<<Previous Next>>

"Calling" September 11

Oh yeah. One more thing before we leave Strauss & Howe. In an earlier posting, I said that they had “more or less” “called” September 11, 2001, back in 1997. The reason I say “more or less” is that nobody seems to have anticipated the exact scheme of the 9/11 hijackers, not even Strauss & Howe. But they weren’t far off. Check it out:

A global terrorist group blows up an aircraft and announces it possesses portable nuclear weapons. The United States and its allies launch a preemptive strike. The terrorists threaten to retaliate against an American city. Congress declares war and authorizes unlimited house-to-house searches. Opponents charge that the president concocted the emergency for political purposes. A nationwide strike is declared. Foreign capital flees the U.S. [page 273]

Remember, Strauss & Howe wrote that in 1997. Yeah, on Corporations, they missed the dynamic that this weblog is devoted to discussing. But man, on 9/11, they came frighteningly close.

I don't think you need to read the Fourth Turning to understand this weblog. But if you are asking me whether I recommend that book, I'll respond: Hell yeah! Drop what you're doing. Do not pass "Go" until you've read that book. Don't read it to understand this weblog. Read it to gain a profound understanding of the culture in which you live.

Now the reason Strauss & Howe wrote the above paragraph was they were predicting the sorts of events that would push our culture out of the Unraveling phase, and into the Fourth Turning. Much debate on the Strauss & Howe message boards is about whether or not we are presently in the Fourth Turning.

My take: if we were in the Fourth Turning today, the name “Paris Hilton” would never have crossed the street, let alone the major network television stations.

Oh. One last thing: Recall that Strauss & Howe call the next crisis the “Millennial Crisis (2005? – 2026?).” Today is December, 2003. 2005 is 13 months away.

13 months?!

<<Previous Next>>