The Systematic Destruction of The Old Guard | Daily News Brief Article

We are at a pivotal time in history where great change is coming about. Here is what to expect.

The universe around us is made up of patterns. We observe these patterns through the expression of nature, within our interactions, the subtleties of life. When a pattern is transitioned through time, forever interacting with it’s environment, yet in a repetitious form, we call this a cycle.

Cycles dominate much of our life. Whether noticed or not, they are present and have profound implications within our civilization. A few decades ago two college history professors embarked on a journey to discover if certain patterns dominated over human culture, society and civilization as a whole. What they discovered was truly profound.

William Strauss and Neil Howe discovered that each generation of humanity belongs to one of four types of societal archetypes. That these archetypes repeat sequentially in a fixed and predictable pattern. They labeled them as the four turnings.

1. High (Era of Building)

   1. This is where a nation is united with a common purpose. There is a collective purpose and pride. Governments are organized to bring about and support the society that is being built and are not feared, but instead trusted. The majority within the society dominate the focus of national discourse, while the minority reject conformity. During this time a strong economy is produced and wealth is generated. Culture forms and enters a rebirth of a national zeitgeist.

2. Awakening

   1. During the awakening phase it is realized by the incoming generation that the old system of cultural beliefs and moral foundations of the majority do not align with their aspects of self identity. They begin to rebel and awaken into a world they did not build and feel out of place with society. Institutions come under attack and massive distrust is targeted towards societal authorities.

3. Unraveling

   1. During this turning, society undergoes division from the collective of the national fabric and begin an alignment towards new cultural standards which organize around self identity. This self identity is primarily driven by new found commonalities within society, primarily that which divides us and makes us different and that which united us and makes us the same. Also during this time, the economy begins to boom and wealth generation begins to consolidate among the the elite minorities producing division among the classes. Technological innovations during this time begin to revolutionize communication and help to bring about a more interconnected society. This interconnection serves to united the commonalities of culture and produce more division among the class systems. Governments and Institutions become more untrusted and authoritative.

4. Crisis

   1. During this turning, also known as the 4th Turning, Institutions and Governments come under attack and begin to be torn down, great disdain and distrust rise among the society towards them. New culture begins to take shape and transitions to a new societal zeitgeist. Due to the period of unraveling, this society begins to regenerate a social fabric that is conducive with repairing the damage from the last generation. Through this, society begins to revive and finds purpose. Uniting under commonalities that are shared by the majority and laying the foundations for the next High Turning, or golden age.

Sound familiar?

If you have not guessed it, we are currently in the 4th Turning. These generational cycles typically last 72 years, but can go as long as 90 years. We can estimate that each turning is approximately 20 years long with overlap occurring among them. Strauss and Howe research the history of humanity from 1584 to current date and even pondered in a predictive manner the future and what it would bring. They where able to accurately predict a “pandemic” in and around the year 2019. Global conflicts, political revolutions, cultural transitions. One of the most interesting things that they discovered was that during each era of crisis (4th Turning) their seemed to always be some sort of global revolution or war. The last of these being World War II.

It is interesting to come to the realization that humanity is dominated by cycles. Whether it be the natural circadian rhythms of the Sun, Moon and Earth, weather patterns within your hemisphere or the psychological patterns that evolve human consciousness. All of these and more have a profound impact on our civilization and ultimately the future.