The Roaring 20s was an interesting period of U.S. and European history, but I wonder how many people truly know the origins of the era.
The simplest snapshot of the period would be the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby, turned into a stylized movie in 2013. The book, movie and decade itself was marked by indulgence, excess and energy. Highlighting this idea was the face of the Roaring 20s – the Flapper. Flappers were young women who threw off the constraints of decorum to smoke, drink and dance with the boys, often in their signature tasseled skirts and pearls.
But the ideal behind the Roaring 20s didn’t develop out of thin air. World War I had ended and Warren G. Harding was elected behind his campaign slogan “Return to normalcy.” People felt that anything was possible as cars, telephones, radio and movies made people more connected. Modern appliances and the expanding electric grid made living easier. Jazz music took off, and the media fed society’s infatuation with movie and sports stars.
Having put a world war in the rear-view mirror, the combination of technological advancements and financial prosperity proliferated an “anything goes” attitude across the country. That mentality ended with the Great Depression in 1929.
And now, we find ourselves in the 20s again.
The comparisons are both remarkable and cautionary.
In the 1920s people felt relief after war had ravaged the globe. A hundred years later, a world-wide pandemic led to millions of deaths, created financial turmoil and threw a blanket on many of the freedoms Americans celebrate. But now we are coming out of it and the relief is palpable. I believe we are about to enter a summer of indulgence, which might lead to years of excess.
I think financially, the country will turn a corner. The stock market has already rebounded and the people of the world are about to spend money again. Just as America was out ahead of automobile and electrified technologies in the 1920s, we are well positioned for the computing, communication and electric vehicle waves to come.
Even Harding’s idea of returning to normal, was recycled as a common theme for President Joe Biden while on the campaign trail ahead of the 2020 election.
I think we are about to enter the Roaring 2020s, but the sound is going to be very different.
In the 1920s people were full of hope and believed that anything was possible. They were living in the moment.
We aren’t like that now. Our society lives in the past, always pointing fingers. While I think there are wild years ahead, I don’t think it will be necessarily a positive thing.
When World War I ended there was a feeling of accomplishment, with a common enemy defeated. COVID-19 never unified the country. In fact, it drove us apart. People chose sides over masks and vaccines. There is no feeling of victory, but rather an idea of “who can we blame for this.” Many people are coming out of the pandemic feeling their rights and freedoms were trampled on – and they are itching for a scrap.
If you think I’m exaggerating, look to what is going on in airports and on planes. Instead of being happy that air travel is returning to normal, there are videos of frequent airport brawls and some fights are even being started during flight. Earlier this week, video was released of a flight attendant being assaulted and losing two teeth because she asked a San Diego passenger to pull her mask up.
There were the videos from Miami in March of reported spring-breakers, most of whom were definitely beyond college age, running wild in the streets and businesses and failing to comply with any orders.
Workplace shootings, like the one Wednesday, seem to be happening every week.
Even here in Ohio, the Kings Island theme park closed early last Saturday because of fights breaking out in the venue and its parking lot. The company is adding more security to the park moving forward.
If you put a dog in a dark closet and leave him there for a while, he could react one of two ways. When you open the door, he might lick your face or he might bite you.
In the 1920s the country came out of adversity looking to have a party. A century later, I fear we have emerged looking for a fight.
The roaring of the current 20s is a battle roar.
-Chad Williamson is the managing editor of the Journal-Tribune.