The sorry tale of the 20th century can give us a little perspective on our current difficulties
MAY I share this quote on perspective, credited to Koushik Roy in the ‘Times of India’: “For a small amount of perspective at this moment, imagine you were an American, and born in 1900.
“When you are 14, World War I starts, and ends on your 18th birthday with 22 million people killed.
“Later in the year, a Spanish Flu epidemic hits the planet and runs until you are 20. Fifty million people die from it in those two years. (Yes, 50 million.)
“When you’re 29, the Great Depression begins. Unemployment hits 25pc, global GDP drops 27pc. That runs until you are 33. The country nearly collapses along with the world economy.
“When you turn 39, World War II starts. You aren’t even over the hill yet.
“When you’re 41, the United States is fully pulled into WWII. Between your 39th and 45th birthdays, 75 million people perish in the war and the Holocaust alone kills six million.
“At 52, the Korean War starts and five million perish.
“Approaching your 62nd birthday you have the Cuban Missile Crisis, a tipping point in the Cold War. Life on our planet, as we know it, could well have ended. Great leaders prevented that from happening.
“At 64, the Vietnam War begins, and it doesn’t end for many years. Four million people die in that conflict.
“As you turn 75, the Vietnam War finally ends.
“Think of everyone on the planet born in 1900. How do you survive all of that? A kid in 1985 didn’t think their 85-yearold grandparent understood how hard school was. Yet those grandparents (and now great grandparents) survived through everything listed above.
“Perspective is an amazing art. Let’s try and keep things in perspective. Let’s be smart, help each other out, and we will get through all of this.”
Robert Verschoyle Ballymurn, Co Wexford