An abstract thought.
Our grandparent’s generation seemed content on their deathbed, some with religion, some without. In TV, movies, and books, you see one in a hospital or at home surrounded by loved ones, with a gentle smile. I wonder if that will get much more difficult in today’s age, as society declines and the sense of accomplishing something meaningful declines as well. Two generations lived, fought, and worked for their country during World War II which was different than subsequent wars. Many today were not around for mankind’s achievements like the first person in space or to walk on the moon. Being around for a president with a ~ 75% approval rating when politics were not so divisive. Sure, last century had its share of trials and tribulations but even the wars then don’t have the same feeling of eternity watching the current political system crumble and democracy die.
All of that is exacerbated by us watching so much science fiction and fantasy content, especially various forms of dystopian movies like Altered Carbon or Foundation where you can live past your generation and see the next and the next after. We have AI tech bros that are obsessed with a book that is predicated on the death of 99.9% of humanity and a technological solution that sees literally a few people survive on in the form of being replicants, where mind but not body go off into space to keep replicating. If you aren’t Bob, Medeiros, or another then you are still doomed to a rough life as you settle into a hostile planet after near starvation on Earth.
Mentally what does that do to a person if they’re 10, 20, or even 30 years before death, and feel like they haven’t done enough or seen enough. To me, that is an important distinction, one or the other or both. Does that difference take different tolls on our minds? Or has society, at least in the United States, declined enough as a whole that the younger generations are already so jaded and feel so helpless, they are essentially born into a “fuck it all” era where they will not have such regrets come end of life?
Did you have a long, distinguished career in an industry like Information Security that has largely failed to do the singular purpose it sets out to do? Did you run a family business that struggled for a decade due to the greed and resulting societal fallout of the proverbial 1%? Were you a doting mother who raised her child well, to respect others and pursue a career of their own only to find that even with a Masters degree they struggled to find work and eventually ended up employed outside their career of choice?
Is any of that enough to feel like you made a difference and left a positive impact on the world? I can see the last being a mark of pride and resulting in the affirmative, but largely because there is an unknown element to if the child would ultimately go on to make a difference themselves.