Jennifer Allen
By Jennifer Allen
2022 was a confusing year.
We were still recovering from the two previous years of on and off isolationism and in the process had to come to terms with a new normal; a mixed bag of going out with or without masks depending on the either the rules of the venue or our own personal paranoia and relearning how to appropriately converse with other human beings in person as opposed to an electronic device.
On a more global scale, we witnessed various marginalized peoples from around the world valiantly stand up to their oppressors. From the defiance of the Ukrainians telling Russia that they won’t go quietly, to the outpouring of rebellion following the overturn of Roe vs. Wade, to the women of Iran standing up to a world still marred by sexual despotism, to the plethora of whistleblowers finally spilling the tea about corrupt practices in previously well thought of businesses.
The last 12 months were a challenge for many of us.
On a much more general level we, as a society, seem to have hit a point where mortality is seen as an unknown. Not only do we have Covid still clinging to our collective heels, but we also face the overarching factors of climate change, the ongoing economic crisis, ideological extremism, and the uncertainty of democracy across the globe.
We now live in a world that is so malleable as to change dramatically in a matter of years instead of decades. It is (mostly) controlled by a generation of people who themselves grew up in a world ravaged by some of the self-same issues we are facing now. Yet, these leaders have adopted an impassible “it’s my way or the highway” mentality and chosen to argue amongst themselves most of the time.
Will we even survive as a species past 2200 at this rate?
It all makes me ponder if H.G. Wells’ predictions for humanity in his acclaimed novel The Time Machine to split off into two subgroups of the childlike Eloi and the savage Morlocks could theoretically be possible.
On top of all that, many fictional stories this past year emphasized a growing fear of becoming our parents. In some cases, these tales would show the parents coming to terms with the fact they were projecting the misery of their own lives onto their children. In others, there is the gradual resolution that familial trauma will forever be cyclical as the generations continue.
Ultimately, I think at least part of our fear concerning aging involves an inevitable confrontation with our parents which in turn means we must also confront ourselves… and finally, Death itself. Perhaps this conflict, in all its grotesquerie and mystery becomes a way to overcome it, at least psychologically.
As I now reach the cusp of turning 50, the “Gen X” values instilled in me to be flexible, independent, and resourceful are still there. However, I’ve attempted over the years to understand other generational mindsets. While some circumstances have caused me to utter phrases such as ‘those kids’ and ‘now I feel old’, for the most part I feel relatively open-minded about how the world is changing.
My parents, on the other hand, are baby boomers who have chosen to maintain a particular view of the world at large that is mirrored by many of those currently running it. As the years go by, their values brutally conflict my own like a bristle pad scraping along a non-stick pan.
I have little fear of becoming my parents due to how different we are and will always remain. I won’t lie that there is a small amount of doubt lingering there that this could not always be the case. All I can do is hope that the non-stick surface of my life will hold its own against those unforgiving metal shards.
Will the cycle continue? Will the kids of today grow up and despise what we as parents have become? It is entirely possible.
The only way to break such a rhythm is to acknowledge it and try to reshape it. And I believe that this goal is entirely plausible for any generation to accomplish… if they’re willing, that is.
As we start 2023, I foresee a year where we gradually stumble farther away from uncertainty and fear and find some form of temperate balance. Yes, Death will always be there waiting. That doesn’t mean we should stop enjoying life or thrust despair upon others.
If anything, our mortality should empower us as human beings to savor what we do have and in turn share that joy as much as possible.
Happy New Year, everyone…
Jennifer Allen works at Saathee and is also a Blogger, Photographer, Graphic Artist, Gamer, Martial Arts Practitioner, and all around Pop Culture Geek. You can reach her at [email protected]
