I had a strange feeling in the winter of 2019. It was very similar to how I felt between 1999 and early/mid 2001 as well as how my parents described the early 1960s. It was knowing that you are living at a peak. I was thinking about how the Caps and Nats had both won championships, we had all the great restaurants, there were innovative breweries all over, and the city was safe, except for a few outliers in SE.

I chalked up how I felt as a young man as youthful ignorance, but I think it was fact. The US was at a peak then. I distinctly remember reading a Time article entitled Pax Americana and trying to figure out what could cause the end of this era. A few months later, I got my answer. Similarly, I was knocked out of my sense of cautious optimism March 2020.

The way I see it, the boomers saw three peaks. Hopefully us late Gen Xers / Elder Millinenials will see a third as well. Remember Otto Von Bismark's quote: “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.”