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Comment by dillondoyle | Hacker News Reader

That's a great frame/empathetic connection I haven't thought of!

I personally experience this existential dread and anger from not being able to force any action on the scale we need on climate change. Kind of feel silly that I've never really put together that people in your generation felt similarly about an impending nuclear winter, population growth starvation etc.

Sadly a lot of that generation are the least likely to want dramatic efforts to fight climate change/most skeptical. Some points almost 2X less likely to want immediate action.

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2021/05/26/gen-z-millenn...

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I think every generation has had their 'dread'... from world wars, to cold wars, to climate...

Personally, it seems like what changed was somewhere around Gen-X we lost faith in our ability to change anything. That feeling of helplessness seems to have deepened from Gen-X to Gen-Z. Oddly, my generation-Alpha nieces and nephew's still seem optimistic. Is is just youth? or will things start to turn around...

Only time will tell....

Interesting about gen A. they have seen & helped create dramatic change from even just 10-15 yeas ago when I was in school. On LGBTQ issues, equality, & so much more. So maybe they are our saviors!

Hell I work in politics myself with decent access to politicians and help raise money. Nope. Doesn't matter in terms of power I have basically none besides perhaps getting more money spent on climate issue ads.

I think the only way to get drastic action is if a large % of voting population demands it. Sadly the defeatist attitude reinforces the powerless cycle by not voting and not participating, because they think it doesn't matter. So therefore it doesn't.

>>I think the only way to get drastic action is if a large % of voting population demands it. Sadly the defeatist attitude reinforces the powerless cycle by not voting and not participating, because they think it doesn't matter. So therefore it doesn't.

Yeah - its the definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's maddening that so many people are upset with how things are going, but refuse to vote..I don't care how or who you vote for...just vote! Nothing will change until people get off the sofas.

As a Gen-Xer we were very much aware of the possibility of nuclear war. While the previous generation (boomers) had their bomb drills at school, they didn't bother by the time we were in school because what was the point in surviving a nuclear war?

If you want to get a feel for the zeitgeist at the time, check out the movie Miracle Mile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Mile_(film)

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