Worst Historical Events of my 74 Year Historical Period

In a more sober, sad mood, I continue to celebrate my birthday pondering the evil events of my lifetime.

1. The Cultural Revolution after 1965 was the defining catastophe for the West and the globe: rejection of Tradition, authority, religion; genocide of the unborn; rupture of sexuality from marriage, family, fertility and meaning; deconstruction of masculinity/femininity; eventually surrender to nihilism and despair.

2. The triumph of Communism in China, its global expansion, its brutal repression of religion and freedom, its Cultural Revolution, its allies in North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

3. The demise of the robust (if less than perfect) post-war American and European Catholic Churches in the wake of the Cultural Revolution, sexual liberalism, and a decadent culture of materialism, consumerism, and indulgence.This includes the surrender of a critical mass of Catholics to the Democratic Party's regime of sexual licence and annihilation of the powerless/innocent.

4. The breakdown of the family as well as intermediate communities (neighborhood, civil, voluntary, ecclesial), the isolation of the individual, and the expansion of the mega-state and global corporations.

5.The polarization of American society into the haves/have-nots, rich/poor, the secular-liberal elite and the reactive populist lower class.

7. The explosion of a violent, regressive, misogynist but fervent Islam across the globe including terrorism and persecution of Christians.

8. The malignant growth of technological, scientific, bureaucratic, corporate and governmental institutions of inhuman size to the detriment of the persons, communities and the environment.

We live in dark, evil times. Weighing the good with the bad over this period I would have to give the advantage to the bad...except that the number 1 on the prior list, the lives of the holy ones, far outweighs the darkness. The win goes to John Paul, Mother Theresa and the communion of saints.