Welcome to the Crossroads of the 21st Century

"Among the many subjects which interested me, I dwelt especially upon antiquity, for our own age has always repelled me, so that, had it not been for the love of those dear to me, I should have preferred to have been born in any other period than our own. In order to forget my own time, I have constantly striven to place myself in spirit in other ages, and consequently I delighted in history; not that the conflicting statements did not offend me, but when in doubt I accepted what appeared to me most probable, or yielded to the authority of the writer." ~ Francesco Petrarch to Posterity circa 1372

Every forty years humanity seems to find itself in the middle of a crossroads. In the 1920's it was the battle with prohibition and mob rule, the 60's an entire spiritual revolution involving music and drugs. The excerpt from the above letter came from the first renaissance, a time that followed one of the bloodiest eras in human history. The period of the renaissance was the rebirth of the pursuit of knowledge and the arts that had once caused ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome to thrive. But things changed and thanks to a book entitled, The City of God, people began pursuing a pleasant afterlife rather than enhancing the one they had on earth. Nonetheless, the renaissance, which lasted from the late 14th century into the 16th, brought about the idea of humanism, which promoted human autonomy or self-government. According to many of the humanists such as our friend Petrarch the entire purpose of the movement was to inspire people to create their own happiness on earth.

The use of art and writing were among many of the methods that helped free up the individual allowing them to choose their own path to peace of mind. The same kind of humanist mentality emerged during the 1960's in the form of the music and drug revolution, which eventually fizzled out in the early to mid 1970's as the result of growing tensions over the war in Vietnam and heinous creatures such as Nixon. It is without a doubt that such a period in American history was the American renaissance as art, writing, music, and drug and spiritual experimentation were the center of the movement. And like the first European renaissance the arts were completely reborn giving new life to the people lucky enough to be a part of it all.

In the realm of music you had people like Jimi Hendrix who completely revolutionized the way a guitar could be played. Then you have bands and musicians like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Doors and many others who completely changed the landscape of song writing, opening new doors for hundreds of new genres to emerge through. Moving on to the literary side people like Ken Kesey, Tom Wolfe and Hunter Thompson are only a few of the great writers of the period who captured the spirit of this new time in the American century. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is probably one of the greatest books ever written as it takes the reality of a mental ward and molds it into a metaphor for America. Even to this day the book serves as an honest and unfortunate look into the belly of our society. Hunter Thompson and Tom Wolfe were both responsible for creating a new kind of journalism commonly referred to as "Gonzo" journalism that utilized literary elements to take non-fiction writing to a higher level usually ending with a deep introspective conclusion.

But the war in Vietnam began to grow into an ugly mess that turned the American renaissance in a new direction, one that thought it had the numbers and spirit to prevail against a government who was willing to make a soldier out of anyone who was old enough. However, that same spirit would ultimately be what killed the American renaissance as drugs became an escape rather than a lubricant to good times. So like all good things the American renaissance came to a tragic end with many of its heroes dying ill-starred deaths or simply admitting defeat.

Since then we have been wandering with our heads down hoping that we will eventually stumble upon a solution, but like a person who uses the same approach in the hopes of finding a briefcase full of money we have only allowed our situation to become stagnant. It would be easy to blame presidents like Nixon, Reagan, and Bush but the blood is on our hands and sadly, it is our blood. We have wandered into the middle of a busy intersection and like the people who used drugs to escape the harsh reality of the Vietnam era we are lost and confused. This has been a reoccurring pattern throughout history. Humanity becomes hopeless, scared and unsure finding salvation in religion, chemicals or bloody campaigns that are in the name of some kind of greater good. When that fails humanity becomes rejuvenated by a fresh energy that creates a movement to see where the newly found inspired state will take us. Yet we always find ourselves in that hectic crossroads unsure of where to go eventually causing us to fall to pieces all over again. Why? Why can we never find that perfect balance where we avoid over doing whatever it is that is bringing us peace of mind? Why can we never stop once we find what it is we are looking for? Why must we continue to live this bi-polar lifestyle?

It appears that life is the constant pursuit of something we cannot identify. We cannot name it, we cannot see it, taste it, smell it, touch it, but at times we experience it briefly and find ourselves lusting over that feeling. And that is precisely what creates times of renaissance, when that feeling comes over enough of us at once creating a common consensus that we are close; that it is just around the bend. So we join hands and do whatever caused that bliss to manifest, but there comes a point when we realize it is always 10 feet ahead, just out of our grasp. So we stop, look around and realize that some of our companions have run off in different directions, positive that they are hot on the trail. Eventually the power of whatever was driving us as a united force fades away and we find ourselves back at square one-separate and running aimlessly in whatever direction seems to have a glimmer of hope. Why? See what I mean? I have come back to it again or have I?

The one thing that always comes up throughout history is the idea of hope. We hope to make it into heaven. We hope to find eternal joy. We hope to live a carefree life. We hope to avoid dying young. We are hope junkies and that is why we flop back and forth from times of chaos to times of pleasure. Hope is nothing more than glorified wishing and if you have ever wished then you know how inefficient it is. Hope is what drives us, leading us far into whatever excursion that fosters up the notion of a big payoff. But after a certain amount of time we stop to question if there is going to be a big payoff at the end. This kind of mentality is evident throughout the course of time, but it is that mentality that is a frightening force during the current calendar year of 2006 C.E. My generation is known as the instant grat' brats, which means we want that big payoff and we want it now. Take for instance new video game systems. People wait days in line or pay small fortunes to apprehend one as soon as it comes out, and this is for a video game system for Pete's sake. Patience is non-existent in people of my age and we are okay with that. Do whatever you have to do to get that instant gratification because it brings you joy; Right? Fuck no and I don't know how this whole mess came to be.

I too have been distraught if I didn't get what I wanted when I wanted it, but something happened in the past year or so that opened my eyes to the fact that such a mentality is sick. It is not healthy and as I have said before we are suffering from a metaphorical cold. Our immune systems are in a state of retreat and until we muster up the strength to overcome our petty hopes we are guaranteed to be another do nothing generation. This is a battle cry to all those born in the late 80's and to those who came after us. It is time for another American renaissance done right and without excess. We have plenty of failed attempts to learn from and it is imperative that we find the balance that all those who have tried and failed have lacked. It has been 40 years since the last movement and as we stand in the crossroads we have the choice to move forward or get struck by the fast moving traffic that caught previous seekers who were stranded by a hope that never paid off. Our rebirth must not be founded on hope but determination to wipe our own blood from our hands. We must revive freedom before it flat lines because if we continue to watch it flop around right in front of us we are bound to find ourselves in a horrifying place. Freedom is not dead just severely wounded. Age quod agis or in modern English, "Be serious in what you do."