My Babyboomer generation has fucked things up well and truly and done so on multiple accounts—from excessive greed, its sense of entitlement, lack of consideration for following generations, environmental matters†, abandonment of ethics and established norms, and so on.
It seemed to start out well, Boomer parents wanted better for their kids, which given their generation of the Great Depression and WWII is very understandable, but it did not end up like that.
We Boomers knew we were better off than earlier generations, we were better educated, we had more money as kids and teenagers, we had better health care—we were the first generation with penicillin and such from the outset, and we didn't go around with a fatalistic attitude that we might not make it to adulthood—and so on. In essence, compared with our parents' generation, we were spoilt—too much of a good thing too soon.
From early on we were knowledgeable about the tragedy and chaos of the first half of the 20th Century and didn't want to repeat it. Hence the rise of the Hippy movement and events like Woodstock (I never had the opportunity to attend but I saw the film the momement it was released and have seen it multiple times since). Our hearts were idealistic but like dieters we couldn't sustain the effort in a world of materialistic temptations (with our soft lifestyle we lacked the fortitude and resilience of our parents' generation).
Where I disagree I cover in my last point. Human beings cannot sufficiently absorb crucial knowledge from the past to stop them repeating mistakes of the past. This is especially so in respect of war—and it's one thing we're exceptionally good at. One would expect that, as we've engaged in it many thousands of times from time immemorial.
History has shown conclusively that despite our ever-yearning for peace, we humans cannot stop ourselves when it comes to war. It seems, unfortunately, it's an evolutionary instinct.
_
† As I've mentioned on HN previously, I was taught about global warming (although it wasn't called that) and atmospheric effects of CO2 as part of the science curriculum in the 1960s and my Boomer generation did nothing about it until forced kicking and screaming to do so.
>Human beings cannot sufficiently absorb crucial knowledge from the past to stop them repeating mistakes of the past. This is especially so in respect of war—and it's one thing we're exceptionally good at. One would expect that, as we've engaged in it many thousands of times from time immemorial.
Some things you don't get except by enduring it. The only way out is through. Adversity is just one of those types of teachers.
If it's any comfort I've had a theory along the same lines that the vast majority of human communication fails by default, and that in fact, accurate conveyance in the sense of high fidelity replication of understanding is something that literally requires an institutional pipeline. However the existence of the institution as a conduit of power jeopardizes it's effectiveness at it's raison de' etre.
It’s not his or any “generation” which is doing anything, that’s nonsensical.
It’s the US, Russian, Chinese, Israeli, Iranian, etc. governments. All of which have a life of their own and can either be very limitedly or not at all democratically influenced.
dang|1 year ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Edit: your account has been breaking the rules so often that we've banned it. Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40005592.
hilbert42|1 year ago
My Babyboomer generation has fucked things up well and truly and done so on multiple accounts—from excessive greed, its sense of entitlement, lack of consideration for following generations, environmental matters†, abandonment of ethics and established norms, and so on.
It seemed to start out well, Boomer parents wanted better for their kids, which given their generation of the Great Depression and WWII is very understandable, but it did not end up like that.
We Boomers knew we were better off than earlier generations, we were better educated, we had more money as kids and teenagers, we had better health care—we were the first generation with penicillin and such from the outset, and we didn't go around with a fatalistic attitude that we might not make it to adulthood—and so on. In essence, compared with our parents' generation, we were spoilt—too much of a good thing too soon.
From early on we were knowledgeable about the tragedy and chaos of the first half of the 20th Century and didn't want to repeat it. Hence the rise of the Hippy movement and events like Woodstock (I never had the opportunity to attend but I saw the film the momement it was released and have seen it multiple times since). Our hearts were idealistic but like dieters we couldn't sustain the effort in a world of materialistic temptations (with our soft lifestyle we lacked the fortitude and resilience of our parents' generation).
Where I disagree I cover in my last point. Human beings cannot sufficiently absorb crucial knowledge from the past to stop them repeating mistakes of the past. This is especially so in respect of war—and it's one thing we're exceptionally good at. One would expect that, as we've engaged in it many thousands of times from time immemorial.
History has shown conclusively that despite our ever-yearning for peace, we humans cannot stop ourselves when it comes to war. It seems, unfortunately, it's an evolutionary instinct.
_
† As I've mentioned on HN previously, I was taught about global warming (although it wasn't called that) and atmospheric effects of CO2 as part of the science curriculum in the 1960s and my Boomer generation did nothing about it until forced kicking and screaming to do so.
salawat|1 year ago
Some things you don't get except by enduring it. The only way out is through. Adversity is just one of those types of teachers.
If it's any comfort I've had a theory along the same lines that the vast majority of human communication fails by default, and that in fact, accurate conveyance in the sense of high fidelity replication of understanding is something that literally requires an institutional pipeline. However the existence of the institution as a conduit of power jeopardizes it's effectiveness at it's raison de' etre.
Truly a vicious cycle to break.
blub|1 year ago
It’s the US, Russian, Chinese, Israeli, Iranian, etc. governments. All of which have a life of their own and can either be very limitedly or not at all democratically influenced.
Zetobal|1 year ago