People who think their own era is the worst ever

[ElizaG]

I was thinking about the way some people are convinced that society in their own era is uniquely bad (either in some area of life, or in general). If they're presented with historical evidence that suggests otherwise, they tend to brush it aside. And some of them seem to be in the habit of using the supposed "unique awfulness of these times" as a justification for not trying ordinary everyday measures to improve their lives.

 

So my question is: what is the name for this fixed belief? (Apart from annoying, I mean. ;))

 

My Google-fu is not working for this topic. Wikipedia has it listed as a type of exceptionalism, which makes sense -- but when I searched, I could only find pages about American exceptionalism, which is a whole different thing.

[Melissa in Australia]

I don't know what the correct phrase is, but I have mostly encountered this belief with "Christians" who are hoping the world is about to end and are hoping they are living in the worst times mentioned in the bible.

[Ibbygirl]

I don't know what it is called and haven't really encountered anyone who talks like that. I have some family members who I KNOW have been through extremely hard times, but they never talk about it. When they do talk about their life in those times, they never really dwell on the hardships, they'll just say something like, "but you know we didn't have much money then." or "times were different back then." but never talk about how hard it was or how they suffered or anything.

 

I do have an aunt though that is funny with illness. She's convinced that her headaches are more painful than anyone else's. Her sore throat is more painful than a regular sore throat etc. She always makes my mom (her sister) go like this :rolleyes: hehe

[Mama Geek]

I don't know what it is called either, but it is an emotional way of thinking not a logical way of thinking. There are times I feel like things are just going down the toilet in our time, but then I read something from history be it the bible, a novel, or a historical account of another time and realize that things have been much, much worse at different times in history. I do tend to think that things like this are somewhat cyclical. That is where the logical side kicks in.

[Ipsey]

I was thinking about the way some people are convinced that society in their own era is uniquely bad (either in some area of life, or in general). If they're presented with historical evidence that suggests otherwise, they tend to brush it aside. And some of them seem to be in the habit of using the supposed "unique awfulness of these times" as a justification for not trying ordinary everyday measures to improve their lives.

 

So my question is: what is the name for this fixed belief? (Apart from annoying, I mean. ;))

 

My Google-fu is not working for this topic. Wikipedia has it listed as a type of exceptionalism, which makes sense -- but when I searched, I could only find pages about American exceptionalism, which is a whole different thing.

 

I think of it as a form of hubris, actually.

[ChristyB in TN]

I heard someone on NPR discussing the fact that it tends to be people who are disappointed with their successes, perhaps they haven't accomplished their goals or their lives haven't turned out as they had expected. This can lead to doomsday theories and feeling the end is near.

My son attended a school last year. He loved the school, had lots of friends and did well academically. However, he vomited almost every Friday..all evening and into Saturday. We thought it was a recurring virus. We took him to a gastroenterologist who felt he was simply reacting to stress. She said it was textbook because he feels strongly about the emotions of those around him. The stress was 2 teachers who were constantly telling the kids they were aa part of the worst generation, the second coming is just around the corner, and that their class was the worst class ever in that school. This completely stressed him out and would lead to uncontrollable vomitting. He hasn't vomited one time since school ended, now we are homeschooling.

[elegantlion]

I just call those people family. :D:001_huh:

 

Fatalism? http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fatalism/ Maybe not quite what you're looking for, but plays into some of the "we're doomed" mentality I see around me.

[ElizaG]

I heard someone on NPR discussing the fact that it tends to be people who are disappointed with their successes, perhaps they haven't accomplished their goals or their lives haven't turned out as they had expected. This can lead to doomsday theories and feeling the end is near.

That sounds like someone I used to know, who had spent a lot of time thinking about Y2K (and working on "preparations," albeit pretty minor ones), and then went into a big depression when not much happened. :001_huh: When I asked why they were disappointed, they said that if society had crumbled, it would make them feel like they were free from their own & other people's expectations. This person was from a non-Christian background, and was not religious, BTW.

 

Thinking about it, I guess a lot of us have had the desperate feeling that if the world ended right now, we wouldn't have to work on that dreaded term paper. :lol: Maybe in some cases, this is just a generalization of that?

 

But yes, there are Christians -- often of the more authoritarian type -- who are inclined to this sort of mentality, and pull Scripture and eschatology into it. (And in the case of Catholics, Marian apparitions as well.) And that school environment sounds horrible. Sorry your son had to go through that.

[Soror]

That sounds like someone I used to know, who had spent a lot of time thinking about Y2K (and working on "preparations," albeit pretty minor ones), and then went into a big depression when not much happened. :001_huh: When I asked why they were disappointed, they said that if society had crumbled, it would make them feel like they were free from their own & other people's expectations. This person was from a non-Christian background, and was not religious, BTW.

 

Thinking about it, I guess a lot of us have had the desperate feeling that if the world ended right now, we wouldn't have to work on that dreaded term paper. :lol: Maybe in some cases, this is just a generalization of that?

 

But yes, there are Christians -- often of the more authoritarian type -- who are inclined to this sort of mentality, and pull Scripture and eschatology into it. (And in the case of Catholics, Marian apparitions as well.) And that school environment sounds horrible. Sorry your son had to go through that.

 

I know people like that right now. On both conservative and liberal, everything is the worst ever. From the conservatives the world is constantly ready to collapse and is the most morally corrupt ever. From the liberals it is pretty much the same, just the details are the exact opposite. I find it tiresome.

[stripe]

Sounds like Midnight in Paris. Like nostalgia on overdrive.

[justamouse]

I just call those people family. :D:001_huh:

 

Fatalism? http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/fatalism/ Maybe not quite what you're looking for, but plays into some of the "we're doomed" mentality I see around me.

 

:iagree: Ohh, so you know my mother? I am FOREVER telling her, "You don't think society in the WW's thought it was bad out there?" Or, perhaps, the genocide in Sudan? Or...the Plague?

 

 

I think it's a lack of knowing and understanding history.

[dangermom]

I don't know what it's called either, but it does bug me. Especially when people say things like "I could never have children, how could anyone bring a child into the world the way it is now?" What, you mean with unprecedentedly low rates of child death and high life expectancy? Knowing some history really helps.

 

I read a really fascinating book called "The Rational Optimist" a year or so ago and the author talked a lot about how doomsday talk is always far more popular than optimism. The world is always falling apart; foretelling the collapse of society is a lucrative industry, after all.

 

I remember hearing a young woman talk about how angry she is at her parents' generation for screwing up the world so badly. I think I asked her if she would rather have been born, say, 200 years ago, before things got so terrible. Who needs voting or property rights?

[elegantlion]

:iagree: Ohh, so you know my mother? I am FOREVER telling her, "You don't think society in the WW's thought it was bad out there?" Or, perhaps, the genocide in Sudan? Or...the Plague?

 

 

I think it's a lack of knowing and understanding history.

 

:iagree: The more I've truly studied history, not just dates, but the culture, I find I'm less likely to think it's all about to end.

 

I grew up in the 80s, I was quite sure the Russians would bomb us and that would be it. Did half the movies of the 80s lead us to the conclusion? :tongue_smilie:

 

I think part of it is that we have also had some boring times in history. Sure there is something historical always happening, but maybe not in our circles. It makes us feel more important if we think we are part of a greater day of society, or the day it all falls apart.

 

I do a lot of genealogy research. I have stories and information on ancestors back to the early centuries. There are always a few that stand out for the times they lived or what they did. I think a lot of us what to be remembered for doing/having/making/being something special. I put some blame on wanderlust. I have ancestors that conquered countries and explored new words. The ability to pick up and move on a whim or rush into to claim a new country has been greatly hindered by a populace and the growing constraints of modern society (and good manners and the knowledge that you shouldn't just go steal land from someone...:tongue_smilie:). There a lot more physical things that keep me tied to one area.

 

That's probably a tangent, but it follows the same path.

[Denise in Florida]

I think of it as a form of hubris, actually.

 

good point

[Denise in Florida]

I heard someone on NPR discussing the fact that it tends to be people who are disappointed with their successes, perhaps they haven't accomplished their goals or their lives haven't turned out as they had expected. This can lead to doomsday theories and feeling the end is near.

My son attended a school last year. He loved the school, had lots of friends and did well academically. However, he vomited almost every Friday..all evening and into Saturday. We thought it was a recurring virus. We took him to a gastroenterologist who felt he was simply reacting to stress. She said it was textbook because he feels strongly about the emotions of those around him. The stress was 2 teachers who were constantly telling the kids they were aa part of the worst generation, the second coming is just around the corner, and that their class was the worst class ever in that school. This completely stressed him out and would lead to uncontrollable vomitting. He hasn't vomited one time since school ended, now we are homeschooling.

 

I would have strong words with that school. It doesn't matter what your views of the world (or end times) are, that is just flat out verbal and emotional abuse. :mad:

 

Don't let is slide