I thought the same thing in the 1970s. Panic. The Cold War was raging. The Soviet Union was at nearly the height of their strength, blithely invading any of their precious satellite countries at the merest hint of liberty. There were lines at the gas pumps for OPEC-priced oil (my dad’s little construction company went belly up as a result). Inflation was serious and unending. Mortgage rates soaring. Unemployment rampant (stagflation, they called it). Watergate was over but it left a bad taste. Vietnam was over but it left a seriously bad taste. We weren't allowed off base in our uniforms in San Diego; we in the military were 'war mongers.'

The My Lai massacre had proved wrong the handed-down maxim that all things US were right and good.

The 60’s were over, but we were still wallowing in the wake of a string of assassinations, civil rights protests (and riots), anti-war protests (and riots).

Democracy was established nowhere. A handful of Western countries, and India. That was it. We were kissing the ass of the Saudis for oil, or Ferdinand Marcos for military bases. Cuba was thumbing their nose at us. There were near weekly (it seemed) coups in South America, Central, Africa, South Asia. People were hijacking airliners and taking them to Cuba. Munich 1972! That was fun. And a first. Actual terrorism on national TV.

Water and air pollution was everywhere in the states. Don’t swim in fucking Lake Erie! LA was a smog capitol; the mountains weren’t there. Disappeared in the murk. The ‘inner cities’ as they were known were everywhere. dying. Businesses moving out. Crime moving in. And crime was ratcheting up everywhere. And the problems weren’t limited to the US. The French were clogged with nationwide strikes. British unions were on a rampage. A friend was evacuated by the US Navy from Greece after he got caught there in a coup.

And racism? Homophobia? Everywhere. Fucking everywhere. Right out in the open.

The world was coming apart at the seams in the 1970s.

But here we are. More democracies that autocracies in the world. Inner cities are thriving. Serious water and air pollution are largely forgotten in the states. People don’t even remember. Cold War, gone. Berlin wall, gone.

Don’t misunderstand me. We have a LONG way to go. But categorical change has arrived. It’s here.

Don’t panic. And whatever you do, DON’T LOSE FAITH IN HUMANITY. Just fucking DON’T.

Thanks for the read!