No Nostalgia

There is a consoling myth that the last era, or the time just before that, was the greatest time ever.

It happens in pop music - or haven't you been listening to the radio stations? Hear how the word "classic" has moved moves up a few decades - to the '70s & '80s now, soon to be creeping into the '90s?

'Happens in life. My parents fixated on the Turn-of-the-Century era before The Great War (no, no one was particularly missing Prohibition and the Great Depression); our children are hearing about The Greatest Generation that went through WWII; we're all stuck with some fantasy about the 1950s being the last Age of Innocence. And so on. I'm sure there were Renaissance nobles missing the glory days of the Dark Ages. Zog the Caveman probably longed for Cro-Magnon mythic greatness.

'Happens with jobs.

Anyone reading this far into these Notes From The Cube would notice that CHANGE is occurring and The Cube talks frequently about The Way It Was Before. And Before, it is implied, Was Better. Bullshit, of course.

'Key to this consoling myth is that the time was always just a little bit before anything we actually know about. No child has great illusions about his or her parents - except that they're making it hell for us right now while growing up and they'll leave us in even worse shape once it's our turn to be responsible for it. But, once upon a time, when grandma and grandpa were pioneers, things were different . . .

Well, it is a consoling myth. Not true, but consoling.

And besides: The Cube does not want a world before television, internet, really really cheap Chinese-made underwear and a protected 401(k) plan.