| | | You are likely old enough to have accepted your age and have become comfortable with it.
I am younger than most people here and I can tell you I am not comfortable with it. Nor do I think that most people are good with it even at an older age. I still remember my great grandma cussing old age and thinking about her younger days. When she was by herself in a corner, she would take out her pocket mirror and spend time beautifying herself. So I don't think she ever resigned herself to being old.
National psyche and memory is a real thing. You grow up learning about your country, how it was founded, and key moments in history, and you carry some essence of that narrative with you. This is how some countries can end up hating each other even though none of their people were present when whatever the cause of dispute is happened. It is also how nations forge the path forward. They look at their history and figure out what they did at similar times and how they survived. That is easier if you are China with 5000+ years of history than if you are America. For China, no matter the problem, there is a blueprint on what to do or not to do. For America it is not as easy. You see that you are the lone superpower, but you don't feel as strong and as prosperous as you think you should be. That pisses one off.
Of course, as the saying goes, 'The older I get, the better I was'. Which is another thing that America is struggling with. |
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