When Will the Roaring 20s Start?

Things were going to be so good this decade, right? We had visions of Gatsby parties, exciting new inventions, and all of us entering adulthood. But all we’ve gotten so far is a global pandemic, the death of a sporting legend, devasting bushfires across Australia, and the worst economy for nearly 100 years. So, will the roaring 20s happen like they did last century? You might be pleased to know that the 1920s started in a similar, discouraging, sort of way.

Firstly, the world had just come out of WWI, which took 8.5 million lives. This, as you can imagine, led to bad morale across the world and people were really struggling with the losses of loved ones and livelihoods. This was compounded by the global pandemic of the Spanish Flu in 1918. It infected 500 million people and killed nearly 50 million. Together, these two events brought on a generally forgotten depression in 1920/21, with inflation rates growing by 20%. This situation sounds all too familiar to what we’re going through now, luckily apart from the world war (although we nearly had one of those too).

What came next in 20th century history is what should give us hope. It’s what springs to mind when someone says the 1920s: The Roaring 20s. Gatsby, flapper dresses and newfound wealth all come to thought whenever it’s mentioned. So, as our economies are crashing all over the world, we can remain hopeful. The economy in the 1920s rose by 42%, so, despite the current high unemployment and poor economy, it’s possible that history might repeat itself, as it so often does. From a creative angle, there have also been new inventions and creations that were the result of lockdowns of the past, like Shakespeare’s King Lear. So, whilst we all wait at home, we can be hopeful that there are people, maybe like you, that are busy creating, and that when we can go out again, it will be a better and new world.

So, let’s try not to worry about how badly this year has gone so far. Really, the new decade will start in 2021, as Jesus was born in 1AD, not 0AD. Let’s get all the bad stuff out the way this year, so that this time next year we can hope we’re not reading this from our bedrooms at home. Instead, we may still have masks on, but we’ll be at school or university with our friends, or possibly somewhere else exciting around the world.