We live in a post-rebellion society. As a nation, we are selfish and apathetic, uncaring about issues that do not directly affect us. Right now, as we are generally prosperous and happy, we feel little need to rebel or protest. In the past, however, many citizens had need of certain rights and liberties, such as equity between the sexes and homosexual freedoms. Another prime example of us only wanting to deal with issues of direct association would be the Vietnam War, which had a profound impact upon the US (and therefore a large impact on Canada) as they were directly involved with it. Now that these issues are looked upon more liberally or have been dealt with, much of the rebellion and protestation against them has been dropped.
In addition, eras of rebellion tend to happen after times of devastation, for example, the roaring twenties post-WWI. Social upheaval also began as we began to fully recover from WWII, entering into the Vietnam War. During the 60's, one rights movement instigated another in a domino-like progression. This chain of events acted on a trigger, and settled down before the 90's. Part of the reason we may not be so inclined to rebel at the moment is that we are lacking such a trigger.
Another aspect of eras of rebellion that come to mind is the relevance of popular culture: the 60's were a time of peacemaking and social activism; the 70's the peak of the hippie era and sexual liberation; and the 80's had a remarkable impact on fashion and music. Cultural influences during those times played an important role in how people would rebel, particularly youth and young adults, who were at the time abundant due to the baby boom. However, these attitudes did not carry on into modern times. Right now, we are lacking many cultural factors that will influence us to rebel. Contemporary times are the era communication, and therefore the era of distraction. Although we have more world media availability than ever before, it seems like we are doing less to aid others globally. Perhaps it is that we feel powerless in the face of all the negativity in the world; swamped with so many different causes that we choose to ignore them all.
It is indeed strange that with every right and resource we gain, we begin to show more and more disinterest in others achieving the same. Contemporary Canadian society has almost gone past the age of rebellion, becoming self-absorbed and hedonistic in its pursuits. There are certainly exceptions to this, but protests or rebellions happening now are miniscule compared to those that occurred only 30 years ago. Canadians should start to take more interest in the world, and in global affairs, now that most of us are enjoying the freedoms we fought for in the past.
