I cannot think of a time when more people have lost their minds — opponents and erstwhile allies alike. I am a minimalist in my expectations for this era. I think our main job is not to be driven mad. Or at least not to behave in ways that will make us feel shame in the future.
I'm reasonably sure that the collapse of the Soviet empire, Tienanmen Square, the break up of Yugoslavia, 9/11 and the rise of the jihad, the Arab Spring, Brexit and reaction to the EU's authoritarian path,* and the election of (and reaction to) Trump (and here's some TDR foreshadowing that I'd forgotten) will all be seen as data points by future historians to describe a distinct era of unrest that we are living through.
I'm unsure of whether the Iranian revolution and Russia's war in Afghanistan should be considered part of the era or are prequels telegraphing the era, but still part of the Cold War era.
Which is why I've pulled out my old copy of Romanticism and Revolt to re-read. Thank God they didn't have social media back then.
*And wouldn't it be ironic if the rise of the EU proto-empire is the cause of the unrest and violence that the EU fans believed was latent among the European people, thus requiring their suppression by a strong EU?
