The polarisation of wealth, fossilised social mobility, a return to feudalism, the failure of liberal democracy, weapons of mass destruction, refugee crises, global warming, and globalisation are all phrases tossed around in the media and social platforms today, creating a heightened state of fear for the future of our species. I worry most about an increasing sense of despair and pessimism amongst young people. This is notable amongst the well-educated, privileged teenagers who are bombarded with a sense of helplessness in a hopeless future with melted ice caps, cities underwater and vast swaths of land in developed countries being uninhabitable if the average global temperature rises by 4 degrees.
When I was young in the 1960/70’s we had to do nuclear war drill training that basically involved hiding under our desks. I suspect this would have not been a very successful survival strategy! We watched terrifying videos of characters being dragged into graves because they smoked. We thought herpes was the most important biological threat of our time.
Being brought up in London, we regularly faced strikes that cut power, causing a run on candle purchases, queues for bread, and all the refuse bins being taken out of railway stations because of IRA bomb threats. The Gulf crisis brought further fears of terrorist attacks. AIDS meant condoms became part of daily language. Moving into our modern age of fear mongering, we have to take shoes and belts off and cram all our liquids into containers under 100ml to get through airport security. Everyone is frightened of Muslims, Asian men with hoodies and backpacks, women in Burkas, and white supremacists going on killing sprees.
And yet statistically, this is the safest time in all of human history to be alive. Why aren’t we having more fun?
