'Mad Men': A Tale for Our Time | Big Questions Online

My friend Robbie Griggs is a big Mad Men fan. Having tried and failed to watch the show once and now preparing to manfully make another try, I clicked on this Big Questions commentary of the show by Rod Dreher: 'Mad Men': A Tale for Our Time | Big Questions Online.

I was struck by one quote from someone who grew up doing the period that the show was set in:

"'I keep thinking that today, right now, we're reliving the Fifties,' said my friend, who has a child in college. 'I see the same obsession with perfection, with getting your kids into the right school so they can go to the right college and get the right job and move into the right group so they can be successful and happy. And these kids, they're terrified of failure. It's crazy, and you can't imagine how stressful this is for parents and kids alike. It's going to blow up, too. You watch. The problem is, there aren't as many intact families to blow up. But these children, they're going to implode. I worry about the net effect on these kids moving forward. They're never going to feel as good or as smart as they're supposed to feel, given how much we've spent on them. I know how my daughter feels: inadequate, always. '"

I don't know if she's right, but the feeling that disaster is around the corner, that we need to be perfect and have the status and credentials does seem to be back with a vengeance. And I feel in myself and among friends a growing sense of resentment that the 'deal' is rigged. Cynicism is reigning supreme right now. If that leads to a 60s style explosion, it will be interesting from which quarter the blast occurs. And what sets it off.