Ah, the sweet aroma of generational arrogance! In America, we have this charming habit of believing that each new generation is the pinnacle of intelligence, ethics, and morality. Millennials and Gen Z folks love to pat themselves on the back, convinced they’re more enlightened than their ancestors who apparently spent their days being mean to Native Americans and neglecting the plight of African Americans. Sure, we have smartphones and social media now, but the idea that we’re significantly more intelligent or morally superior? Let’s take a selfie with that delusion.
Looking back at history with disdain has become a national pastime. We gaze upon the past with a sense of horror, shaking our heads at the barbarity of previous generations. “How could they have been so cruel?” we ask, conveniently ignoring the fact that if we were born in the same era, we’d likely be doing the same thing. It’s easy to feel superior from the comfort of our climate-controlled homes, armed with the wisdom of hindsight and a Wi-Fi connection.
What really grates is the arrogance with which we proclaim our ethical and moral superiority. Sure, previous generations had their faults—slavery, segregation, you name it. But to think we’re fundamentally different? That’s rich. Today’s ethical dilemmas are no less complicated; they’re just dressed up in modern garb. Social media outrage and cancel culture, for example, are just the latest ways we find to ostracize and punish each other. The tools may have changed, but human nature hasn’t.
As for intelligence, let’s not kid ourselves. The same brains that invented the wheel and mapped the human genome are the ones currently producing TikTok dances and whacko conspiracy theories. Every generation has its geniuses and its idiots, its heroes and its villains. The internet doesn’t make us smarter; it just gives us more platforms to display our ignorance. If anything, the information overload has made it harder to discern fact from fiction, leaving us just as prone to folly as our ancestors. If it’s on the internet; it must be true!
So, let’s dial down the smugness a notch, shall we? Every generation has its triumphs and its failures, its insights and its blind spots. Recognizing this doesn’t make us less progressive; it makes us more human. A little humility goes a long way in appreciating the complex tapestry of human history. After all, today’s “progressive” ideals will likely be tomorrow’s outdated notions. The real progress comes not from looking down on the past, but from learning from it—arrogance not included.
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You are always wonderfully knowledgeable & entertaining, but this is my favorite in a while. I have watched Ancient Aliens for years, not so much for the aliens, but to study the architecture and community planning of the old civilizations. Those people built marvelous structures, still standing after thousands of years. And they laid out their cities with far more precision than what the modern world has seen.
I do think Puma Punku in Bolivia was not created by men of that time, it’s just too perfect. Aliens, a lost superior civilization, someone with special machinery built that place. Fascinating place it is.
Thanks for this submission;I am passing it on to some youngsters who think they are superior to every civilization that paved the way for us.