Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, nor was the past

Nostalgia seems harmless enough, and then someone starts earnestly — absurdly — glamorizing the Stone Age.

“Damn can you imagine being a human during the paleolithic age,” tweeted a self-described “eco-socialist” podcaster in September 2021. “Just eating salmon and berries and storytelling around campfires and stargazing … no jobs no traffic no ads no poverty no capitalism-caused traumas just pure vibes.”

By the time that bit of fantasy circulated on social media, romanticizing the far-off past had become a mid-pandemic, post-insurrection cultural pattern. Women were spinning yarn on Instagram, early 19th-century style. Far-right zealots were parroting populist slogans, promising to restore the nation to its “former” glory, whenever that was. Across the spectrum of politics and circumstances, as we struggled to handle our unrest with modern life, we dreamed about times we never knew.

When does nostalgia go too far? And how do we find our way back?

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-nostalgia-aint-what-it-used-to-be-nor-was-the-past/