of the Good Friday Agreement will bring back The Troubles.

Nomads just don't get scared in that way in their childhoods during an Awakening, my ex Peruvian partner (1982) grew up during a brutal civil war, that killed 70,000 people and whole areas of Peru were ungovernable), followed by an severe economic crash featuring hyperinflation. Yet she did not get scared in the way that members of Artist generations did, rather she got scared by her family situation which was dysfunctional. Also, she has made a lot of massive personal risks in her life, in a ways an Artist certainly would not make. Sure Artists take risks, however Nomads are the most risk taking archetype and often are the ultimate gamblers. I know I have gambled with some truly costly personal risks in my life, most of them have been rather costly.

This sort of scaring happens to every Artist generation, growing up in a society where there is no compromise and struggles are fought in 'total war' way. Indeed an American friend of mine has remarked, that US Generation Zers have become scared through the school shootings (which are a real threat to school children there), domestic white nationalist terrorism and the Trump presidency.

Although it must be noted every generation has people from every archetype, it is just one archetype dominates a generation.

The South African "Generation of 1976" born from around the early 1950s and early 1970s, are called that because of the Soweto Uprising in 1976 which was a social moment for their generation. It is like European Boomers are often called The Generation of 1968, because that year was a social moment for their generation. Not to mention the European peers of the Lost Generation were often called "The Generation of 1914", because of the Great War. Anyway the Generation of 1976 are remembered for the struggles they waged and sacrifices they made to end Apartheid.

The current young adult generation the "Born Frees", are called that because they were born after Apartheid ended and in that they were "Born Free". There is an expectation that the Born Frees, those kids of promise of the Post-Apartheid era are expected to honor the sacrifices that The "generation of 1976' made.

Anyway, what was the mood in South Africa when you lived there, also how long and when you lived there?

[Teejay]

(12-01-2019, 11:49 PM)taramarie Wrote:

(12-01-2019, 10:03 PM)Teejay Wrote:

(12-01-2019, 06:22 AM)taramarie Wrote: I went to live in south Africa for some time and my ex funny enough was born in 1976. I definitely wouldn't call him a civic in any sense of the word. He was very VERY nomad in behaviour.

Those South Africans myself and others who were on the old Fourth Turning forum, would consider those South Africans born in 1976 as part of an Artist generation, who grew up through the worst years of the anti-apartheid struggle, making them effectively War Kids.  If they are an Artist generation, given what that generation went through, they must have been deeply scared by having to witness the anti-apartheid struggle. Therefore; they would be often very afraid of those dark days returning, this is true of those Irish born approximately from 1977 to 1995 who experienced the darkest days of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, in that they are afraid that a "No Deal" Brexit and the tearing up of the Good Friday Agreement will bring back The Troubles.

Nomads just don't get scared in that way in their childhoods during an Awakening, my ex Peruvian partner (1982) grew up during a brutal civil war, that killed 70,000 people and whole areas of Peru were ungovernable), followed by an severe economic crash featuring hyperinflation. Yet she did not get scared in the way that members of Artist generations did, rather she got scared by her family situation which was dysfunctional. Also, she has made a lot of massive personal risks in her life, in a ways an Artist certainly would not make. Sure Artists take risks, however Nomads are the most risk taking archetype and often are the ultimate gamblers. I know I have gambled with some truly costly personal risks in my life, most of them have been rather costly.

This sort of scaring happens to every Artist generation, growing up in a society where there is no compromise and struggles are fought in 'total war' way. Indeed an American friend of mine has remarked, that US Generation Zers have become scared through the school shootings (which are a real threat to school children there), domestic white nationalist terrorism and the Trump presidency.

Although it must be noted every generation has people from every archetype, it is just one archetype dominates a generation.

The South African "Generation of 1976" born from around the early 1950s and early 1970s, are called that because of the Soweto Uprising in 1976 which was a social moment for their generation. It is like European Boomers are often called The Generation of 1968, because that year was a social moment for their generation. Not to mention the European peers of the Lost Generation were often called "The Generation of 1914", because of the Great War. Anyway the Generation of 1976 are remembered for the struggles they waged and sacrifices they made to end Apartheid.

The current young adult generation the "Born Frees", are called that because they were born after Apartheid ended and in that they were "Born Free". There is an expectation that the Born Frees, those kids of promise of the Post-Apartheid era are expected to honor the sacrifices that The "generation of 1976' made.

Anyway, what was the mood in South Africa when you lived there, also how long and when you lived there?

The mood in South Africa was one of cultural turmoil which was building up and up and up. I hear it is worsening over there. There is a feeling of a tear down of a whole society and a struggle to build a new one. As I was living there and listened to my south African born ex, (partner at the time), he would sit there watching shows from his childhood and he would cry as it was something he sorely missed. It was like a whole different world. Very conformist and society moved forward. I would actually say being aware of the turning theory and having lived there and seen what its like and seeing videos of his past and how his cohort behaves as a whole that their childhood was one of a high, and now it is very hard scrabble and tensions escalating. As he aged, you couldn't go out on foot anymore. Fences had to be put up high and high security and electrical fencing, spikes and barbed wire. It wasn't that way in his childhood. I was bloody grateful to leave and go back to the island lifestyle where it is far safer here. I would personally say that they are in a crisis or if not, they are heading into one. They have severe racism and shootings of foreigners and when I was leaving there were threats that they would shoot white people next. So I got out real fast as I am a foreign white person. I lived in Africa 5 months with my partner and in that time I experienced quite more than enough and heard all about the past in Johannesburg which is the area I am speaking of specifically. The mood was very intense there. Far more tense than on the island....New Zealand. They are in severe strife over there, culturally and economically it is unstable and inequality is rife. All this said he was more artist like than idealist but sure got fired up about what was going on but too scared to do anything about it over there. He was constantly telling me to zip lip over what I was saying and I was constantly telling him you are not living, you are merely existing and I will not shut my mouth about the bullshit I see going on in your country as it needs to be said. If I see bullshit I refuse to adapt to it and put up with it. The way to fix things is to address its there first and foremost and speak out, and not bury head in sand. I really do not know what era they are in personally but if id choose, id say given tensions are rising and it truly seemed a high when he was a child, id say they are either in a 3rd turning heading to a 4th turning or in a 4th turning. He had fears it would just worsen in coming years. Oh yeah I visited South Africa in 2014, lived there for 5 months with my now ex.

The way you are describing South Africa in 2014 when you visited there, seems one of a society at the beginning stages of an Awakening (which I estimate started in 2012). In a society where an Awakening is beginning, there is still a lot of conformity. However, there is a lot of upheaval as well. This because the young prophet generation are starting to rally against the established order. Although the societal mood is often optimistic and even euphoric, that is the impression I get from the South African media, despite the problems in the country. Also, impression I got of Ugandan society was exactly similar, I am guessing they are very likely in an Early Awakening as well. 

Personally, I believe things in South Africa will not become as bad, as it did during the 1980s. I am much more concerned about such things happening in Australia, once the very overdue economic crisis hits us. I am expecting protests of the sort which have happened in Chile or even an Australian version of Jair Bolosanro to rise to power.

[Teejay]

(12-02-2019, 02:55 AM)taramarie Wrote: The societal mood definitely when I was there was not one of optimism and euphoria. It was tension and anger.

Firstly, I will start off at saying that, the approach I take when analyzing where a society broadly is on the saeculum, is analogous to looking at a forest, rather than individual trees.  

Anyway, I remember as a little child a society which was in an Awakening, which was Australia in the late 1980s. The mood was paradoxical, in some ways it was euphoric, in other ways it was passionate, splintering and there was a lot of conflicts.

Therefore, I argue that societies in Awakenings feel they are unsatisfied in their ‘Inner Worlds’ as opposed to their 'Outer worlds' and they only become satisfied in their ‘Inner Worlds’ when the Awakening ends. In ‘inner worlds’ I would describe as more the culture than the institutions as such and vice versus.

When it comes to both South Africa and Uganda, their societies to me are those not satisfied with their "Inner Worlds". While both New Zealander and Australian societies aren't satisfied with their 'Outer Worlds'. Indeed, the South African “Born Free” Generation is attempting trying to fix the 'Inner World' of their society, which among many things is the cultural legacy of colonialism. That is why some of this generation have rallied against statues of prominent figures of the colonization of South Africa such as Cecil Rhodes, which was exampled in the hashtag #Rhodesmustfall. 

This is that is something that the “Generation of 1976” never rallied against, rather they rallied against the legal system of Apartheid, not the cultural symbols of Apartheid such as statues celebrating figures such as Cecil Rhodes. Indeed, what has happened in South Africa in this decade, is informing me of what will happen in Australia in the 2050s during our next Awakening.

 I argue that the decolonization movement being launched, by some of which I argue are some members of Sub-Saharan African Prophet generation, are influencing some of the Civic generations in Australia. However, many of our Civic generation just aren’t much interested in the ‘decolonization’ movement. Instead, they are focusing on what they see as the ‘Climate Emergency’. This reflects, in my opinion, the different focuses that Prophet and Civic generations have, in their 'rebellions', that I argue that every generation does in their own particular way.

[Teejay]

(12-02-2019, 07:21 AM)taramarie Wrote: If you are meaning "outer world" with including infrastructure, I would not be able to agree on that given I live in Christchurch at present. I say at present as I am leaving New Zealand for Europe soon. To live permanently. I assume you know what is going on in Christchurch.

The 'outer world' is the whole institutional order itself, South Africa's whole institutional order was totally transformed by the end of Apartheid. Essentially the old 'Union of South Africa' institutional order which had lasted since 1910, was destroyed and replaced by the "Republic of South Africa", which was called the ‘Rainbow Nation’. This whole transformation also resulted in the abolition of Apartheid, the dismantling of the Black only Bantustans, redrawing of Provincial boundaries, a new constitution and new parliament. Some White South Africans did not accept this new institutional order and some of them emigrated to countries such as Australia. This whole process occured towards what myself and others, argue was towards the end of South Africa's last Crisis which ended around 1994.

However, both Australia and New Zealand did not undergo this process during our last Awakening. Rather our whole cultures or ‘inner world’ were totally transformed in this period. That is why the Australian culture and society of the 1950s and 1960s is unrecognizable to me. While I can still recognize the institutional order which existed in the 1950s and 1960s, even if it is now in the stages of falling apart. Usually, the institutional order is not totally transformed in a society until towards the end of the Crisis, which I am expecting will happen in Australia.

The anti-apartheid struggle and the end of apartheid did result in a cultural revolution in South Africa. However, South Africa in 2010s is seeing the early stages a cultural revolution happening, which is being experienced all across sub-Saharan Africa as well currently.

[Hintergrund]

Many African countries became independent around 1960. Sign of a successfully finished Crisis? Or rather an "Awakening"? Because the time afterwards wasn't exactly a High.

[Teejay]

(12-11-2019, 08:10 AM)Hintergrund Wrote: Many African countries became independent around 1960. Sign of a successfully finished Crisis? Or rather an "Awakening"? Because the time afterwards wasn't exactly a High.

North of the Sahara in what is part of the 'Arab World' 1960 was approximately the time when their last Crisis ended, which featured revolutions in many countries and Algerian War of Independence which was very much a Crisis 'Total War'.

However, if I am right about Sub-Saharan Africa saeculum, then Decolonization was a Awakening to Unraveling phenomenon. Indeed, the political situation throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa became more unstable, not more stable in the 1960s. However it became more stable in the 1990s. Come to think of it there was a lot of turbulence in the 1980s and early 1990s Sub-Saharan, not just the Anti-Apartheid struggle in South Africa. You had the Rwandan genocide in 1994 was well and the mood in Sub-Saharan Africa was quite dark in that period as well. In this decade interestingly enough the mood in Sub-Saharan Africa has been pretty optimistic, at times euphoric, in-spite of the many problems which plague Sub-Saharan Africa. Although the culture is increasingly becoming passionate, with institution being under attack. That is certainly the case in both Uganda and South Africa (a television show called The Big Debate portrays such a societal mood).

Indecently, South Africans see the Anti-Apartheid struggle as the equivalent of World War II for America, their Generation of 1976 are held in very high regard for the sacrifices they made to overthrow Apartheid. Also, the coming of Democracy in 1994 is seen as a watershed moment like the end of World War II is for us.

[Hintergrund]

Yes, this makes sense.

[Teejay]

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was I see it South Africa's own version of the Nuremberg trials. South Africa's state Broadcaster SABC showed 99 episodes from 1996 to 1998 about the proceedings of the TRC entitled 'Special Report'.

The 1980s and early 1990s were a very dark time for South Africa and much of the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. Rwandan genocide was only one of the truly horrific episodes that occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa approximately from 1975 to 1995.

One thing I have noticed from knowing sub-Saharan Africans who were born in the 1970's and 1980's, is how much they fear a return to the bad old days of their childhood. For South Africans this would be a 'race war' happening, which did occur in their childhood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTnY5SQY...E1Bsi8Ysqr

http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/episodes.htm