Cultural Chaos: The Great Erase Debate
Why We Need to Stop Canceling the Past and Start Learning from It (Before We All Lose Our Damn Minds)
What is culturally appropriate today? Buckle up, buttercup, because this ride is about to get bumpy. So much has changed in the last 20 years that sometimes I feel like I’ve time-traveled from a world where we used landlines and MySpace to one where people cancel you for breathing too loudly.
Let’s be real: people have a specific period in their lives that shapes them—usually their teenage years when they think their slang is the coolest thing ever (spoiler: it wasn’t). Every generation wants to tweak what the past did to make it better in their eyes. Nothing wrong with that—until you start trying to erase past generations like they were a bad Tinder date.
Here’s the kicker: erasing the past doesn’t make it go away. Trust me, I know a thing or two about trying to shove things into the emotional abyss, and guess what? Trauma is like that weird smell in your fridge—you can ignore it all you want, but it’s still there. And comparing today’s world to the past is like comparing apples to TikToks. Different universe, different rules.
We were told our elders walked uphill both ways in the snow to school (which honestly, feels like a stretch, but who am I to question grandma?). Instead of erasing them, how about learning from them? My grandmothers were absolute queens—wise, loving, and armed with an arsenal of life advice and legendary cooking skills. They weren’t encouraged to be the firecrackers they truly were, but you best believe they passed the torch to the next generation (ahem, me) to shake things up.
But here’s the million-dollar question: How far is too far when coloring outside the lines? The answer? It’s too far when we start resorting to name-calling, cancel culture, and digital torches-and-pitchforks all because we don’t understand each other. Empathy, my friends—it’s an endangered species, and we need to get it back on the conservation list ASAP.
Susie isn’t wrong for wanting to stay home and raise her kids like it’s 1950, and Carol isn’t wrong for wanting to be a boss babe and make it rain. Can we all just chill and appreciate that life isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience? We need different colors on the canvas or else the picture just looks... well, sad and boring.
And let’s talk about the absolute dumpster fire that is modern-day outrage. You can’t yell at a sweet old man for saying “thank you, dear” and then turn around and demand today’s equivalent of the same sentiment. Different times, different norms. And the race-baiting? Can we just not? If I see one more video screaming about who can or cannot practice what tradition, I might just throw my phone into the abyss. We should be teaching, sharing, and celebrating each other—not acting like gatekeeping culture police on power trips.
This world has gotten so divisive that we’re ripping each other apart instead of lifting each other up. It’s exhausting. Maybe, just maybe, instead of getting triggered by every single thing, we take a deep breath, sip a (non-toxic) tea, and remember that we are all humans just trying to figure it out. The world isn’t ending. This isn’t World War III. Relax.
And for the love of all things holy, stop clinging to your metaphorical poo-poo platters of bitterness and division. The past isn’t a horror movie you can fast-forward through—it happened, and it has lessons to teach. Let’s work smarter, not harder, people.
If you made it this far without throwing your phone, congrats! Now, do your part: be kind, be open-minded, and for heaven’s sake, lighten up. The world is a circus, and we’re all just trying to keep our balance on the tightrope. Let’s make it a fun show instead of a tragedy, shall we?
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