4 ms·

I think WWII could actually be quite a fun time to be alive for young people on the home front in the UK (and maybe N America). They had much more social freed

by 7952 4y ago

I think WWII could actually be quite a fun time to be alive for young people on the home front in the UK (and maybe N America). They had much more social freedom, often worked in groups with other young people, and had a sense of purpose, unity and camaraderie. The future was uncertain, but their own role was much clearer. And rationing even meant that people were getting fed properly. The modern world is brilliant at creating a constant sense of insecurity. That is often artificial but feels real. Your place is society and in the group is always insecure and shifting. Maybe kids are mollycoddled, but you have to wonder why people are driven to do that. Why do the richest most stable countries feels so insecure?

hilbert42 4y ago
" Why do the richest most stable countries feels so insecure?" This is the question I keep asking myself. There seems to any number of answers but I'm not sure we've any definitive ones as yet. If we had then we ought to be able to do something about it. Perhaps the uncertainty of not knowing is the cause.
- medvezhenok 4y ago
  I think it’s partially unresolved cognitive dissonance between rhetoric and reality - “you can do / be anything you want” (which is true in theory, but not so much in practice). The “happiest” societies - the Nordics - are rated that way because they start out with low expectations. Happiness is a measure of the delta between expectation and reality. When that delta is negative, mental health crises ensue.
  - hilbert42 4y ago
    "I think it’s partially unresolved cognitive dissonance between rhetoric and reality..." I'm almost certain you're right, cognitive dissonance is a key disrupting factor in many of our lives. Not only is there so much more information for people to process these days but much of it conflicted in ways that doesn't allow one to come to definitive conclusions. As you say, 'happiness is a measure of the delta between expectation and reality' and in this regard we've seen better outcomes in societies where expectations are low. I remain pessimistic about us being able to resolve this in the modern world as everything around us conspires to make one's expectations as high as possible. Essentially, our whole economic system is geared to making us believe that the more stuff and junk we accumulate the happier we'll be. I see no easy or practical way of breaking this circular problem. Year by year, advertising and commercialism gets more intense and the problem only gets worse - moreover, technologies such as the internet have only made matters worse. Promoting these high expectations is now of itself a huge part of the economy that if undone would alone cause hardships. One only has to look at Google and Amazon to realize that. It's really all very depressing.
Volrath89 4y ago
> "Why do the richest most stable countries feels so insecure?" Are you referring to only USA/Canada? I don't feel so much sense of hopelesness or insecurity in Germany.
- hilbert42 4y ago
  I'm not speaking for 7952 but I'd say it's rather commonplace in most if not all anglophone countries. I'm in Australia and there's a sense of insecurity here but it's not as pronounced as in the US. Having worked in the US as well as Europe including Germany and Austria (living in Vienna) my observation backs up your comment (albeit that info is a bit dated now). I could offer reasons as to why but they'd only be educated guesses. It's a big problem so some definitive data would be very helpful/useful.

by 7952 4y ago

hilbert42 4y ago

" Why do the richest most stable countries feels so insecure?" This is the question I keep asking myself. There seems to any number of answers but I'm not sure we've any definitive ones as yet. If we had then we ought to be able to do something about it. Perhaps the uncertainty of not knowing is the cause.

medvezhenok 4y ago
I think it’s partially unresolved cognitive dissonance between rhetoric and reality - “you can do / be anything you want” (which is true in theory, but not so much in practice). The “happiest” societies - the Nordics - are rated that way because they start out with low expectations. Happiness is a measure of the delta between expectation and reality. When that delta is negative, mental health crises ensue.
- hilbert42 4y ago
  "I think it’s partially unresolved cognitive dissonance between rhetoric and reality..." I'm almost certain you're right, cognitive dissonance is a key disrupting factor in many of our lives. Not only is there so much more information for people to process these days but much of it conflicted in ways that doesn't allow one to come to definitive conclusions. As you say, 'happiness is a measure of the delta between expectation and reality' and in this regard we've seen better outcomes in societies where expectations are low. I remain pessimistic about us being able to resolve this in the modern world as everything around us conspires to make one's expectations as high as possible. Essentially, our whole economic system is geared to making us believe that the more stuff and junk we accumulate the happier we'll be. I see no easy or practical way of breaking this circular problem. Year by year, advertising and commercialism gets more intense and the problem only gets worse - moreover, technologies such as the internet have only made matters worse. Promoting these high expectations is now of itself a huge part of the economy that if undone would alone cause hardships. One only has to look at Google and Amazon to realize that. It's really all very depressing.

Volrath89 4y ago

> "Why do the richest most stable countries feels so insecure?" Are you referring to only USA/Canada? I don't feel so much sense of hopelesness or insecurity in Germany.

hilbert42 4y ago
I'm not speaking for 7952 but I'd say it's rather commonplace in most if not all anglophone countries. I'm in Australia and there's a sense of insecurity here but it's not as pronounced as in the US. Having worked in the US as well as Europe including Germany and Austria (living in Vienna) my observation backs up your comment (albeit that info is a bit dated now). I could offer reasons as to why but they'd only be educated guesses. It's a big problem so some definitive data would be very helpful/useful.