I didn't believe it at the time, but it's looking more and more likely...

[misanthrope]

49. In the eight decades since then

Last edited Wed Jul 1, 2020, 04:00 AM - Edit history (1)

American culture has become drastically more materialistic. It was easy for the creators of want to cultivate this in our society when the great hypnotic cathode tube moved into nearly every home. Madison Avenue's reprogramming was complete.

Americans began to "need" more and more things, bigger and bigger homes, flashier, shinier. In the latter half of that period, technology was able to stoke demands for immediate gratification. Now, people have no patience, with each other, with their wants, with the natural flow of time and science. Community takes a back seat to individual selfishness.

That's what people like me mean when we doubt modern society has what it takes to weather a one-two punch like the Great Depression followed by World War II.