"This is more hope than prediction, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in 20 years we look back at this era of political nastiness as a generational bottom we grew out of.
There’s a long history of Americans cycling through how they feel about government and how politicians treat each other.
The 1930s were unbelievably vicious. There was a well organized plot to overthrow Franklin Roosevelt and replace him with a Marine general named Smedley Butler, who would effectively become dictator. The Great Depression made Americans lose so much faith in government that the prevailing view was, “hey, might as well give this a shot.”
It would have sounded preposterous if someone told you in the 1930s that by the 1950s more than 70% of Americans said they trusted the government to do the right thing almost all the time. But that’s what happened.
And it would have sounded preposterous in the 1950s if you told Americans within 20 years trust would collapse amid the Vietnam War and Watergate.
It would have sounded preposterous if you told Americans in the 1970s that within 20 years trust and faith in government would have surged amid 1990s prosperity and balanced budgets.
And equally absurd if you told Americans in the 1990s that we’d be where we are today.
Cycles are so hard to predict, because it’s easier to forecast in straight lines. What’s almost impossible to detect in real time is the same forces fueling public opinion plant the seeds of their own demise. When times are good, people get complacent and stop caring about good governance. When times are bad they get fed up and say, “Enough of this.” And I think we’re not far from that today."
This pretty much captures the cyclical nature of distrust and faith alternating. I think we haven't yet bottomed out in the current cycle. Thanks, Srikanth for sharing this snippet. Super cool!
A brilliant write-up of the REAL STATE OF AFFAIRS, , both in INDIA AND THE “”THEN”” WONDERLAND OF AMERICA. Lot of changes, both better and worse has happened and does not seem to terminate at any point. AMERICA of today, is no longer of what it was, when you wanted to try your fortunes in the wonderland , which , it no longer is. The present GOVT, seems determined to wind up the BRILLIANT PAST OF THE LAST FEW DECADES. They seem to be determined to be ENTIRELY QUITE DIFFERENT, picking imaginary holes with their closest allies and jeopardising the fortune of the future, unless some miracle happens to those, who manage to determine it’s future.
But I am sure that in a short time from now, they feel the pinch and bring some sort of sanity , to its skewed waywardness and fall in line with the rest of the world, ranging themselves against their former allies. GOD SAVE THE KING.
How do you manage to capture the sentiments, the scenes picture perfect, retaining the humor? Is there no hope for the reversal of the old American Dream?
Thank you, Srikanth. I'm glad this resonated. There is always hope. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Dawn follows night. The American Dream will be back, only it might look different.
Very few if any of positive progress and leaps happen automagically. Its strategy and execution, at a personal level, business, or country. Hopes and dreams are barely wishful thinking without strategy, execution, and adaptation. The current administration is adopting antiquated ways of achieving progress for the country and I doubt if that’s even in the agenda
After reading your post, I accidentally read Morgan Housel's post from a couple of weeks ago: https://collabfund.com/blog/a-few-things-im-pretty-sure-about-2026/. Here is a blurb from that post that caught my attention:
"This is more hope than prediction, but I wouldn’t be surprised if in 20 years we look back at this era of political nastiness as a generational bottom we grew out of.
There’s a long history of Americans cycling through how they feel about government and how politicians treat each other.
The 1930s were unbelievably vicious. There was a well organized plot to overthrow Franklin Roosevelt and replace him with a Marine general named Smedley Butler, who would effectively become dictator. The Great Depression made Americans lose so much faith in government that the prevailing view was, “hey, might as well give this a shot.”
It would have sounded preposterous if someone told you in the 1930s that by the 1950s more than 70% of Americans said they trusted the government to do the right thing almost all the time. But that’s what happened.
And it would have sounded preposterous in the 1950s if you told Americans within 20 years trust would collapse amid the Vietnam War and Watergate.
It would have sounded preposterous if you told Americans in the 1970s that within 20 years trust and faith in government would have surged amid 1990s prosperity and balanced budgets.
And equally absurd if you told Americans in the 1990s that we’d be where we are today.
Cycles are so hard to predict, because it’s easier to forecast in straight lines. What’s almost impossible to detect in real time is the same forces fueling public opinion plant the seeds of their own demise. When times are good, people get complacent and stop caring about good governance. When times are bad they get fed up and say, “Enough of this.” And I think we’re not far from that today."
This pretty much captures the cyclical nature of distrust and faith alternating. I think we haven't yet bottomed out in the current cycle. Thanks, Srikanth for sharing this snippet. Super cool!
A brilliant write-up of the REAL STATE OF AFFAIRS, , both in INDIA AND THE “”THEN”” WONDERLAND OF AMERICA. Lot of changes, both better and worse has happened and does not seem to terminate at any point. AMERICA of today, is no longer of what it was, when you wanted to try your fortunes in the wonderland , which , it no longer is. The present GOVT, seems determined to wind up the BRILLIANT PAST OF THE LAST FEW DECADES. They seem to be determined to be ENTIRELY QUITE DIFFERENT, picking imaginary holes with their closest allies and jeopardising the fortune of the future, unless some miracle happens to those, who manage to determine it’s future.
But I am sure that in a short time from now, they feel the pinch and bring some sort of sanity , to its skewed waywardness and fall in line with the rest of the world, ranging themselves against their former allies. GOD SAVE THE KING.
Thank you for your detailed comment, which is spot on!
How do you manage to capture the sentiments, the scenes picture perfect, retaining the humor? Is there no hope for the reversal of the old American Dream?
Thank you, Srikanth. I'm glad this resonated. There is always hope. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Dawn follows night. The American Dream will be back, only it might look different.
Right ON 👍. May the Force be with humans and humanity !!
Thanks buddy. Glad you liked it :)
Very few if any of positive progress and leaps happen automagically. Its strategy and execution, at a personal level, business, or country. Hopes and dreams are barely wishful thinking without strategy, execution, and adaptation. The current administration is adopting antiquated ways of achieving progress for the country and I doubt if that’s even in the agenda