The 2nd Turning in a saeculum corresponds to the summer. The warming trend that makes the spring so pleasant continues, making the summer somewhat uncomfortable due to the heat. So it is with an Awakening. People begin to question and defy existing institutions, attitudes, and traditions. Prodigals, who enter rising adulthood (20-40) during an Awakening focus inward, rather than forward. They are typically selfish and self-obsessed. A gaping generation gap appears between them and their Barn-Raiser parents. Having been raised with maximum indulgence, the "younger generation" of narcissists reject the conformity of their predecessors, only to adopt an attitude of extreme entitlement. They see themselves as visionaries, and as more "conscious"--and therefore more important--than everyone else. Including their own children. Their focus on self, and on "consciousness" lead them into quests for spiritualism.
In the book of Judges, if not all the historic books of the Old Testament, I think many Awakenings are documented. In my opinion, every period in which the Israelites chased after foreign gods was probably an Awakening.
In particular, the account of Samson strikes me as occurring in the late stages of an Awakening. The culture in Israel (specifically in Dan) had already embraced pagan religion, and by the time Samson was born, that had progressed to its logical conclusion: rule by heathens. Samson was a spoiled brat who rejected the council of his indulgent parents. He bossed them around, instead. He was gifted with an access to spiritual power none of us have enjoyed. The manifestation of that power through him, superficially, makes us think of him as strong and masculine. Yet he was dominated by women throughout his tenure as a judge. Females "wore the pants" in his life. His weakness was rather sickening, and tragic. The gift he was granted at birth was magnificent. And all he had to do was uphold his Nazerite vow to keep it. By the end of his life, he had pissed it all away.
The last Awakening America went through began with the JFK assassination and ended during the "Morning in America" period of the early-to-mid 1980s. It included the "Summer of Love;" the moon mission, the Vietnam debacle, Watergate, the Civil Rights movement, the sexual revolution, civil unrest and domestic terrorism.
The Boomers followed the pattern, and actually pushed the boundaries. Probably the most spoiled, indulged children in history; they grew up to be the most ungrateful adults, with the most dramatic generation gap between themselves and their fathers. They questioned and defied institutions like never before--most notably, the Draft. But they despised more than just that institution, including gender norms, marriage, and the family itself. (Of course those are even more despised today, but the slippery slope began in the Awakening.)
While the generation gap widened, the gender gap narrowed. Masculinity was reviled, in men. Males grew their hair out long like women; music featured male vocalists singing in ever-higher voices; sodomy came out of the closet and was celebrated. Young females became as promiscuous as the worst of men in previous times, burned their bras in public, demanded "liberation" from roles as wives and mothers, and increasingly sought their own careers and traditionally masculine pastimes like sports. They cut their hair short, wore business suits, and preferred masculine (or at least androgynous) nicknames.
They took birth control to avoid having children, then aborted children who were conceived, anyway. They got abortion "legalized" via a ruling by a cultural Marxist Supreme Court, which has been treated as law ever since. What children were actually born to them were undervalued, neglected, or abandoned. To compensate for this "baby bust," left-wing activists in government opened the floodgates to the largest, most prolonged invasion in history. Since 1965, the red carpet has been rolled out for hordes of foreigners who value neither our culture, our once-predominant faith, nor our freedom. It was inevitable that, given their unabashed lust for dominance, and our timid "inclusive" philosophy and appeasement, they would one day rule over us, demanding of us the assimilation we never demanded of them.
Rising spiritual awareness led the Boomers to experiment with "mind-expanding" drugs and/or dabble in eastern mysticism/pagan religions, on the quest for "Nirvana" or a "higher plane of consciousness." And within Christianity, they became "Jesus Freaks"--often personalizing their concept of the Savior into an effeminate, pacifist hippie space cadet whose only objectives were peace and love--as Boomers defined it. In other words, their picture of Jesus was nearly identical to their own self-image.
It has been rightly noted that Boomers can't take credit for the Apollo missions. To be fair, neither can they be blamed for Vietnam. However, their reaction to the indecisive, pointless intervention in Vietnam, and Watergate, and Roe v. Wade, etc. has had long-term effects on America to this day, and spurred on the Unraveling.
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.
I'm not in the habit of blogging personal stuff, but this post will be an exception.
I haven't felt solidarity with hardly anyone in my life--especially people my own age. (I always thought I should have been born in an earlier era.) Until reading Strauss and Howe's work on generational theory, I assumed I was radically different from everyone my age group. But it turns out that I'm actually a poster child for my generation.
I'll start with the name of the archetype. I've commented on the archetype names before, and actually assigned them my own names...except for this one. It may be a coincidence, but "Nomad" fits me so well, I kept Strauss & Howe's label.
Both before and after my parents' divorce and remarriage, I was constantly on the move. I rarely spent an entire year at the same school. For the first several moves I remember, nearly everything I owned (toys, books, etc.) was left at the previous residence. After I made friends at each new place, the adults I lived with would move somewhere else and I'd never see those friends again. As I grew older, it became increasingly difficult to make friends before the next move. By the time I was in high school, there was only one year when I actually did make friends.
Throughout my childhood, I told myself that, once on my own, I would settle down somewhere, establish a permanent home and stay there. However, I remained just as nomadic as an adult as I had been as a child. Not because I wanted to, but because of the consequences of choices I made.
My parents were Silent Generation (Custodian), and, typically, married young and began having children immediately. They had three Boomer (Prodigal) children, one child right on the cusp between Boomer and Gen X, waited a few years, then, for whatever reason, had me. My parents split up multiple times up until the divorce, which became final when I was 10 years old.
I noticed being treated differently than the other kids early on. Even the way my parents referred to us, it was obvious they considered me in a separate category from my siblings. As a boy I assumed it was either because of the age gap, or because there was something wrong with me. Most of the time, I was excluded from what my siblings (and parents) did. Once when I was a teenager, my father put together a slideshow of photos he had taken over the years. My stepmother had helped him put it together and, right before my father turned on the slide projector, she gave me a preemptive excuse for why there were so many pictures of each of my siblings but so few of me. Looking back, I don't believe the excuse she offered. I believe my parents' attitude about children changed, in sync with the society writ large. My timing was just bad, as it would be throughout my life.
Across the USA, the attitude about children was changing as I and other Nomads survived the abortion epidemic and began growing up. Children went from being blessings to burdens during the "awakening" cycle. I certainly felt like a burden to whatever adult I was in the care of. The adults in my life were all caught up in their own pursuits, and society catered to them. I wasn't important enough for consideration. To varying degrees, most of the 13th Generation wasn't.
My father had a hierarchy of favorite children. His oldest daughter was always his favorite, until the day he died. His youngest daughter was perhaps tied with his middle son, who he obviously admired and perhaps lived vicariously through. His oldest son and I were at the bottom. Which of us exactly was in dead last place could be argued (at least as the eldest fell out of his favor, and my estrangement possibly convicted his conscience), but that doesn't matter anymore--except inasmuch as my oldest brother and I (born 10 years apart) represent different generations.
A good portion of my childhood was spent sitting alone in a parked car, waiting for whatever adult I was with to finish their business inside a building somewhere. During my parents' breakups and after the divorce, there was time between when school got out and an adult got home (or all day during the summer) when I and my sister closest in age were alone at home. Sometimes she would stay with one parent and I with the other. Then, and when I entered junior high, when she finally went off on her own, I would be alone at home for various lengths of time. I never heard the term until I myself was an adult, but I was a "latchkey kid."
Even though my father took that sister's side in every conflict (and there were many) and I was excluded from what the rest of the family did (when the family all lived under one roof) most of the time, that sister, to this day, still accuses me of being "the favorite." Laughable as it is, maybe she actually believed it at one time. There had to be some reason behind the contempt she always had for me, and I never did anything deserving her treatment. I could provide many examples of my father's favoritism, but that would really make this a long post. Here's just one:
During one period, my father had custody of me and the two of us lived in a nice apartment in a decent part of town. My father was gone nearly all the time, either working or dating my soon-to-be stepmother; and I was alone in the apartment. I was used to being alone by then, and starting to prefer it. I look back on that time as one of my favorite summers. Then school started, and my hybrid Boomer/X sister came into town. My father took the apartment key away from me and gave it to my sister, just in case she needed a place to stay. I always needed a place to stay at 12-going-on-13, and protested that this arrangement was unfair. He reiterated that she might have no other place to sleep on a given night, so that was that. I can't remember what I did every day after school waiting for somebody to arrive and unlock the apartment, but I do remember that on cold days/nights, I could sit under the exhaust vent from the laundry room and enjoy a blast of warm air. I guess it never occurred to my father that he could have had a duplicate key made. Or he didn't want to spend the money.
After the marriage of my father and stepmother, they moved into a trailer they bought, sitting on land they rented. Between them and my step-siblings, there was no room for me. So I slept in a little camp trailer on the same lot. I actually liked the arrangement. But then they bought a plot of land outside the city and moved the trailer(s) there. During one phase of the move, they had to get the camp trailer. I begged them to let me go with them, hoping I could pack up my stuff so that it wouldn't fall and break during transport. I was overruled because they needed me to wait at the empty lot in case one of the utility guys showed up to turn on something. So there I sat (needing to use the toilet, but with no toilet in sight). The utility guy never showed; and when the adults returned, towing the camp trailer, everything I owned that was breakable was on the floor, broken. Looking back, most of it was silly kid's stuff. But at the time, I treasured what belongings I still had and would have preferred to keep them intact. My father felt bad (after stepping on some of the wreckage and crushing it) for all of about five minutes, promising that he would help me repair the damage. He never did. He rarely kept promises--at least those made to me.
This was one incident in a growing list of evidence that I just wasn't all that important to my father. Not as important as his other kids had been when living with him; and certainly not a priority for him at that time. I, and what I wanted, came last. There was always something that took priority over me.
Up until about 11 years old I admired my father, wanted to be like him, and always hoped one day we could spend quality time together. By the time I left "home" at 17 years old, I had little respect for him, didn't care what he approved or disapproved of, and rejected many values he espoused, including Christianity. I realized that the only times he showed an interest in me were during custody squabbles with my mother, or when he felt rejected by my stepmother and his other kids weren't around.
I see now that my experiences were not unique. Most of the 13th Generation grew up alienated, even in our own families. That's probably one of the main reasons we were so violent.
Again, society's focus was on adults. Kids were a burden, or an afterthought. But the bright side was (so I thought) one day I would be an adult, and it would finally be my turn. But I became an adult just in time for society's focus to shift back to kids. While visiting my oldest brother on one occasion, I was astonished to witness him actually leave the living room to watch what he wanted on a different TV, so his kids could watch a show they liked on the main television. I was further astonished when my sister-in-law told me they would like to move out of their current house, but were putting it off for a few years because that would place them in a different school district, and she wanted her youngest child to have a specific teacher in a specific grade. Plus, their kids had friends where they were.
This blew my mind. I couldn't imagine my parents would have ever sacrificed their TV viewing for me; much less delay a move out of consideration for my education or friendships. Public school was "free" babysitting, after all--just a convenient program so they wouldn't need to worry about what I was doing during the day. Schools were interchangeable, just like childhood friends. One was as good as another, the way they saw it.
I still didn't understand that this was a clue of a society-wide trend. Over a decade later I was shacked up with a single mom (hybrid Boomer/13er) who claimed to love me. Everything revolved around that woman's kids. Dense as I was, it took me years to realize that I would never get my turn while with her, either. One of our bones of contention was how her teenage daughter habitually opened up the house to her pothead associates, who helped themselves to everything they found, rifling through my belongings and leaving them scattered all over the house. I had sacrificed hard-earned money to acquire my books, records and other stuff over the course of my life, and had taken care to preserve them as best I could. But the mob of stoners didn't care if the records got scratched when they left them laying on the floor outside the protective sleeves; or the books got torn or wet, or dog-eared. It existed, therefore it was theirs to do with as they pleased. I could not understand that attitude at all. This happened repeatedly, and (politely at first) I asked the single mom to help me stop this. I found it disrespectful, and unfair that they were allowed to damage what didn't belong to them. But every time, the single mom reacted as if I were oppressing her daughter with my draconian tyranny. There were no rules in that house concerning her offspring, except "Don't Inconvenience My Precious Children In Any Way, For Any Reason." Years after I left her, I still didn't appreciate how foolish I was to even get involved with that woman (who claimed to love me). While I don't think my own upbringing was healthy, this sort of child-rearing isn't, either. A happy medium might have have been nice.
Now that these precious snowflake Millennials are fully grown, you can see the effect this kind of parenting has had on society.
I don't completely understand why I was so attracted to older women for so long, but I have some hypothoses. First, when I hit puberty, all the "sex symbols" in society were Boomers. My alienation might have influenced this predisposition, too. Also, during my pre-pubescent years, a friend's Boomer mother did something to me that possibly has had psychological side effects ever since. For whatever reason, most of my romances have been with Boomer women, or hybrid Boom/13. I've only had a few younger girlfriends, and I should have made more of an effort with one or two of them. One of them I unintentionally defrauded and it still haunts me to this day. God forgive me for the psychological/spiritual damage I may have inflicted.
There is a phrase I would bet money was coined by a fellow 13er: "The beatings will continue until morale improves." That sums up my military experience perfectly.
Looking back, I see that one reason I wanted to be in the military was a subconscious assumption it would become my surrogate family. In actuality, it only amplified my alienation. And I haven't kept in touch with one single person I served with. Not one.
Mid-grade officers and nearly all the NCOs I dealt with were Boomers who made their rank in the lax post-Vietnam atrophy of the Armed Forces, when very little was asked of them. Once placed in authority, however, their latent sadism was unleashed and unchecked, (actually considered a sign of leadership by the time I arrived as a green junior enlisted man). My chain of command ran my unit like a Nazi prison camp. Boomer schadenfreude went well beyond the need to discipline young punks fresh out of training. We were far more disciplined than they probably ever were, yet treated worse than hardened criminals for the sin of wanting to serve our country. It wouldn't have been as bad, had I and some of my 13er peers developed the kind of comradery that the GI Generation enjoyed. But I guess we were all too competitive with each other and I, for one, had almost no social skills and was still stuck at the maturity level of a young adolescent.
My rising adult years were spent in the military, then college. I felt no solidarity with my own generation because conformity abounded in both institutions. When I first heard of "Generation X," I didn't realize I was a part of it. I thought it was the label for my younger peers who came straight out of high school into college. I didn't see myself as similar in any way to the kids who dressed all in black, wore toboggans in the summer, listened to "alternative" music, went to raves, etc. "I want to be different, like everybody else," was how I lampooned such people. But outside college, the Armed Forces, and other such ideosyncratic conformist subcultures, Xers were transforming from alienated loners to incorrigible cynics, just like me.
In basic training, I was puzzled that my fellow recruits already hated military life and wished they were back home. Why did they enlist in the first place, I wondered. Every mail call, they received letters and care packages from family. No wonder they missed home so much. Their families sure seemed to miss them. I couldn't relate to their experience and they couldn't relate to mine, even though most of them were only 1-4 years older than me. But outside that subculture, Xers who probably could relate better to my experience made more intelligent, pragmatic decisions--learning computer programming instead of pursuing a so-called "life of adventure" in uniform.
I kept in touch with my parents through basic and subsequent training, but gradually lost interest in doing so. I think, by discovering what a different experience my peers had, I began to connect the dots, realized how shortchanged I had been in childhood, and resented it. I did spend one leave visiting family. My peers thought I was crazy for being happy to be back from it.
My enthusiasm for soldiering took a while to die, as I kept anticipating that, just around the corner, something would change and I would finally find my niche in life. But when I had had enough, the whole experience just added to my bitterness. When I rejoined civilian life I quit shaving; grew my hair out long; refused to tuck in my shirt or wear a belt; made a habit of putting my hands in my pockets, and expressed contempt for most military types ("LIFERs") and wannabes. My philosophy was: "I'm a civilian now, and I'll do whatever the ______ I want." Unfortunately, my rebellion carried over into my spiritual life, too.
Over time, I communicated less and less with family--especially my father. I only attended one family reunion out of four or so that took place.
As an adult, my father was a lot friendlier to me than when I was a child, but I didn't have much interest in him by then. Spending time with him was awkward. We had almost no common ground. It's kind of like that Boomer song "The Cat's in the Cradle." Thematically, at least.
I did eventually forgive him, and made more of an effort to visit. He died in 2017 and it made me sad for a while; but honestly, I don't miss him.
I get along well with my siblings, and enjoy spending time with them. I'm closest to my two brothers. But we might never see eye-to-eye on some matters. I see now that our conflicts result from a classic contrast in attitude between the 13th and the Boom. For instance: my brothers (and Boomer friends) recognize a need to reform institutions, but are horrified that I think every last one of our corrupt institutions should be torn down. I think the United Nations should be kicked out of the USA (should never have been allowed in to begin with, in fact); the IRS, Federal Reserve, and welfare state should be razed to the ground...for starters. The mainstream media has been deceiving us going back to at least 1898 (probably much earlier), but their deception gets more centrally-controlled, standardized, and blatant all the time. Television programming is a moral cesspool filled with everything God hates. There's no escape from unGodly messaging anywhere in pop culture today. Yet at least one brother (and other Boomers) still faithfully watch local news, and CSI/Law & Order/NCIS/whatever on the Idiot Box. They know, on some level, they are being lied to, but they keep exposing themselves to the lies. "You can't just throw out the baby with the bath water," Boomers will tell you--meaning there's something worth watching amidst all the lies and cultural brainwashing they consume. So if there's just a little bit of poison in your food or water; or just a little bit more than there was last time, no problem. Eat, drink, and be merry.
Discussions/debates/arguments are handled differently by my brothers and I. They are concerned about balance--not wanting the other person to adopt a position they see as extreme, on either side of an issue. I tend to see most issues in black & white. There is right, and there is wrong. If you're wrong, I don't care whether you're a radical or a moderate--you're all under the same umbrella, and part of the problem. If you're right, then why not be extremist (by today's definition) about it? If you compromise with evil, then you're also part of the problem, even if you believe intellectually in what is right.
My Boomer brothers (one to a different degree than the other) believe they can educate others out of their ignorance or twisted logic. This causes them to sometimes spend time trying to reason with individuals who are unreasonable. I regret every single pearl I have cast before swine. Through prolific experience, I have concluded that some people are willfully ignorant and will reject truth mostly because they're heavily invested in lies...and there's no way I can compete with that investment. When I recognize that fanatical ignorance in a person, I normally just disengage. There's no use in contending with somebody who rejects truth out of hand, so why waste time or energy doing so? Sometimes such a fight is inevitable or necessary for one reason or another, but when it's not, I just walk away with the valuable knowledge that the other person can't be trusted. I'm a lot less frustrated since adopting this policy; but I also probably write people off too quickly. Thankfully, God doesn't write people off as easily as I do.
A trend toward cynicism began with the Boomers, and peaked with Generation X. Same with individualism. My brothers would probably be considered antisocial by Barn-Raisers or Custodians, but they're nothing compared to me. Solitude was an affliction as a young boy, but now is a preference. Although I sometimes enjoy the company of others, I have no emotional need for it. Looking back at the times in life when I was most happy, they usually occurred when I was isolated. Sometimes I had friends during those times, but kept them at arm's length. My brothers and Boomer men I know draw strength from being with family or part of a community. I don't. If I get too much of that, it's an irritation.
I don't believe I'm any sort of model for psychological health; I'm just admitting how I am. And I suspect there are a lot of 13ers/Xers who are very similar. Would I like to be part of a warm, loving family or community? Sure. But even if I found that, I don't think I'm cut out to be a part of one anymore. That ship probably sailed long ago.
I kept hope for that, and many other desires, alive for a long time--like approval from my father and the fairy tale love of a good woman. I was naive for clinging to my hopes for so long, in fact. But when I finally let go, I guess it was permanent. Now those erstwhile desires don't interest me, except in an abstract sense. Dreams of great accomplishments have died, too. What do I want out of this life, at this point? I still want success, as I define it now. I want to minimize stress, drama, hassle and suffering. I want the rest of my life to suck less than it has up to now, and that's about as high as my expectations dare go. In short, I suppose I'm drifting into nihilism--another characteristic of my generation.
It does no good to complain about "my lot in life." Boomers and Millennials wouldn't believe or understand the complaints. Other 13ers have their own problems and baggage to worry about. It wouldn't generate sympathy. And what good is sympathy, anyway? Sympathy can't be cashed in for anything of concrete worth, and is short-lived at best, anyway. Trying to please God is the only worthwhile endeavor left. That's perhaps the greatest revelation a human being can be given. My specific life experience was the path I traveled to get to where I could accept it.
Enough of that. I'll start on the historical cycles next.
There are personal reasons, as well as current-event distractions, which have delayed my writing of this post. But here it is, finally.
Generational theory, as it complements Biblical prophecy, led me to believe that the "4th turning" or crisis (winter) phase of the generational cycle was upon us in 2020, not in 2008 (as Strauss and Howe proposed). First the Wuhan coronavirus, and now the communist/terrorist revolution taking shape on our streets, has convinced me that this is so. It is tempting to simply jump ahead in this series and get to that...but I'm going to try laying out the whole picture methodically as planned.
With the other archetypes profiled here and at the old Wordpress site, I have rejected Strauss and Howe's labels, and replaced them with my own (civic/hero=Barn Raiser; adaptive/artist=Custodian; idealist/prophet=Prodigal). For this archetype, however, I will retain their label. Strauss and Howe initially designated this archetype as "reactive," but later called it "the nomad." In my next post, I might explain why I'm using their term.
In the generational "family" of four types, the Nomad is the middle child, or stepchild. They are born during an "awakening" period to Custodian or Prodigal parents. They are the least valued and least protected children of the cycle. They come of age during an "unraveling" period. Their reputation from childhood to adulthood is as the bad seed, and a lot of them live up to that reputation. They tend to be pragmatist, if not survivalist, and are the most fiercely individualistic of all generations. They grow old impoverished, alone, and as neglected as they were in childhood.
Nomad generations are born during a spiritual awakening, a time of social ideals and spiritual agendas when youth-fired attacks break out against the established institutional order. Nomads grow up as underprotected children during this awakening, come of age as alienated young adults in a post-awakening world, mellow into pragmatic midlife leaders during a historical crisis, and age into tough post-crisis elders. By virtue of this location in history, such generations tend to be remembered for their rising-adult years of hell-raising and for their midlife years of hands-on, get-it-done leadership. Their principle endowments are often in the domain of liberty, survival, and honor. Their best-known historical leaders include Nathaniel Bacon, William Stoughton, George Washington, John Adams, Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower. These have been cunning, hard-to-fool realists—taciturn warriors who prefer to meet problems and adversaries one-on-one.- Lifecourse Associates
When I think of Biblical figures who exemplify this archetype, I usually settle on King Saul. We don't know much about his upbringing, but Saul seems plagued by insecurities and self-doubt, despite being a head taller than all the other men in Israel. He also tried to avoid the limelight--at least at first. Upon Saul's first act of disobedience, God rejected him. (Contrast that with the patriarchs, Aaron, David, Jonah, and many others.) After that ultimate rejection, Saul's mind grew increasingly depraved--yet he didn't succumb to the common sin that all the other evil kings of Israel and Judah indulged in: idolatry. And though he didn't seek self-glorification either, his pride was so wounded by the praise heaped on David that he turned into a homicidal maniac. He finally suffered a humiliating, ignominious death.
I think of most of Israel's tribal ancestors as Prodigals except Benjamin (Barn-Raiser), and Joseph (Nomad). The affection of his father for Joseph doesn't fit, but how he was kicked around for much of his life does. His older brothers despised him; conspired against him; and literally sold him into slavery. Joseph worked hard in the house of Potiphar, but was thrown in prison for demonstrating integrity. While in prison he helped others, but was promptly forgotten when a prisoner he had helped gained his freedom, who could have put in a good word for Joseph. Joseph's tireless hard work finally paid off, and he was in a position to exact revenge against the Prodigals who stole the best years of his life from him, but he let them off the hook.
The doughboys drafted to fight in WWI, subjected to horrific carnage and poison gas, who came home to make the 1920s roar, were part of "the Lost Generation." Those Nomads (unappreciated as children, then fed to the meat grinder of a pointless European war) scratched and clawed for prosperity during the Stock Market boom while throwing caution to the wind in their personal lives. They bore the brunt of the Great Depression; and also took the blame for it. In fact, the Lost took the blame for pretty much every bad development in society during their adult lives. Whereas the GI Generation were venerated and lavishly cared for (at public expense) right to the grave, the Lost got the short end of the stick at every phase of life.
Strauss and Howe made an interesting point about the 2nd World War, which highlights the contrast in how the Lost and GIs were valued. To resolve the second phase of the "secular crisis" (winter) of that cycle, America shipped all their optimistic, team-oriented, cherished GIs overseas to fight the Axis. But leading them into battle at the strategic level would be the cold, hard, pragmatic Lost generals and admirals. The most famous of those Lost commanders was George S. "Blood and Guts" Patton. The opening scene of Patton's eponymous film tribute is a compilation of many Patton quotes as he addresses his army of (unseen) GI troops. Stab the enemy with your bayonet, the brutal general tells his young, untested soldiers, then rip his guts out and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. Patton was regarded by the establishment like a dangerous beast, only to be released from his cage when the crisis was so acute as to require exceptional savagery. And despite his cowboy approach to warfare (which certainly ruffled feathers in the military establishment), what got him in the most trouble on the Home Front was when the old brute slapped a precious young GI in the face for alleged cowardice.
Fast forward to the 1960s and the first waves of the next Nomad Generation.
Silent and Boomer adults used the brand new birth control pill to avoid having children. A decade later, they legalized infanticide inside the womb, in case they were too lazy or careless to use that contraceptive, and conceived anyway. Children, cherished and appreciated before, during, and after the secular crisis, were now effectively disposable. The 13th Generation was little more than a burden and nuisance during the hedonistic orgy of the awakening. The changing attitude toward children was exemplified by the stream of popular "evil child" movies during the period, like Village of the Damned; Rosemary's Baby; the Omen; the Exorcist; It's Alive; etc. (plus Evil Child themes in TV shows like the Twilight Zone, Star Trek, etc.).Children with evil supernatural powers arrived to screw up the Hippie Utopia simply by being born.
As the survivors of the Pill and abortion epidemics grew into teens, adults assigned them a reputation as mindless, amoral savages, or "party animals" at best. In the teen exploitation movies (produced and directed by Boomers) of X's youth, the teenage protagonists were usually portrayed as sex-crazed slackers who practiced apathy as if it were a virtue. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many youngsters tried to emulate this model the Boomers built for them.
This demographic was originally called the 13th Generation (interesting for its sinister and "bad luck" connotations) or the Busters (for the "baby bust" that ended the postwar Baby Boom), but later dubbed "Generation X." The implication was that these people had no "identity," no "consciousness," and no purpose. They weren't "cool" or "groovy" like the socially conscious Boomers; but apathetic and nigh-anonymous. They were so devoid of worth and nondescript that they didn't even deserve a name--just an "X."
Even the oldest of the 13th/Xers were never conscious of a world not wracked by the uncertainty and self-doubt (often self-hatred) that permeated America after the Kennedy assassination.
Society was focused on adults when the Xers were children. Every institution catered to adults and strove to satisfy their immediate gratification. Xers who survived abortion were an inconvenient obstacle to their parents' self-discovery via sex, drugs, Eastern mysticism, careerism, and every other fad in their non-stop hedonist life cruise. Born during (and sometimes because of) "the Sexual Revolution," it was inevitable that few of the 13th would be nurtured in the stable nuclear families that previous generations enjoyed. Motherhood was viewed as a form of stifling oppression, so if Xers' parents actually remained together, the "woman of the house" liberated herself by pursuing her own career. Divorce went from rare to commonplace during the 13th's childhood. Either way, most of them came home from school and fended for themselves until a parent or step-parent arrived that afternoon or evening. Nights and weekends were often spent alone for children of divorce, whose swinging mothers went out to date and party. The 13th was largely the "latch-key" generation. They became extremely independent, if not alienated. Families had shrunk by this time, but some Xers had siblings who either relieved or compounded the alienation.
As the 13th entered adulthood, the robust industrial postwar economy enjoyed by the Boomers was nearly strangled, and the quality of life for young adults plummeted. Even during the economic recovery of the 1980s, the bulk of the largesse benefited the older generations while X faced dwindling opportunities and bleak prospects as hourly-wage flunkies in the new "service-oriented" economy. Meanwhile, college tuition skyrocketed. X also inherited a new sexually transmitted disease developed by the Boomers during their "free love" adventure, which attacked the body's immune system.
In the ugly, bleak new reality in America, many of the Xers harnessed their individualism and survivalism to become entrepreneurs, often in fields built around emerging technology. Others, who didn't have the technical foundation or social acumen to succeed in business, transitioned to lives of crime and drug addiction.
X was a highly competitive (and violent) generation from childhood to young adulthood. I never appreciated how uniquely so this was, until observing the Millennials interact socially, play sports, etc. The contrast is stark and stunning.
Alienated as children, X became cynical as adults. This is reflected in most of the pop culture crafted by the 13th. Movies made by X are raunchy, intentionally offensive, sardonic or nihilist. Music is dark, cold, hard, or mocking. Dancing was a communal exercise for the GIs and Silent; sexualized for the Boomers; but anti-social for Generation X. When the 13th went out to party (or "rave"), it wasn't unusual to see many of them, like Billy Idol, dancing with themselves. It also became common at concerts or raves for a "mosh pit" to form. In a mosh pit, young men turned dancing into a bloody full-contact sport. X ushered in the age of electronic music, wherein a band of other individuals with various instruments isn't even necessary--one person with a keyboard or computer can do everything.
As the 13th became adults, society's focus turned back to children. (No matter what stage of life they reached, it was never Xers' turn.) Society became protective of the young once again. The Evil Child movies lost popularity and were replaced by Good Child films. The market exploded with car seats, strollers, and papooses. 24-hour cable channels like Cartoon Network, Nickelodian, and Disney catered to children. Politicians poured tax dollars into public schools and arranged free lunches for the Millennials. Now students get free breakfast, too, all at taxpayer (mostly Xers) expense. Anti-bullying campaigns proliferate society, so Millenials and Homelanders won't have to go through the same crucible X did. Divorce is still commonplace, but parents now make an effort to nurture and validate their children. A lot of those parents, by-the-way, are 13th.
Violent and apathetic as kids, the 13th proved to be the hardest-working generation of all, despite their "slacker" reputation. They had/have to work much harder, for longer hours, to earn the same buying power as previous generations. And they've done so. If born female and/or of color, they are entitled to a helping hand from the system, and immunity from criticism by the macroculture. Otherwise, 13ers are out of luck. They have to look out for Number One, because nobody else will stick up for them. Nobody ever has. Life has been dog-eat-dog and every-man-for-himself. Survival is it's own reward. Acclaim and congratulations are always reserved for someone else (again: it's never X's turn. X doesn't get a turn). Who needs acclaim, anyway? Like the 13th cares, if others approve of who they are or what they've done.
X typically doesn't seek attention or recognition. Many Xers gave up looking for sympathy long ago, and wouldn't know what to do with it if they finally did get some. It would likely make them uncomfortable. Some of them don't feel sympathy for others easily, and come off as cold or heartless as a result. If you want to be dismissed and discredited, try lecturing the average white heterosexual male from Generation X about how "privileged" he is.
The cynicism, independence, and extreme individualism of X cause them to scoff at Christianity. It's very difficult for them to accept the notion of a perfect, loving, longsuffering Heavenly Father--often because of what their earthly fathers modeled to them. A nihilistic cynic hears about a selfless Jesus who willingly gave up His life to pay for our sins, and can't help assuming there's some sort of ulterior motive involved. It's too good to be true. It must be a scam designed to cheat people out of their money, or make their life suck even worse, somehow. Christianity is just another organized religion, after all. Their Boomer elders dabbled in various religions enough for Xers to know it's all just a silly waste of time, anyway. Besides, there's no such thing as "sin." The Boomers taught them: "If it feels good, do it;" and that philosophy took root. Xers typically bristle at any sort of judgement. To them, Christianity is just codified judgementalism. Why would they opt in? Making money and feeling good are what's most important in life--not trying to please some invisible Sky Pilot who watches in detachment an unfair world that utterly sucks. Life has been rigged against X from the very beginning. Where was this loving, all-powerful God when they were getting kicked around by parents, society, and the system?
There's a lot more to be said about the Nomads in general and Generation X in particular. I plan to say some of it in my next post; but after that, it's time to move on to the seasons/turnings.
UPDATE: Upon further reading, Strauss and Howe identified 2008 as an important shift in societal mood and the beginning of the Crisis, but predicted the climax of the Crisis would hit in...wait for it...2020.
The two previous archetypes were profiled on the old blog. I'm finally continuing the series.
One of Jesus' famous parables was of the Prodigal Son. In it, a wealthy father has two sons. The one son, despite his cushy life, decides he knows better than his generous father what life is all about and how to live it. He demands his inheritance, abandons his loving father and the life and home that was provided to him, journeys to a far country and parties hard until his entire inheritance is squandered and he is reduced to eating pig food.
(Just in case you haven't heard this parable: the son then returns home and is welcomed with open arms by his father, the way sinners who repent are welcomed by God into salvation and the Kingdom. The older brother has done what he was expected to do the entire time the Prodigal was off on a self-indulgent spree, and rankles at how the irresponsible narcissist is the one who gets rewarded and celebrated. The brother is much like the Custodian archetype)
I think the generation who followed Joshua into the Holy Land was like the Barn-Raisers, and the first judges were like the Custodians. The children who grew up in the fulfillment of the Promise, then turned their back on God to worship idols was Prodigal. Before the Holy Land campaign it's very difficult to correlate Biblical figures to the American generational archetypes. For one: they weren't Americans. For two: their life spans were much longer than what Strauss and Howe's generational theory is built around. However, I look at most of the tribal patriarchs as mostly Prodigals (one exception being Joseph, who strikes me as a Nomad type). Abraham, who did everything he could to set up Isaac for success (including finding him a wife), strikes me as a Barn-Raiser. Isaac, who was born within a year of a significant crisis (the judgment on the cities of the plain) and went through a personal crisis of his own (almost sacrificed), nevertheless entered adulthood with a life of peace and wealth, but raised his own children without the same level of wisdom or provision...and therefore seems like a Custodian. Jacob got the short end of the stick, but was "streetwise" and clawed his way into the inheritance and the blessing via crafty deceit. Even so, he was left on his own to find a home and a wife, and floundered with a lack of paternal guidance. He resembles a Nomad, or perhaps a Prodigal.
Strauss and Howe named this American generational archetype the "Idealist" or "Prophet." The most recent such generation certainly see themselves that way, but I prefer to call this archetype the "Prodigal" for a reason that should be obvious soon.
The Prodigal generation from the 1800s is labeled the "Missionaries." As I've warned previously, generalizations are necessary when referencing generations and their peer personalities. Neither Strauss, Howe, nor I believe every member of a generation conforms exactly to the profile. There are many differences and varieties within generations; the members don't agree on everything, and certainly are not carbon copies of each other. Likewise, names for generations aren't to be applied literally. The "Republican" Generation (born 1742-1766) played out most of their lives before the political party of the same name ever came into being. They are labeled "Republican" because they built the republic in North America after prevailing through their existential crisis. Certainly there were many missionaries among the Missionary Generation, but not all of their peers shared the same faith or ideology. Probably the best known Missionary in history was FDR, for instance.
Prodigals grow up after the resolution of an existential crisis, in times of stability and prosperity. They come of age during a "spiritual awakening" in which they question the institutions their Barn-Raiser fathers built (or their Custodian fathers maintained). In adulthood, they take over and transform those institutions, and in elderhood, they appoint themselves as a sort of "moral police" who are compelled to tell everyone else how to think, believe, speak, and behave.
The latest Prodigal generation is, of course, the Baby Boomers (so-named because of the explosion in childbirths experienced during and after WWII). They inherited the most peaceful, prosperous society in recorded history. Their indulgent parents pampered them beyond any known precedence. The Bible warns parents what happens when a father spares the rod--and that happened generation-wide. These entitled children grew up with a contempt for their inheritance, for their fathers' values, institutions, and the fathers themselves. (The "generation gap" is most prominent between GI fathers and their Boomer children.) Through their cultural influence, their political tenure, and/or their vote, they have squandered all that peace and prosperity--and not just for themselves. It was the next generation these Prodigals reduced to eating pig slop, while they pursued immediate gratification for themselves and lectured their juniors about "social justice."
X and the Millennials are not nearly as enamored with the Boomers as the Boomers are with themselves. In fact, our elders are finally facing somewhat of a backlash. Ignorant people on social media and blog comment threads routinely accuse each other of being Boomers (having no idea how old the other person actually is) for making comments they disagree with. "Boomer" is fast becoming a generic insult. On the one hand, it's as silly as judging an individual based on assumptions about their race or sex. OTOH, it's difficult to feel any sympathy for the Boom, collectively.
Thanks to the Boomers (and the spineless Silent Generation "leaders" who wound up emulating them), the most powerful, prosperous country on Earth, with liberty and justice for all, has been reduced to a hopelessly corrupt debtor nation teetering on the precipice of economic collapse, tyranny, and civil war. After bankrupting the country through crooked and frivolous spending, exporting all our manufacturing base (and jobs) overseas to our enemies, they now have crushed the service-oriented economy that remained through this Orwellian quarantine, keeping "essential" businesses like abortion clinics and liquor stores open, but strong-arming their arbitrary list of "non-essential" businesses (and churches, of course). Meanwhile, secure with their guaranteed incomes, they demonize people who have the audacity to protest because they need to feed their families.
But family wasn't an important consideration for Boomers, at least during their non-stop party prime years. They grew up with strong, functional families, so they didn't appreciate them. It was the Boomers who gave us "free love" and the Sexual Revolution. They took birth control to avoid having children, and aborted them when that didn't work. Those who did bother getting married and having children divorced in record numbers, pulling their wishy-washy Silent elders down with them, leaving the next generation (of unwanted children) to fend for themselves. They didn't just introduce widespread fornication and adultery, but a whole panoply of sexual immorality God warned us about. But it wasn't enough to inject it into our society--they had to glorify it in pop culture, too. It's hard to find even one movie or TV show without sodomy-acceptance messaging, and now, if you're paying attention, you can see them pushing pedophilia as the next perversion to be normalized.
The idyllic childhood of the typical Boomer was tainted by the JFK assassination. Simply by examining bygone pop culture (music, movies, art, etc.) you can easily detect whether something was produced before or after that national-attitude-changing event. The atmosphere in America was markedly different in 1964 and after, than in 1963 and before. That event set off a cultural chain reaction. The Boomers soon turned to lifestyles of drug abuse, paganism, sexual debauchery, and radical ideology. They hated their fathers, and that hate spilled over to what their fathers symbolized to them: the nuclear family; children; monogamy; traditional gender roles (masculinity in men, femininity in women); art that was beautiful and made sense; civic responsibilities; patriotism; Christianity; the draft; the military-industrial complex.
Much of this is ironic, because their GI/Greatest Generation parents were leftists, too. An overwhelming majority of the GIs were New Dealers, and reliably voted Democrat in most elections throughout their lives. But that wasn't left-wing enough for most of their kids, though. We can argue about whether the GIs were truly Christian or patriotic (they were neither, if you look beyond the superficial), but that's how the Boomers perceived them. So the Boomers rebelled against what they thought their fathers represented.
Of course, there were some Boomers who became "Jesus Freaks" instead of New Agers and dope fiends trying to "achieve a higher consciousness" via "mind expanding" substance. Also, there is a small minority of Boomers (in the later/younger cohorts) who fought in Vietnam rather than dodging the draft. Some Boomers today lean to the right, and many are saved. Again, when I talk of the generation and their peer personality, there are plenty of exceptions.
The Boomers were the first generation to receive, and accept, an official name. It was only afterwards that historians named older generations, retroactively. Certainly some people had referred to the WWI/Roaring '20s youth as "a lost generation;" but that didn't become their official name until later. The Boomers celebrated their own distinct identity, before other age groups began to think of themselves that way. (After control of the country transferred to the Boomers, the term "senior citizens" was coined to identify the aged GI/Greatest.) "Never trust anyone over 30!" Boomers declared...until, of course, they grew older than 30.
The Boom got their war memorial before the GIs or the Silent, which is very significant, considering the hubris of the GIs "who saved us from Hitler!" Everything has always worked out in the favor of the Boomers. When they were kids, the world catered to kids. When they were adults, the world catered to adults. Predictably, it looks like they will be the last generation to collect Social Security benefits. The 13ers/Xers, who have been paying into the government-sanctioned Ponzi scheme all their working lives to support their affluent elders, will be left holding the bag. Boomers had high-paying jobs, cheap college, cheap mortgages, cheap taxes, and lavish government handouts...and have ensured that the following generation, after paying for most of it (and GI/Silent/Boomer criminal government spending) by their unfair bulk of the tax burden, get none of it.
None of this strikes the Boomers as unjust, though. Why would it? Everything should work to the benefit of a self-righteous narcissist, at the expense of the un-cool youngsters who just aren't as "conscious," "aware," or "groovy." And it never stops. The COVID-1984 lockdown highlights Boomer entitlement, too: Wal-Marts around the country set aside a specific time in the morning hours when only Boomers could shop. The almighty Boomers need first dibs on essential food and supplies. If the majority of passengers on the Titanic had been Boomers, you can bet children would not have gotten priority for the lifeboats.
I first learned of Facebook through a Millennial. (I got on it to see what all the hubbub was about, but quit cold-turkey after a couple years.) Now the younger Millennial cohorts inform me that Facebook is wall-to-wall Boomers. Maybe it was that way before (I didn't think in terms of generations, then, and so didn't really pay attention). With all the selfies, pictures of what people ate for lunch, and ignorant self-centered remarks about current events (and their oh-so-important feelings about them), it's the perfect hangout for aging Boomers.
Hollywood is controlled by the Boom, and has been for 40 years. It's a Boomer bully pulpit to promote their cultural Marxism and marginalize anybody/everybody who disagrees with it. But pop culture from a generational perspective deserves at least one post of its own, so I'll table that for now.
If you had to pick a "defining moment" for the GI Generation, you have several options. But if you wanted to have as many of them together in one place as possible, you'd probably choose D-Day (for combatants) or VJ Day in New York City (for military and civilians).
That moment for the Boom (at least the counterculture Boomers) is Woodstock.
If you ask a Boomer to explain how Woodstock defines their g-g-g-generation, they'll probably say something about a "collective conscience" experienced at the event. I would add to that definition some more tangible details.
Hundreds of thousands of Boomers trampled down the fencing and crashed the festival without paying to get in. After the concert started, it was officially announced that all the freeloaders were off the hook. So the epic three-day party was paid for them by the event organizers. The dairy farmer who let them destroy his land for the festival was somebody they said could never be trusted (he was GI generation and well over 30). Free food was provided the entire time. When it ran out, the local middle-class townspeople (the kind they called "fascist pigs" or "capitalist warmongers" with no conscience) donated food right out of their own fascist warmonger kitchens so the attendees wouldn't go hungry. The Red Cross also distributed donuts. The US Army (who they called "baby-killers") and others provided free medical care for those who overdosed and experienced "bad trips" on LSD.
Everything was handed to them on a silver platter, and the very same people the Boomers considered inferior are the ones who bent over backwards protecting Boomers from the consequences of their own stupidity. The hippie festival is basically a microcosm of the Boom's entire privileged life.
The 600 acres where the festival took place was a beautiful area before the armada of spoiled pothead and junkie brats descended on it like a locust storm. The muddy, stinking, garbage pit they left behind resembled a war zone--missing only shell craters. Kind of like what they've done to America.
Toward the end of the three-day orgy of drugs, fornication, and subversive music, the dairy farmer addressed the wasted multitude from the stage. By no stretch of the imagination can anyone make the case that the attendees exercised any modicum of self-control; nevertheless, Max Yasgur congratulated them for not killing each other. He said they "showed the world" what love and peace look like.
At every stage of their lives, the Boom has enjoyed privilege and entitlement. They assume it's deserved--and why wouldn't they? The presumption has been reinforced at every turn--by the parents and grandparents they maligned, and even sometimes by the children who survived Boomer's state-sanctioned abortion epidemic only to be neglected, insulted, and abandoned by their free-wheeling parents.
Just like the Missionaries before them imposed their values on everyone else in elderhood (the Missionaries were the driving force behind Prohibition); the Boomers now try to preach to the rest of us what morality and justice is.
The party never ends for the Prodigals. But it's always at the expense of others.
On countless Sundays during church service, the Holy Spirit convicted me that I needed to get blogging again. Usually, by Monday morning, the cares of this world would clutter my mind and I would forget about that conviction.
What finally gave me the shove back into motion was when I discovered the work of William Strauss and Neil Howe on generational theory. Even though it's secular research, from people I disagree with on important issues, I recognized truth within the theory. Immediately, I began pondering how generational theory lined up with what I know from the Bible.
I came back, blew the dust off Seven Thunders and started a series of articles exploring generational theory. I started with the generational archetypes that Strauss and Howe identified. My plan was to finish those, then begin exploring the generational seasons ("turnings," eras, epochs, etc.) and how they might fit into Biblical patterns and prophecy. I wrote one post about what I call the Barn-Raiser archetype (Strauss & Howe call it the Civic or Hero) and another post about the Custodian (called the Adaptive or Artist) archetype.
But using WordPress, and making it do what I wanted, was a pain. I want to spend my blogging time expressing ideas, not wracking my brain tweaking themes, layouts, format, etc. Plus, nearly all my old followers were gone after I'd gone dark since 2015. I'm starting over almost from scratch, so I might as well move to Blogger, which is much easier to use.
I started the series on generational theory on the old blog, but am continuing it here. I expect there will be at least another seven posts in the series. But maybe more--I'm constantly learning new things from the Bible, and I've only just started Strauss/Howe's first book on generational theory. I don't know where or how far this "rabbi trail" will take me.
When I look back on some of my old posts, it becomes obvious that I've changed my mind about some subjects. Either I was wrong then, or I'm wrong now. Point being: I am far from infallible and have no doubt I will be wrong about something again. I see this blog as a diary of my journey toward deeper truth. I apologize in advance for any wrong turns along the way.
