by Chris R.W.

Created on: October 23, 2009

The nostalgic assault on modernity is the most irrational application of thought that exists in societies. Nostalgic dreams corrupt people's minds and allow them to think that life was radically better in the past and seek to reclaim it. Dreamers of the past then make desperate attempts to maintain the past by imposing oppressive forces on all aspects of society and hinder the next generations from living to their full potential and attainting progress for the future. It's a classic case of the grass being greener on the other side, and yet the vast majority of people will still condemn the progression of time because of their attachment to the idea of a golden age sometime in the past.

The first and most obvious logical fallacy of claiming that generations are getting worse is that every single generation that has existed, has claimed that the world is getting worse. Take that back to the beginning of humankind, and where is our race? In caves? People are people. They always will be people, with the same tendencies and motivations. Logically, the next generation is a result of the one prior to it. If the one prior to it was great, it wouldn't have resulted in a bad generation, unless you wish to suggest that there's something inherent in the human experience that drives every new generation to be worse than their parents. You have to step aside and realize that it's circular logic to think about a past generation that degenerates into this generation. There's no solution if that's the thought process you wish to assert.

Expressing the same, nostalgic feelings that the world has become such a nasty place with entrance of the new generation is so prevalent in every modern culture. And there are very basic reasons why so many people feel this way. A lot of it has to do with attachment to a generations religious, moral, and societal dogmas which cloud reasoning, and allows the holder to believe that a world under their generations same ideology would manifest itself into a better place. Clearly, looking at the past's record of morality, with its widespread extreme inequality, it would be very difficult to holistically and honestly approach history such an ideology.

A lot of it has to do with how the human brain processes and stores memories as well. Obviously, people don't think of the past the same way as they do the present or future. The present is full of hundreds of emotions at once, including all of its stresses, responsibilities, and joys and agonizes.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>