A "saeculum" is a period of 80-100 years, or roughly equivalent to a (currently) long human life. It comprises four "turnings." A saeculum is a historical cycle that repeats.
Strauss and Howe suggested we could look at history not as a two-dimensional circle that simply spins in place over and over, but as a three-dimensional spiral. I think of it as a spiral, because even though history keeps spinning along through the turnings in the same sequence, and the cycle of archetypes keeps producing generations (in the same sequence) that generally fit those archetypes, there are linear trends that continue through the spiral of history that make certain qualities of the eras and generations unique.
One of the linear trends is the advance of technology. Another one is wrapped up in gender relations/gender identity/gender confusion. Careful researchers like Strauss and Howe can examine two Barn-Raiser generations like the GIs and Millennials, for instance, and point to several characteristics in the peer personality that are the same. However, stepping back from the trees to look at the forest, the culture of those two generations are radically different. Average members of one could probably never accept what the other was comfortable with.
Christians should not be mystified by this. The god of this world/age grows more powerful all the time. As his power grows, the world becomes more corrupt, and sin more ubiquitous.
I like to compare turnings to seasons. There are four seasons every year; and four turnings every saeculum--always in the same sequence. We can't predict what the exact temperature will be on a given day in the future; but we know winter will be cold; summer will be hot; leaves will change color and die in the autumn; rain will fall and flowers bloom in the spring.
In a saeculum, the High equates to the spring. In spring, the weather transitions to a more pleasant condition. What died in the winter is either reborn, or replaced with new life. Living things grow and prosper. So it is with a High: Economies recover. Wars end and the troops come home. Optimism and confidence permeate society. Old institutions are either rebuilt or replaced. People enjoy peace and material affluence--rising adults (Custodians) live much better than their parents did. They marry young and start building families.
Again, I may miss the mark when offering examples from the Bible because:
1.Strauss/Howe's turnings and archetypes were identified from looking at American history.
2. The USA didn't exist in Biblical times.
3. The average lifespan varied in some Biblical saeculi.
With those caveats in mind, the generation that had not reached fighting age by the time Joshua's Holy Land campaign ended, entered rising adulthood (age 20-40) during a High. They enjoyed peace and prosperity, for the most part. Their primary mission was to maintain and preserve the institution(s) passed down from Moses, Aaron, and Joshua. The priesthood and the Law were two obvious institutions. Obviously, those sheltered, overprotected Custodians didn't do such a great job.
Another High might be after Saul died and David finally took the throne. Solomon's reign, though, is probably a better example of a High. The immediate post-Flood and post-Tower eras were probably similar to the American Highs in some respects. When the last of the apostles died off, and their disciples took charge of the Church, that might be considered a high. The same goes for when Constantine legalized Christianity.
Our Biblical picture of what the Millennium will be like is sketchy; but from what we do know, it sounds like a High to me. The absolute highest High ever. Then once we enter eternity, I doubt there will be a cycle of turnings at all. High for the saved; Crisis for the unsaved. Forever.
The last American High was the postwar era. You could mark the beginning at V-J Day and the end at the JFK assassination. Some might locate it between 1946 and 1965...or some other span that covers many of the same years.
While the Silent Generation (Custodian) entered rising adulthood, the GIs (Barn-Raiser) entered midlife, the Boomers (Prodigal) were still children, the Lost (Nomad) reached elderhood, and the Missionaries (Prodigal) began dying off.
Good-paying jobs were plentiful. Housing and college tuition was affordable. Middle-class neighborhoods were safe. Police protected and served. Families were strong and stable. Men looked outward and forward, stewarding society and posterity. A normal guy with a normal job could buy a nice house and pay it off quickly; raise a family with the wife remaining home to raise the kids; take them all on vacations every summer; put the kids through college; retire in midlife and live comfortably off his pension (luxuriously when his ballooning Social Security checks were added to it). Everything became increasingly convenient for them.
Young people really had nothing substantive to rebel against, but some tried to rebel all the same. Rock & roll and hot rods were part of that.
The Korean War was an ugly blip on the societal radar. It lasted almost as long as WWII, but only because it wasn't taken as seriously. Prosecution of the war was indecisive, and the supreme commander got into trouble for seeking decisive victory as he and everyone else had done in the previous war (during the Crisis). Of course, the Korean war was ostensibly fought by Americans to stop the very force that the previous war was fought to benefit; but that political dynamic fits perfectly within the generational one.
Outside of that, average Americans enjoyed peace during the High.
Also, society hit peak conformity.
As we know from the Bible, it's when people enjoy blessings of peace and prosperity that they turn their backs on God. It was no different in the USA.
If the cycle holds, the next High should begin circa 2030.
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