It is funny that sometimes a Hive Learner post is actually something I've talked about with my son's multiple times. This week was about "when would the best era to live in be?". Now I'm getting on in years so I can speak from experience on a number of different time periods. In addition I like different things than my son's so when picking the best time period we naturally prefer different times.
Still, let's approach this topic from an objective standpoint and I'll show you what era I think would be best.
But there are some demographics to clear up first.
I'm a "White" Canadian male. When choosing the best period in time that matters. Geography matters also. If I was a "black" person there are times in the United States that it would be exceedingly dangerous for them. If I were a woman? There were times that the rights of women were seriously hindered. If I were a child? In certain periods of time children didn't live very long and death was a very real occurrence.
When talking to my sons? They are both Canadian teenagers and haven't seen the discrimination of the past so they identify as "white" although in older times their mixed race would be more of an issue. However, since they don't see the race issue and I only know the position of "White Canadian male" I'll look at the best era from a "White (ish) Canadian guy living in Canada".
Now I'm going to rule out any "ancient times" age. Life in the Roman empire? Life during the European renaissance? Japan in the feudal period? Ancient Chinese empire? Running with Ghengis Khan? All out in my books. Sure they would be interesting but I've seen images of Smallpox, the Black Plague and other diseases. Living in an age without modern medicine and access to vaccines means life gets dicey pretty quickly--no thank you.
In that regard lets look at the last 10 decades or so.
Well, going pretty old time here. The fact that World War 1 happened in this era mean its a pass for me.
The roaring 20's? Honestly a strong choice except for the fact that living in the 1920's means I'll have to endure the 1930's. The dirty thirties also known as the "Great Depression" scarred a portion of the population to be sure. My Grandmother lived in that time and other than making people resilient she doesn't have a lot of good things to say about the 1930's.
Well, I'm not sure the first half of the decade would be something Id want to endure with WW2 raging. However 1945 to 1950 is a strong contender so I'll lump it in with the next category.
From 1945 to 1960? Baby boomer time. Plentiful jobs mean normal people have more money to spend. That is huge. Car culture means wheels to get you where you want you to go. Societal norms were set, community structure provided friendships, the local news was hard to fake and people tended to "get along".
Social upheaval with the hippie movement and counter culture ideas. Still there were jobs to be had, more freedom to do what you wanted, and communities that still mattered. Television was getting more interesting. Movies were getting better. Vehicles were getting better. Telephones were land lines but getting better also.
Well, an oil crisis and stagflation happened in early 1970s which would make it a bad time. Then again people were far more free than previously. Women had access to birth control (that changed things considerably). Colour televisions were getting more common. Electronics were getting better and arcade games were starting to become a thing. It was very much live and let live which is really something I can get behind. Music was also getting better although I will admit I'm not a fan of 70s music (or movies).
A recession in the early 1980s really sucked in Canada. That's when my father declared bankruptcy and high interest rates caused many to lose their homes. There was considerable fear about the cold war and many people were legitimately frightened about nuclear war and the end of everything.
Still, movies were getting much better. Music was getting much better. Computers became a thing. Electronics kept getting better. I could make a strong case for the 1980s being a "Golden Era". But the 1990s .. hmm...
Video games were getting good. Movies were getting good. Music was getting good. Medicine was getting good. Home computers were getting good. The Internet was still new and exciting but getting good. Yeah there was a depression in 1991 but by the mid 1990s interest rates were decreasing, prices were stable. Pretty decent time to be alive. Cellular phones were also becoming increasingly important. Sure there were cellphones in the 1980s but in the 1990s regular people could acquire them.
Society has advanced far beyond what it was pre 2000. At this time computers are genuinely good. Cellphones have become good enough that everyone wants them. Cars have become good enough to be very reliable Technology has advanced to the point where even the average person can live better than a King of old. But every improvement actually came at a cost that earlier generations would see and not necessarily approve of.
Society is far more fractured than before. Someone from the 1950s would be appalled at the lack of cohesion among people.
There is (or at least appears to be) far more drug abuse than before. Sure in the 1960's Hippies experimented with drugs but were smart enough to know that meth is death. I think they would be appalled at the number of deaths and lives lost to drug abuse in modern Canada.
There is more fear of what is out there. In the 1970s you could hitch hike across Canada without fear. Kids could walk to school. Your door could be left unlocked and so could your car. People lived with more freedom and less fear. Now? There are rules to protect people and people seem to need those rules more than ever before.
There are far more video games and better ones at that. But the Internet has shown every cheat code, given every walkthrough, and exploited every flaw. In addition, games used to be solely for fun. My son used to love Valorant but when he got good? It became work to become "good enough" and then the fun was gone. As a 1980s gamer I look at the competition in different games and think... That grind to get to perfection can't be fun. I also look at the cheat codes and FAQs and think...where is the fun in playing something that has already been entirely mapped.
Social media and content creators have given a voice to everyone. Now idiots are just as loud as the experts. Everyone has a platform and with everything everywhere all at once? Music and movies don't have the funding they once did and they are suffering as a result.
When we talk we come up with lots of other things. Like Anime... arguably it was more artistic and possibly "better" before than it is now. Then again, modern technology makes anime far more accessible than it ever was before. Same thing with travel and vacationing. Go back in time and overtourism was less an issue. Now anyone can go anywhere and a simple app translates everything. The hurdle to travel is much lower...but when you get there you will see the same corporate brands and items so it feels much the same regardless of your destination.
There is no perfect time.
I prefer the 1980s and my sons the early 2000s. If I were a woman the modern age is much better for equality but then again perhaps dating would be a little easier a few decades ago. If I were LGBTQ+ I would absolutely choose a modern era. Times may not be perfect by any means but at least it is far better than it was. If I was transgendered? There are modern medical options available even if there can be stigma around transitioning however, 100 years ago I don't think any medical options existed. A person had little choice other than to deal with the hand they were dealt. I guess that same statement also held for many many different disabilities that today may have treatments or at least amelioration.
But when I think how far technology has advanced and how "good" things have gotten I often wonder if our abilities have overstepped out maturity and whether we have more available to us than is good to us.
And those are my thoughts on the "best era" post prompt. Lots of options out there and I have my favorite (late 80s and early 90s) but I think there are lots of defensible positions.
