Okay, this isn’t yarn related at all, sorry. Some of us were chatting on Discord about Rent and the weirdness of 1990s media. But that conversation, as well as listening to an episode of the “You’re Wrong About” podcast (Phones Are Good, Actually) got me thinking about growing up enmeshed in a national culture of conservatism and nationalism. I was born in 1972, so my childhood and teen years were all during the Reagan/Bush era. Then in mid-college, Clinton was elected, and my twenties were during a time of increasing openness and acceptance of new ideas and diversity. A lot of those early tiptoe steps look pretty cringeworthy now. And it all came to a crashing halt with the election of W and 9/11.
But it made me think about a couple of my good friends who’ve recently entered their 40s. They grew up in those latter Bush years and entered adulthood with the Obama election. And then hit the disaster of Trump at about the same time in their life as 9/11 hit me. They say everything happens in cycles, that there’s nothing ever truly new. That history doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. So for those of you born around 1986-88, I see you. I feel you.
I hope that the current crop of kids growing up in this garbage-fire era gets their own chance to spread their wings and have hope for awhile, even if it inevitably gets snuffed out somewhere down the line. Be good to each other, y’all. Enjoy your problematic faves and make friends across generations. We can learn a lot from each other.