All too common is the tragic unwillingness of a given generation to become like their parents. I've seen too many people - and myself at times - express a fear that they are sliding into the neuroticisms of their mothers and fathers, and double down upon various personal and interpersonal reflections and correcting actions to steer themselves away from what are perceived mistakes of an older generation. For example, "I'd never treat my kids that way," and etc.
These small actions can work in ways, but oftentimes this thought slides into superstition: as long as one wards off the bad thoughts with some ritualistic reprogramming, one can avoid similar ruin. But this personal form of superstition often emerges on order to take back efficacy in the face of structural and intractable difficulties that aren't being perceived clearly.
I think it is important to remember the immense pressures of an entire civilization, which through the course of its life - especially at the tail end - becomes a greater force of compulsion, snapping its constituents into the places it wants them, so that it can continue to function, especially as its dynamism and vitality wanes. Some mistakes require the radical changing of lifestyle itself.
