May 4, 2026

In the 1920s Hermann Hesse watched as world leaders "strain every nerve, and with success, to get the next war going". At the same time much of the population goes on with their lives as if it is business as usual, they "dance the fox trot, earn money, and eat chocolates". This contrast makes him think very poorly about the state of the world and the people who make it up.

He says, "Let us hope that other times were better, and will be better again". Even though "that is no help to us now". He ends by speculating that "perhaps [the world] has always been the same".

Unfortunately, our present times seem to mirror exactly the state of the world almost 100 years ago. On top of all the other wars going on, we are now told by our president that we will be trying to take over another sovereign nation "almost immediately".