May you live in interesting times

The title of this piece is a quote often attributed to Confucius and is meant as a curse. I see it differently. When I was a kid, in the 1970s, times were pretty interesting. There were wars being waged, both hot and cold. People were walking on the moon. Light beams were being used to communicate. Big hunks of metal were orbiting the Earth, reading our license plates. Interesting indeed!
As a matter of fact, times have been so interesting that we feel compelled to relive them at every opportunity.
During the 1970s the big nostalgia craze was the 50s. “Grease”, Sha Na Na, blah blah blah. It seemed natural because the Baby Boomers who were kids during the 50s were now adults and thinking about how much cooler it was back then. Boy, it was great. Postwar society was finding new and interesting things to amuse themselves with. Rock and Roll music, fast cars, economic prosperity after the hard times of the Depression and War years all transformed America as we knew it.
During the 80s the interest turned to the 60s. People started to realize that “all Men Are Created Equal” needed to be more than just a neat-o saying. And for that matter, what about “All Women”? Issues of class, race and gender were on everybody’s mind. So much so that eventually everybody was growing their hair, dropping Acid and running around naked. Or so I’ve heard.
The 60s were so interesting that they kept our interest into the 90s. It was at this time that we started obsessing about the 70s. Bad clothes, bad hair and a lot of bad music punctuated this decade. All of those drugged out hippies were getting jobs and starting families. They were becoming drugged out parents, businesspeople and politicians. The economy stank, we had missiles aimed at us at all times and we couldn’t figure out how to build a decent automobile.
Now it’s the 21st century and we are all waxing nostalgic about those wonderful 80s. Again, with the bad clothes, lame music and really bad hair. Remember driving around in your Chrysler K-car, listening to that awesome “Human League” tape with your girlfriend, (who was wearing designer jeans, a half-length leather jacket and enough Aqua-net to drown a rhino)? Those were the days, my friend.
I suppose we are lucky that these periods are so well defined and distinct from each other. Things changed so rapidly in the 20th Century that it was easy to look back on “The Good Old Days”. Things really were different back then. Do you think people in the 1820s used to say, “Boy, oh boy. Remember when that Whitney fella invented that Cotton Gin? Those 1790s sure were great”. I don’t think so. Things happen so fast now that there won’t be distinct time periods like in the 20th Century. Are things in 2002 a lot different than in 1992? Sure they are, but can you say when they changed? Change is a constant thing now. Technology and culture evolve constantly, and at a very rapid pace. Oh sure, there are defining moments. We just had one on September 11th. I know everyone will remember where they were on that day, like when JFK was shot or Pearl Harbor was bombed. Events like these serve as bookmarks in our memory. You can point to an event like that and say, aside from the inherent tragedy involved, “Remember when we thought the USA could isolate itself and stay out of the war?”, “Remember when we thought drugs were cool?” or “Remember when we thought parachute pants looked good?”. It seems like we lose a level of innocence each time.
Time is fleeting, and so is memory. We seize onto these memories in an attempt to reclaim the good feelings of happier, more carefree times. I suppose our children will say the same thing about the times we are living in now. They might look back in amusement at the time when they thought nose-rings were the hippest thing and a tattoo covering your entire arm sounded like a good idea. My 5 year old daughter thinks N-Sync is about as cool as girls in my day thought Shaun Cassidy was.
I guess what I am getting at is this: Yes, those were the good old days, but so are these. Wonderful things are happening in the world every day. Terrible things too. Be a part of the world. Experience what these interesting times have to offer. Some day you will appreciate even what you may consider now to be the worst of times. You will probably be telling your grandchildren someday that you were there when the Mets won the 1986 World Series, or how a Coke used to only cost a Dollar and gas was ONLY $1.49 per gallon. Imagine that!