January 26, 2020- by Seven E. Greer, MD
What defines the generations? What fundamentally changed the way we behave?
I was caught off guard as this last decade ended. I did not realize it was happening until after Christmas. So, I had no time to really reflect. What happened to us in the 2010s that will forever be remembered? To answer that, one needs to go further back.
1950s- Invention of television and mass marketing changed our behavior. Few people read anymore. This all started in the 1950s. Before that, entertainment came in the form of novels and radio.
1960s- The birth control pill and hedonism changed culture. This is when the deterioration of society gained speed (Cultural changes really started after the end of World War II). It is no coincidence that morally handicapped Bill Clinton is also a person of this generation. “OK Boomer”
1970s- Smog and the realization that planet earth is fragile changed our behavior. Prior to the 1970s, Planet Earth was viewed as a limitless place with no boundaries. We could tear down as many trees as we wanted. But then we started to see the consequences of it. Now, our lives have been changed. Everything we consume is different.
1980s- With the popularity of Wall Street, financial instruments grew into weapons of mass destruction and became the tail wagging the dog. The real effect now is that the world is suffocating from debt. That directly impacts the freedom to travel, have kids, or do anything.
1990s- This is a tough one for me because I grew up in that era. Either nothing happened in the 1990s or I am too close to it and cannot spot it. I think it was pretty much a useless decade.
2000s- Two things happened in this decade. The first was the attack on 9/11 and the awareness of terrorism. That, of course, led to ongoing wars. But I think the bigger event happened in 2007 and 2008 with the Great Depression. The millennials and far-left communists now were all created back in 2008.
2010s- This was such a useless decade that I did not even realize the decade was coming to an end until December 31, as I mentioned. However, some very big things happened over the last 10-years. Human beings were changed in a huge way.
The smart phone created a whole new addiction bigger than tobacco. Then, the other big tech companies, such as Google and Facebook, destroyed privacy. More importantly, all of that information they gather has led to the ability to actually change our behaviors.
They are not just spying on us. They are controlling us. I have little creatures in my back yard at night that I manipulate with food games. We humans are just as easily controlled.
The net result is a miserable population. Pete Townsend has a book out called The Age of Anxiety. It wasn’t very good in the first few chapters, so I set it down. However, I just realized what he is writing about. The last decade was an age of miserable anxiety created by all of this technology. He foreshadowed this in the 1960’s with his “experience suit” and Life House, as did other authors. Their visions of dystopia are reality.
2020s- What will define this decade? I can already tell you. Without a doubt, it will be the change in eating patterns from meat to plant-based. Humans will live longer, disease will drop, and the environment will improve. Greer knows. I see the future. Take it to the bank.