Millennialism in America: Recent Studies
L. Sweet
Sep 1, 1979
Citations
5
Citations
Journal
Theological Studies
Full text
Semantic Scholar
Key Takeaway Key Takeaway: Americans are less likely to believe in the future or envision themselves as its fulfillment, leading to a loss of a sense of the future and a lack of faith in our ability to control our own future.
Abstract
The trouble with the present, it has been said, is that the future isn't what it used to be. Comparison of our centennial and bicentennial celebrations tends to substantiate that claim. On July 4,1876, the American people focused their attention on local patriotic celebrations and on the international Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, where twentyfive per cent of the American population gathered during the Exposition's six-month lifespan to celebrate the marvelous achievements of one hundred years and to examine inventions and ideas designed for improving life in this "land of the future." On July 4, 1976, the masses of Americans, after having been encouraged to "do your own thing" by the Bicentennial Commission, relaxed on beaches or in backyards, joining other Americans only to watch on TV eighteen tall ships from around the globe sail into New York harbor. Americans flew into the tricentennial on the wings of nostalgia, hedonism, presentism, and pessimism. Having lost what Jacob Bronowski called in 1948 "A Sense of the Future," the American people no longer feel equal to the future, much less envision themselves as the future's fulfilment. "We are not afraid of the future because of a bomb. We are afraid of bombs because we have no faith in the future. We no longer have faith in our ability, as individuals or as nations, to control our own future." Americans are prone neither to believe in the future nor, as Robert Frost contended was more indigenous