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Beware The High
History has a way of repeating itself, not always in the details, but in the patterns. When you step back far enough, you start to see the cycle: great upheavals followed by periods of booming prosperity — followed by another crash. And while the specifics change, the emotional highs and lows seem somehow familiar.
Take June 28, 1914, for example. On that day, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, triggering a domino effect that plunged the world into the First World War. Tensions in Europe had been simmering for years; the assassination was merely the spark that ignited the proverbial powder keg. By the time the war ended in 1918, an estimated 40 million lives had been lost, leaving the world battered, broken, and searching for meaning.
And then? The Roaring Twenties. In the United States, a massive military war machine transitioned into a booming economy. Prosperity — at least for some — led to a new kind of cultural exuberance. Younger generations, eager to shake off the shadows of war, embraced hedonism with open arms. Booze, jazz, parties, and a devil-may-care attitude became the norm. The country rode high on the wave of consumerism, technology (such as it was back then), and financial speculation.
But here’s the thing about highs — they’re often unsustainable.
October 24, 1929. The stock market crashed, and the illusion of endless prosperity came to an abrupt halt. Jobs vanished. People lost their homes. By the time the Great Depression was in full swing, millions were desperate. Breadlines stretched down city blocks. And as quickly as it had come, the “high” of the Roaring Twenties dissolved into something far darker.
The 1930s brought a slow recovery, a cautious rebuilding. People adjusted as they endured. And then, as if the world hadn’t learned its lesson, war returned. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, launching humanity into the most devastating conflict in history. World War II claimed somewhere between 50 and 70 million lives. Think about that for a moment — an average of 1 in 40 people on Earth at the time.
After the war, America saw yet another surge of prosperity. The Gross National Product skyrocketed from $200 billion in 1940 to $500 billion by 1960. The economy boomed. Suburbs sprawled. Families settled into a new version of the…
