[ICoNicღ]

Hi

[wolkenfuehlen]

You changed your name again!! Hiiiii Jess

[ICoNicღ]

It was a long time coming.

[PhoenixRising]

Hello, Jess!

Originally Posted by wolkenfuehlen (View Post) Yeah, everything is just so much right now, and happening all at once. I think once we get back to something resembling normalcy, we're all gonna need like a month to recover from everything mentally.

Yeah, if we ever do get back to normal. It seems like everything went to hell after 9/11 in 2001 and it's been one damn thing after another ever since. I'm getting so nostalgic for the 1980s and 1990s.

[wolkenfuehlen]

I think we'll go back to a new normal, and hopefully a better normal? I'm still optimistic

[PhoenixRising]

Well, it'll be a different normal, but better? That's entirely subjective. I didn't like our new normal after 9/11. I know how these situations turn out, historically. There's always an overreaction and overcorrection, like the era of prohibition following World War I and the Spanish Influenza pandemic. I don't trust people to not screw everything up.

[s e r e n i t y]

Hey everyone I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, this whole situation was a lot more stressful than I anticipated but ... at least in the Czech Republic, it seems to be more under control so fingers crossed. I hope things calm down elsewhere too and we can go forward, not back to normal as ... I don't think normal was good

[ICoNicღ]

Hey Sheida.

[PhoenixRising]

Originally Posted by s e r e n i t y (View Post) Hey everyone I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, this whole situation was a lot more stressful than I anticipated but ... at least in the Czech Republic, it seems to be more under control so fingers crossed. I hope things calm down elsewhere too and we can go forward, not back to normal as ... I don't think normal was good

Hi, Sheida!

We understand. I'm just glad things are under control over there.

Things are ridiculously out of control over here. 2020 is gonna go down as one of the worst years in US history.

Well, I think most of normal was good, Sheida. There were some abnormal issues that we had during the normal that we needed to address, but I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[PhoenixRising]

Sorry for the double post, but today is my birthday. Just letting you know.

[wolkenfuehlen]

Happy birthday, Alex

I think normal was good for some people, but it's very evident that it wasn't for a lot of others, and I think if we as a generation can do something to make it better for everyone, then we should try our best to do that. Progress can't happen if nothing ever changes, I guess?

[PhoenixRising]

Originally Posted by wolkenfuehlen (View Post) Happy birthday, Alex I think normal was good for some people, but it's very evident that it wasn't for a lot of others, and I think if we as a generation can do something to make it better for everyone, then we should try our best to do that. Progress can't happen if nothing ever changes, I guess?

Thanks, Anja!

Well, change is actually the one constant, Anja. Change always happens whether we like it or not. Thing is, when people say they want change, what they really want is a new status quo, and then what happens when more change occurs that affects their status quo? That's when they suddenly and ironically end up on the other side of the equation, you know? We saw this in the social movement of the 1960s, and then by the 1980s and 90s the world was totally different. Now we're going through the same thing again. It always seems like a back and forth. Sure, we should always try to make changes that improve things, but are they ever better for everyone? It always seems like progress is always asymmetrical. People always seem to overcorrect for mistakes of the past, and then we spend years or decades correcting for the overcorrection.

After World War I and the Spanish Influenza pandemic, the USA thought the best way to make the country a better place was to eliminate society's problem: alcohol. That's when the Prohibition Era began and that brought about more problems than it solved; organized crime, illegal bootlegging, the Mafia, etc.. I'm always cautious of reactionary politics. I'm a fan of relevant and practical change. Once it gets ideological, that's when I get red flags.

[wolkenfuehlen]

I think it's about time we "overcorrect" some of the past though, especially when it comes to social issues and climate change. Time is literally running out for us there. I feel a certain sense of pride when I see the way Gen Z is rising up right now... not sure I could've done that, at their age. Not even sure I could do that now.

[PhoenixRising]

Climate change I agree. We do need to be more environmentally friendly when it comes to the future.

Socially... I'm very cautious. I approve of improving healthcare, improving economic opportunity, and improving law enforcement and the criminal justice system to make it more fair. But... I'm wary of political correctness, identity politics, group-think, and any of the stuff they warned me about in those books they made me read in high school. Orwell, Bradbury, etc.

[wolkenfuehlen]

Hey gang I hope everyone is holding up okay! Are you all still in lockdown?