...that create weak men who create hard times that create good men and on like that in a kind of historical cycle ? If you do what part of the cycle do you think we're in now ?
It's bullshit. That which does not kill you can leave you scarred, or maimed, or crippled!
My parents grew up dirt-poor and desperate during the Great Depression, and the experience made them assholes who have spent their lifetimes being terrified of being poor again, and consequently incapable of kindness or generosity. They've done very well for themselves, their families sacrificed every little thing they had to get them to college so they could have a better life, and because of that they grew up to be very prosperous adults... who threw three out of four of their kids out on their asses at 18 to save a few bucks, with the exception of the Golden Boy favorite. He got an all-expenses paid trip to college, the rest of us had to forget about college for years because we had to scrape up enough money to live in the ghetto or live in cars if we couldn't. And thus, they made the fear of poverty that left them emotionally crippled last for another generation...
Although it isn't being passed down for another generation, because the only one of us who ever had kids was the Golden Boy favorite. So at least that particular soul-crippling issue ends with me and my siblings.
Idk, I think hard times are much more likely to create bad people who create bad times for everyone, to the point that those bad people aren't capable of becoming good people during good times. So the cycle is more bad times creating bad people who perpetuate bad behavior all the time ever after.
shareThe saying is a gross over-simplification of course. In any generation there will be a combination of weak and strong people. And as Otter pointed out and I found myself that some of the people I knew who came through the Depression although no doubt they were self-disciplined and strong they were also emotionally very hard.
I think Russia is maybe a good example of what you're saying where seemingly unrelenting bad times over hundreds of years seem to have forged the Russian people into a bunch of crazy thugs. Of course that might be a gross over-simplification.
It's all simplification and generalization, of course. That's not to say no good comes of hard times ever. I have seen a lot of generosity put forward through certain hard times as well - especially when it comes to Australian bushfires, everyone pitches into help the animals who've lost heir homes. A lot of amazing art is produced during hard times. But it's just been my experience hard times create more bad people than good.
shareHard times create hard people, unrelenting hard times over generations can create brutal people.
Too much disaster can make kindness, generosity, or common decency seem like luxuries.
If we're taking about today then in general, I think most people under 30 would fold if times became truly hard - difficult to discuss this topic w/o becoming political.
shareIt isn't all political. The big problem is things in general have become too easy... little thinking or effort is now required. Our technology has reached the point to where it is becoming detrimental rather than benefitting humanity. Too many people now expect to have everything done for them without lifting a finger, and they want instant gratification.
They rely on "Alexa" to turn on the lights for them because they are too lazy to get up and walk to the light switch.
There are the phone zombies who can't perform simple tasks without implementing some silly "phone app."
There are cashiers who can't make change from paper currency (I've encountered this twice within a month).
Meal delivery companies are growing. This is a great service for people who are elderly, disabled, injured or who live in what's called a "food desert." But I would be willing to bet that 95% of the clientele are able-bodied individuals who are just too lazy to cook or don't want to go out in inclement weather. They let someone else risk their life driving in an ice storm while they lie on the couch and complain about the delivery taking too long.
During WWII people experienced rationing, shortages, travel restrictions, lights-out ordinances and many other inconveniences. This was done for the benefit and safety of the nation. Compare that to all the whining and protesting that went on during the COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccination efforts. If today's society had existed in the 1940s we would have lost the war.
Selfishness and lack of empathy. Hedonism and expecting instant gratification. Materialism. These are becoming more prevalent these days. We are creating a dumbed-down and indolent society which will quickly collapse if we ever experience hard times.