It's not The Worst Hard Time.
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,293
Do I like to bitch about things? Oh boy, do I ever! But I was thinking about all this stuff today (including pandemic, fires, social unrest, hurricanes, mega-fires and 45), and it occurred to me that maybe it would help if we stopped and thought about how there have been worse hard times as in: those who were subjected to Attila the Hun, Aztecs at the time of Cortés , the indigenous people at the time of continental conquest by Europeans, Jewish or gay, et al, at the time of Hitler, anybody during the Spanish flu, Midwestern during the dust bowl, most people during the Great Depression, etc., etc., maybe we could find a better way through it. (I will step out on a limb as a white guy and suggest that this is not even the worst hard time if you are African American. I'm open to being proven wrong on that, but I'm pretty sure previous centuries were worse, some WAY worse.)
This time sucks, but it's not the worst bad time. End results of bad times have totally revolved around how the people at the time and place responded. Historically, the results run the gamut.
Give us your best plan for creating the best outcome in getting past today's woes.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
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I love this country but these selfish money grabbing racist assholes have really fucked it up over the last 4 years.
Want to piss of republicans? VOTE!!
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Im the first generation who hasn’t had to worry about being drafted into a big war. My dad is a Vietnam bet, my grandpa WWII, the generation before him WWI and so on. That alone is worth living in this time.
I also believe race relations are better than my parents’ generation. They went to school when segregation was open and common. In the 80s when I grew up calling a kid “fag” was normal and no one really cared back then. People lived in the closet their whole lives out of fear. I remember Ellen saying she thought she was going to lose her job coming out.
Its not perfect, but we’ve made progress. I think it seems bad because more people care and more people are aware. Smart phones have only been common for about 10 years, so we’re really only now seeing this daily footage of things.
And yes, there’s a pandemic. It’s pretty bad. But a disease that was a death sentence 20 years ago are now easily treated. Pensions and social security is only financial in trouble because people are living much longer than before.
We live in a time where there is less fear for being gay or trans than ever before. Not that it doesn’t exist, but it’s less. I’m the first generation that will never see a draft to go to war. We can treat cancer and heart disease and countless other health issues like never before. Mental health is less of a stigma and people and openly get help like never before. If I was born even years earlier I’d probably be legally blind, but I had a new surgery that could help my sight about 20 years ago. So many things to list.
None of it is perfect, but it really isn’t that bad of a time to be alive compared to what my ancestors went through.
Good points all around, Mace.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
now, people are so far removed from anything like this, it's all brand new and fucking frightening. it's hard for them to relate.
i know the newest generation gets criticized heavily for their supposed selfishness and inability to understand these past horrors, but they are a product of their upbringing and their environment.
plus, as someone else said, it's all on video now. before people just heard about an incident on the news. rodney king was the first real visual people had with these things. now there's a rodney king type video every other day on social media. it's got to be traumatizing for some and desensitizing for others.
-EV 8/14/93
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-EV 8/14/93
and the climate crisis will never get resolved as long as the US remains on the path its on. let's be honest: if the US and china don't start taking this seriously, and i don't think they will, we're fucked.
and it's not just republicans. i don't think democrats can do any substantial change in the time frame needed. and i honestly don't think they even care to. at least republicans are honest about it. "we don't give a fuck/it's not real". democrats pay lip service and make incremental changes that amount to nearly zero. canada is no different, just so we're clear. everyone talks a big game then does not even close to what is needed.
-EV 8/14/93
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"