When Sanity Snaps Back
Recently, Dr. Keith Campbell laid out the plausibility of the Strauss and Howe generational theory and where we are sitting currently as a society (I highly recommend following Dr.
W. Keith Campbell. He’s a distinguished social psychologist, the good kind, who often points out zeitgeist applications from the social lens).
I linked Dr. Campbell’s Substack post, but the short version is, there are four “turnings” in a generational cycle that last approximately 80-100 years:
- High: 1st turning. Institutions become strong. More uniformity and solidarity. Think post WWII.
- Awakening: 2nd turning. Push back against institutions. Greater individualism. Typically accompanied by an increased spiritualism and cultural change. Think of the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.
- Unraveling: 3rd turning. Strong distrust of institutions. Fragmented culture. Think of the shift from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
- Crisis: 4th turning. Societal upheaval. Unity around survival.
Throughout history, when things turned, the turning was led by the younger generation. Here are some examples.
When The Younger Generation Steps In
- Post-1960s Backlash: After the cultural revolutions of the 1960s and early 1970s (civil rights, antiwar protests, sexual liberation), a significant segment of the younger generation in the late 1970s and 1980s shifted toward more conservative values. Many became disillusioned with counterculture excesses, instead prioritizing family, law and order, and what they saw as a return to traditional values. This shift fueled the rise of the “Reagan Revolution” and the Moral Majority movement.
- Victorian Reaction: After the upheaval of the Enlightenment and Romantic eras, full of radical politics, individual expression, and challenges to traditional authority, the Victorian generation turned sharply toward discipline, propriety, and family values. Emphasis on the nuclear family and social order echoed throughout society.
- Interwar Period: In Europe, after the chaos of World War I, some young people rejected the liberalism and experimentation of the early 20th century. They gravitated toward movements that emphasized national strength, order, and family stability. Some of these movements took darker turns, but the pattern of rejecting “decadence” in favor of tradition and authority was clear.
- Silent Generation: Coming of age after WWII, the Silent Generation in the U.S. largely rejected radical experimentation in favor of conformity, stability, and family life. They emphasized career, law, and traditional family structures, especially after the upheavals of the Great Depression and global conflict. Their focus on suburban family life and “the rules” is an example of a generational pivot back to order.
Cultural Disillusionment
You have to ask yourself, why are the Gen Zs upset about Kirk’s passing? Why do they care? I don’t remember caring about politics when I was their age. So why now? Perhaps it’s
- The numerous people saying that men can play in women’s sports.
- Or watching mentally ill classmates bring a kitty litter box to school.
- Or seeing that there’s more mental health awareness than ever before in our history, and their classmates are still un-aliving themselves at alarming rates.
Whatever is currently being tried is not working.
Maybe they reached a tipping point. They watched what clearly appeared to be insane. But the adults were saying it was normal. So they trusted them. Until they didn’t. Something in them clicked. They realized, that’s not anywhere near normal. The 17-year-old boy attending his sister’s volleyball game watched a boy claiming to be a girl take over the game… one too many times. They saw one too many kitty litter boxes at a high school.
They have moved from confusion to certainty that authority figures are wrong. They grew up being told to trust the experts, the administrators, the professionals. But then they saw reality contradict the narrative, whether in sports, classrooms, or mental health. The more the grownups insisted, “this is normal,” the louder something inside them whispered, “No, it’s not.” That inner voice is where revolutions begin.
The Turn
They’re responding to a cycle where truth feels like it’s been sacrificed on the altar of feelings, and the pendulum is swinging back. They see that hyper-emphasis on sensitivity and victimhood hasn’t reduced suffering (suicide rates & depression) but has increased it. So they pivot toward strength, family, and reality-based living. Every generation reaches a breaking point with the culture it inherits. For Gen Z, it’s the moment they realized that more “awareness” hasn’t made their friends less suicidal, that endless sensitivity hasn’t made their schools safer, that pretending doesn’t make something true. They’re not cynical about truth, they’re hungry for it. And they’re tired of this “normative” zeitgeist. To them, there’s nothing normative about it.
The Martyred Catalyst
Maybe someone like Kirk poured fuel on an ember that they didn’t even realize they had. Maybe Kirk, like Peterson, called them up to greatness, and it registered deep in their souls. The message resonates not because it’s novel, but because it validates the quiet suspicion that they weren’t crazy after all. When Kirk spoke, Gen Z didn’t just hear an argument, they heard confirmation of what they’d already seen but were afraid to say. That validation turns private doubt into public conviction. It transforms a scattered sense of “something’s off” into a shared movement.
It appears the Fourth Turning is reaching its end. And Gen Z isn’t sitting this one out, they’re saddling up. Ready to drag truth back into the public square. History says the First Turning, the rebuilding, the High, waits just a few years down the road. But before we get there, the storm will rage stronger. Institutions will shake, lies will scream louder, and the pressure will test everyone. And that’s exactly why Gen Z matters.
When you see them stand up against insanity, when they refuse to bow to nonsense, don’t just nod in approval. Cheer them on. Thank them. They are the ones who will carve order out of chaos, who will carry family, faith, and reality into the next era. They’ve seen the madness, and they’re not buying it anymore. Gen Z will be the ones to plant their feet, guard the family, and make normal great again.
Stay Classy GP!
Grainger