Hostile Environment

You're not alone, The Cat Woman. I think the real issue is modern life, with all its complexity that we’re expected to participate in to be considered “normal.” Humans are pretty simple at heart; most people just want a secure place to live, maybe build close relationships and friendships, perhaps have kids, and enjoy a reasonable standard of living. A balanced life isn’t something that requires many of our modern inventions. Much of it has been foisted on us from birth, largely by people looking to make money. I’m sure there were plenty of happy people in the early twentieth century who were content without our modern innovations. People still enjoyed life without the benefits of the Internet or AI.

I think, really, we have not evolved to live like we do today and it stretches people to their limit in trying to adapt to the pace of modern life. A lot of it I find unnatural.

I'm afraid you and I see history in very different ways. Up until the last few decades, people imposed 'normality' on each other, and it was hierarchical. Only some of the middle class and most of the upperclass had sufficient wealth to enjoy life and, even then, it tended to be white men. Women were either household decorations (if wealthy) or workhorses, having children, caring for them and being domesticv drudges, or looked down on as spinsters. Non-white people and working-class men were either little better than serfs or free but having to work all hours to make an insecure living. People who were gay or trans had to hide; those with disabilities suffered badly. They all had to snatch small happinesses where they could, which wasn't always possible.

I see the complexities of modern life as our exchange for slightly better, slightly more secure lives - but even then, for far too many, financial insecurity is a crushing burden. And we seem to be regressing to a new Victorian Age, with vast differences in wealth but still, too little happiness. I don't find modern life worse than the past, just different. 

Yes, I know I sound too doom-laden, but we all - whenever we live - face burdens that are too often crushing. But also, being human, we are all capable of seeking happiness wherever we can find it.

I agree with much of that, but what I meant was you don’t really need many of the innovations we have today that didn’t exist in the past, like owning a car, a cell phone, or some gadget made to profit someone else. The point The Cat Woman made in her original point was that owning a car has its perks, sure, but the stress comes from maintaining it and paying for fuel. You’re talking about the social structures that existed at the time, and it's true women were treated like second-class citizens, but does that mean we have to accept everything else just for that situation to change?

I agree with much of that, but what I meant was you don’t really need many of the innovations we have today that didn’t exist in the past, like owning a car, a cell phone, or some gadget made to profit someone else. The point The Cat Woman made in her original point was that owning a car has its perks, sure, but the stress comes from maintaining it and paying for fuel. You’re talking about the social structures that existed at the time, and it's true women were treated like second-class citizens, but does that mean we have to accept everything else just for that situation to change?