The Great Unwokening
How America’s Cultural Pendulum Swings Back to Sanity
America’s latest cultural revolt isn’t fought with muskets or manifestos—it’s waged through burger commercials and beer ads.
The “Great Unwokening” is here, marked by a collective eye-roll toward performative social justice and a nostalgic embrace of common sense, self-reliance, and the radical notion that not everything needs to be a sermon.
Let’s unpack how history’s “snap backs” foreshadowed this moment—and why your dad’s favorite Super Bowl ad might just be a revolutionary act.
A Hidden History of Cultural Snap-Backs
Every progressive lurch in history eventually meets its regressive counterpart—a backlash to the backlash. The early 20th-century Progressive Movement, for instance, sought to dismantle America’s founding principles of limited government, dismissing natural rights as outdated and replacing them with state-driven “human fulfillment.”
But by the 1980s, fears of societal decay (think:Parents Music Resource Center panicking over Madonna’s lyrics) sparked a return to “traditional values,” proving that pendulum swings are as American as apple pie.
Today’s unwokening mirrors these cycles. After a decade of brands tripping over themselves to virtue-signal—see: Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Solves Police Brutality ad—consumers are voting with their wallets.
Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco (and Kid Rock’s very subtle critique involving an assault rifle) isn’t just about beer—it’s a rebellion against corporations conflating marketability with moral posturing.
The Adpocalypse: Woke Campaigns vs. Common Sense
Brands are scrambling to ditch the cringe. Consider:
Carl’s Jr. resurrecting its iconic “patriotic cheeseburger voyeurism” ads after a failed woke pivot. Nothing says “we’re sorry” like a model in a flag bikini.
Nike’s Colin Kaepernick gamble, which sparked both boycotts and record sales—a reminder that even “woke” wins come with asterisks.
Traditional advertising’s comeback: Marketers are fleeing digital clutter for trusted TV and print ads, where viewers aren’t bombarded with pre-roll lectures on toxic masculinity.
The lesson?
Consumers crave authenticity, not activism. As one study found, anonymous social media users criticize “woke” ads twice as hard as they admit in surveys—proving that online mobs aren’t the silent majority.
The Unwoken Playbook: Accountability, Laughter, and Cold Hard Truth
This isn’t a rejection of progress—it’s a rejection of perpetual performative guilt. The Unwoken manifesto?
Own Your Mess: Cancel culture’s on life support. The new flex? Saying “I screwed up, my bad” and moving on. Radical!
Laugh or Die Trying: Comedy’s back, baby. The unwoken dare to joke about gasp… everything. Because if you can’t roast your own missteps, are you even human?
Self-Reliance > Hashtags: Why tweet “#FixTheSystem” when you could fix your leaky sink? The unwoken aren’t waiting for bureaucrats or billionaires to save them. They’re too busy adulting.
Why This Isn’t a Fad (No, Really)
Three reasons the unwokening’s got staying power:
The Trust Collapse: 78% of Gen Z now finds “woke” brands insincere. Translation: Scripted empathy flops harder than a Marvel sequel.
The Fun Deficit: Life’s too short for 10-page HR manuals on “inclusive pumpkin carving.” The unwoken are reviving joy—unfiltered, unapologetic, and occasionally un-PC.
The Blame Game Backlash: Yes, systemic issues exist. But the unwoken are done using them as excuses. Their motto? “Control what you can. Fix what you can’t. Complain about neither.”
The Bottom Line: Make America Chill Again
The Great Unwokening isn’t a war on progress—it’s a ceasefire on nonsense. It’s moms opting for Chuck E. Cheese over diversity seminars. It’s dads grilling burgers while ignoring Twitter tirades about “grill-patriarchy.”
And yes, it’s Trump at the Super Bowl, smirking like he just won Bingo against the “snowflakes.”
This isn’t nostalgia. It’s course correction.
Because somewhere along the way, we forgot that life’s too absurd to take seriously.
So here’s to the unwoken—the ones rediscovering the thrill of unscripted living. Pass the beer, ditch the sermon, and let the pendulum swing.
Until I write again —
Your Partner in the Quest for
Living a Life Without Limits,
Barry “Bear” Goss
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Extra Credit
Watch this 12-min video, which inspired the commentary above:
Most of my friends have not swung or yet to swing.