The Cycles

The concept of cycles in history is nothing new. At one time, the working hypothesis was that these cycles occurred every 120 years. Now, in a new book by Neil Howe and William Strauss called The Fourth Turning, we see substantial sociological and historical evidence that the cycles have truncated along generational lines and run in cycles that are less than 100 years.

The Protestant Reformation (1517-1542) was followed immediately by a time of martyrdom and of theological power struggle from 1542 through 1569. This social upheaval was quelled only by the war that took place from 1569 to 1594 between the English and the Spanish. The victory of England over Spain seemed to put an end to the squabbles.

The era of Puritanism (1621-1649) was followed by a reactionary period that encompassed the witch burnings that occurred from 1649 to 1675. This era, in turn, lead to the civil war that was called the Glorious Revolution (1675-1704). 

The First Great Awakening (1727-1746), the first of several American Christian revival movements, was followed by a series of global bush wars not unlike what we have seen in the past twenty years. The Great Awakening was followed by the French and Indian Wars that lasted from 1746 to 1773. This period led directly into the American Revolution (1773-1794) which was a result of oppressive royal measures.

The Transcendental Awakening (1822- 1844) was very similar to the late 1960s era. It boasted communal experiments, prophetic religious revivals, and civil rights movements. This era of peace and introspection was followed by the Mexican-American War and the murmured beginnings of sectionalism (1844-1860). This sectionalism, in turn, lead directly to the American Civil War (1860-1865).

The Third Great Awakening (1886-1908) came directly before the Spanish-American War. That same period saw a growing social awareness as a result of muckrakers like Upton Sinclair who provided an impetus for social change. On a less positive note, this period after the Third Great Awakening gave us World War I (1914-1918). This was the ill fought, ill remembered, and highly destabilizing military venture in Europe. Just following the war, another wave of puritan zeal swept the nation and led to the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919 that created Prohibition. 

It cannot be overlooked that many of the excesses of the Roaring ‘20s are again being played out in the 1990s and the 2000s. Extreme sports have replaced barnstorming, and nonsense like Survivor and Fear Factor has replaced dance marathons. Speakeasies have given way to raves. This is all just a new cycle of the same ideas.

In 1929, there came another trying time. Conservative business factions lost control of their ability to manage and manipulate the marketplace. This event precipitated the Great Depression (1929-1941) and lead eventually to World War II (1941-1945). Deaths in World War II exceeded 55 million civilians and 400,000 U.S. military members. Hitler murdered six million Jews in his concentration camps. He annihilated some seven million Gypsies, mentally handicapped persons, Catholics, gays, political prisoners, and others in forced labor camps. The Allied bombing of Dresden killed an estimated 150,000 civilians, while the A-bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were responsible for another 250,000 fatalities. Questionable statistics for the death tolls in China, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other Japanese-occupied areas exist. The Russian death toll is estimated at nine million.

What is often overlooked in the post-World War II history text books is why German Chancellor Hitler and Japanese Emperor Hirohito were allowed to lead so many to their deaths in those years of crisis. The German people believed that Hitler was the manifestation of God, and the Japanese held that Hirohito was God in the form of man. This religious element seems to be an embarrassment to recent historians as these two men brought death and destruction to so many around the world with their acts of aggression and vengeance. This donning of the religious mantle is now being played out in the Middle East and the United States.

The youthful mindset of promise and hope of one era seems to transform into finger pointing, blame, and condemnation; and, finally when all opposition is dehumanized, there comes a time of destruction and murder. Where good intentions fail, muskets, rifles, and bombs are used to solve the issues. It would seem that mutual respect and acceptance of differences would go a long way in an attempt to resolve differences in a more peaceful way. Unfortunately, the lesson of moderation seems to be learned only after the horror of war.

The Conciseness revolution from 1964 to approximately 1982, has given way to the Culture Wars of the 1982 to 1999. During the Culture Wars, divisions began widening in the United States. These divisions are based upon adherence of some to fundamentalist religious principals. Living by these ideals has led these people to ban together to legislate their belief system. 

It seems inevitable that this religious movement, like its precursors, will lead to some kind of stormy revolution. If the cycle is to complete itself, odds seem to favor some kind of civil war. However, some evidence exists that this may be averted. According to Jim Wallis of Sojourners, a liberally minded Christian magazine and website, “The Religious right has been able to win when they have been able to maintain and control a monologue on the relationship between faith and politics. However, when a dialogue begins about the extent of moral values issues and what biblically faithful Christians should care about, the Religious right begins to lose. The best news of all for the American church and society is this:  The monologue of the Religious right is over, and a new dialogue has just begun” (Sojourners website, March 2006). That alone could be the best indication that we have avoided the worst possible outcome.