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The Counterculture We Need: Part 1

The Counterculture We Need: Part 1

When Will The Pendulum Swing In Our Favor?

Luke Perlot's avatar
Luke Perlot
Jun 07, 2023
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My history teacher used to say that history is a pendulum. That's because young people love to rebel. They distinguish themselves from their parents by living differently. Their lifestyle is the counterculture. But when they reach adulthood, their countercultural lifestyle becomes the popular culture. Of course, their kids rebel, and the pendulum swings back the other way.

Grandfather Clock GIFs | Tenor

She's not the first to describe history as a pendulum. It's just another framework that tries to explain why history appears to be cyclical. Here's another one:

"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times." - G. Micheal Hopf.

In a previous article, we explained how the US is in the "weak men create hard times" phase. It doesn't matter who you vote for when only 41% of Americans regularly go to church or one in five members of Gen Z identifies as LGBTQ. Social media has made degeneracy the norm. And Gen Z is just now reaching adulthood. They'll become parents, bosses, and leaders within the next decade, so their power and influence over our culture will only grow. Most Americans believe the US is on the wrong track but don't have the guts to do anything about it. As a result, Americans will continue to suffer until we become so miserable that we turn to something else.

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