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Nostalgia, is a national disease?

TheCatWoman

The Good Old Days, when things were all rosy and better.

The Good Old Days, when we had real music, etc etc

It seems to me that nostalgia is a sort of national disease, we keep harping back to it as some golden age, except it wasn't really and every generation has it's Golden Age.. I was struck by nostalgia for the 1990's, I mean really, what was so great about the nineties?

I think this constant harping on about how great things were years ago, stops us moving forward, it stops us investing in the future, personally, politically and in thingd like our infrastructure and buildings.

I'm an historian by training and I hate nostalgia, for its distortions, the way it stops us being honest about the past, the effects it's had upon us and the world and the lengths we will go to to protect it's leftovers. I do think think archaelogical sites should be protected and historic buildings, but that should stop us from investing in the new. The past should inform the present, we should learn its lessons, and build a better future, even if it's just in our architecture and music.

Parents

  • Good thread and discussion.  Thanks

    To highlight a few bits if I may please?

    "Cynicism masquerading as wisdom" -  

    "life events can distort how people view the past" - 

    "looking at the past through a rose coloured lens" , "the more we admire the "then" (that) never fully existed the more we devalue the "now".  -   

    "it may depend on how your life was at a particular time" -  

    Pop out to me as being particularly relevant.

    It is in my experience tricky to deal with what may amount to an accumulation of "negativity bias" that accrues during a lifetime of experience.

    Perhaps as autistic people in a neurotypical society we might be more likely to have negative experiences and possibly even more susceptible to them?

    "we should learn its lessons, and build a better future"  -  is a good approach I think.

    Attempts to recreate the past might be a bit of a shame as we could be missing out on the present and indeed neglecting the future.  

    It is tempting to spend valuable time "In Search of Lost Time".  I have heard it said that time travel is possible - only in one direction.

    I am reminded of a joke about person on a desert island who, finding a genie in a lamp on his desert island, used his first wish fpr an ever-filling bottle of beer.  When asked what was required with the second their response was "I think I'll have another one of those bottles please."  :-)

    I hope that this hasn't left you feeling nostalgic for before you read this!

    All the best :-)

Reply

  • Good thread and discussion.  Thanks

    To highlight a few bits if I may please?

    "Cynicism masquerading as wisdom" -  

    "life events can distort how people view the past" - 

    "looking at the past through a rose coloured lens" , "the more we admire the "then" (that) never fully existed the more we devalue the "now".  -   

    "it may depend on how your life was at a particular time" -  

    Pop out to me as being particularly relevant.

    It is in my experience tricky to deal with what may amount to an accumulation of "negativity bias" that accrues during a lifetime of experience.

    Perhaps as autistic people in a neurotypical society we might be more likely to have negative experiences and possibly even more susceptible to them?

    "we should learn its lessons, and build a better future"  -  is a good approach I think.

    Attempts to recreate the past might be a bit of a shame as we could be missing out on the present and indeed neglecting the future.  

    It is tempting to spend valuable time "In Search of Lost Time".  I have heard it said that time travel is possible - only in one direction.

    I am reminded of a joke about person on a desert island who, finding a genie in a lamp on his desert island, used his first wish fpr an ever-filling bottle of beer.  When asked what was required with the second their response was "I think I'll have another one of those bottles please."  :-)

    I hope that this hasn't left you feeling nostalgic for before you read this!

    All the best :-)

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