People find it difficult to evaluate the period in which they live because it is impossible to be objective for emotional reasons. The vast majority of people think that the past is better than the present. This applies both to their own past and to the past of the country and the world. A thirty-year-old finds the places where he spent time with his friends in his youth “changed and degraded”. Amongst themselves, the elderly believe that many things in the country were better in their youth and “talk about the irresponsibility and lack of decency of the young”. This belief is recorded in Egyptian papyri and is known to have persisted since Ancient Greece.
The twentieth century begins with the collapse of 19th century society. This collapse is the result of the rebuilding of society on a different basis during the industrial era. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia had major repercussions on a global scale. But this period is over and we are now living in a very different era. Metropolitanization has rapidly transformed lifestyles and the established cultures of societies. There has been a huge increase in the number of people living alone, and having one child has become the norm for families. On the other hand, the unverified hypothesis of the market economy that continuous development, growth and progress are possible has led to the use of consumption parameters as an indicator of development. Thus, people feel obliged to work in order to possess objects of desire that they do not need beyond measure. This has resulted in the spread of individualism and a sense of putting oneself ahead of others and society.
Intergenerational continuity lost
The current order in which we live makes it impossible to sustain and develop the world economy and civilization. This period has brought about a great restructuring and change, the outcome of which is unpredictable. The change, which destroys the continuity between generations, has given birth to an understanding of history that erases the past. Each generation seems to think that history began with itself.
One of the negative aspects of the period we are going through is that people do not remember anything about the past, or worse, do not need to. At this point, historians have a very important task. Because this sharp pace of change has resulted in the erasure of the sense of continuity in history from public memory. This is especially true for younger generations. However, the main reason for this is the change in the nature of society rather than the speed of change. It is the over-emphasis on the individual rather than the idea that the individual is a part of society and its continuity across generations. The understanding of “here and now” has put buying and pleasure at the center of life. The enemy of historical continuity and memory is the cycle in which we live. Impulsively thinking that reaching objects of pleasure is happiness feeds this cycle and a collective understanding that tries to quench its thirst by drinking sea water has dominated society.
In the past, there were processes that connected younger generations to older generations. According to French historian Marc Bloch, in agricultural societies, experiences were passed down from one generation to the next. In rural Anatolia, parents would work in the fields, grandparents would take care of the children and pass on their experiences to them, and the children would learn their memories of the past. Today, this cycle has been broken for many reasons, most notably urbanization and metropolitanization. However, an important reason for the break is not only the change in the way of life, but also the fact that past experiences are seen as completely unimportant and worthless.
When does history begin?
The consequence of this is that the only past that young people know is their own personal past. When the past is ignored by the future, destruction is inevitable. As a result, the rules of behavior that govern societies have become trivialized and devalued. For example, rudeness and rudeness have become the norm. Hate speech, discrimination and spreading fake news have become natural and violence has become a democratic right. Rights have replaced responsibility.
Inventions in Silicon Valley have connected billions of people, but the industry born out of these inventions has begun to experience drawbacks. Those who were worried about this have been proven right. Since there were no legal regulations regarding these developments, the founders of the industry tried to escape responsibility while enjoying the fruits of it. Individual data breaches, the exchange of private life information, turning a deaf ear to hate speech, and the spread of fake news through social media and the media became natural. What we see today is that the developers of artificial general intelligence continue to work rapidly in order not to fall behind in the race, in an environment where there is no regulation by state authorities, without conducting the necessary security audits in order not to fall behind and without foreseeing the consequences.
Those who are in the race and the architects of this building have to take responsibility because the monster they have created represents them. It is not possible to escape from the outcome by shifting responsibility to chaos. If you accept these developments as normal, you must also accept that all your personal information can be sold. In a world without digital privacy, it is inevitable to feel threatened and feel the need to self-censor, even if you have done nothing wrong but think differently.
Conclusion
Knowing history makes it possible to understand the present and predict the future. Many people in the world do not hesitate to use the power and opportunities of their position to flaunt their importance without taking responsibility. We see people who go to cut the ribbon of things that have no value and consider it a feat to cut this ribbon with many people. But what is important is to have something of value to leave behind after oneself. Because we cannot take what we have accumulated in this world with us, we can only pass it on to those who come after us. Remembering that all the pieces go into the same box at the end of the game, and remembering that one day the grass will grow over us, can make us think and guide us on how to use our power.
