I have been intrigued by the notion of the “Keeper of the List.” Who or what is pulling the strings? It seems like there is always something reshaping our culture and society—some are in pursuit of a more perfect union, and some seem to be taking us down a rabbit hole. If you live long enough, you understand that the process is unending. As soon as we have accepted one cultural shift, another one is waiting in the wings. After a while, you wonder who is driving the unending stream of changes. Who or what has the list we seem to be following? Somewhere in that mystery is a novel.
I have created a list starting with the United Nations of transforming movements and events that led to or contributed to cultural shifts. I would welcome additions that I may have overlooked. Here is my list:
UN (United Nations) - 1945
Book - "Silent Spring" - 1962
School Prayer Banned - 1962
Desegregation - Mainly 1954-1968 (Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 through the Civil Rights Act of 1968)
Civil Rights Act - 1964
Voting Rights Act - 1965
Immigration and Nationality Act - 1965
Interracial Marriage Legalized in all states - 1967 (Loving v. Virginia)
1966—1979 emergence of postmodernism philosophy Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean-François Lyotard
Move to Fiat Money - 1971 (President Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard)
World Population Control - 1970s (Though concerns have been raised since the 18th century, the modern "population control" movement became significant in the 1970s.)
Planned Parenthood - It has been around since 1916, but it became particularly prominent after the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
PETA, Save the Whales, and Animal Rights Movement - 1970s-1980s.
Deinstitutionalize Mental Patients - began in the 1960s but had the most significant effects in the 1970s and 1980s.
Affirmative Action - 1970s (although its roots can be traced to the Civil Rights Act of 1964)
Non-Smoking Policies - Became prominent in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Transhumanism
Americans with Disabilities Act - 1990
War Against Coal / Climate Change Movements - Late 1980s-present
Genetic Modified Food Products - 1990s
Gay Pride - Gained momentum in the 1970s post-Stonewall, but significant advancements in the 1990s and 2000s. Bill Clinton established June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 1999.
Community Relations Service - Established in 1964 but increased in importance during the 1990s.
Push for Universal Health Care - Periodically throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, but significant momentum in the 1990s and 2000s, culminating in the Affordable Care Act in 2010
Bioconservatism [Francis Fukuyama's critique of transhumanism in his 2002 book "Our Posthuman Future" is one marker of this.]
Renaming Movement / State and Region Flag Banning and Redesign - Most prominently from the 2000s onward
Same-Sex Marriage - Became prominent in the 2000s and culminated in the Supreme Court decision in 2015.
Globalization and Move for New World Order - Notably from the 1990s and 2000s
Cryptocurrency - 2009 with the introduction of Bitcoin
Rise of Big Tech - 2000s onwards
Black Lives Matter Movement - 2013
War on Fossil Fuels - Ongoing, but most significant since the mid-2010s
Zero-Waste Campaign - Became more prominent from the mid-2010s onwards.
Gun Control Debates - Have been ongoing for decades but have become particularly prominent in the 2010s.
Legalization of Marijuana - Became more widespread from the mid-2010s onwards.
Pronoun Choice / Trans Movement - Gained significant prominence in the 2010s.
Monument Removal - Became a significant issue particularly in the 2010s.
Cancelling Movement / Book Cancelling - Most significant in the 2010s and 2020s
Males in Women's Sports - Became a topic of significant discussion in the 2010s and 2020s.
Abolish Police Movement - Notably from 2020s (Post George Floyd)
Covid and Government Expansion of Control - 2020s
Cashless Bail - Has been a topic of discussion since the 2010s but gained significant attention during the protests in 2020.
Facial Recognition - Became a significant topic in the late 2010s and 2020s.
Editing Previous Works of Literature - Has been done for centuries but became a particular controversy in the 2020s.
Universal Basic Income Movement - Has gained traction in the 2010s and 2020s.
Reparations Movement - Has been discussed for many years but became a major topic of political discourse in the 2020s.
Move to AI - Has been ongoing, but most significantly in the 2020s.
Move for Digital Money - Became more prominent in the 2020s, following the rise of cryptocurrencies.
Critical Race Theory - Dates back to the 1980s, but it has become a significant topic of political and cultural discourse in the 2020s.
###
All my books are available from your favorite neighborhood bookstore or online source. Ebook and print editions are also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. For signed copies go to my website, tomcollinsauthor.com. Exploring Asheville was the 2022 winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for its literary category. My novel, Beyond Visual Range, was NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction.