That these narratives have been pushed so hard tells me that the managerial class has separated from the general population. Those involved in our higher education system, media, and politics have now thoroughly lost touch with reality, and with the non-"educated" (=intellectually corrupted) population around them. Serious emotional destruction has taken over the "upper" levels of our society. Add the pharma element to this (SSRIs, etc), and we have the perfect storm for really really fucked up people. Simultaneously, these really fucked up people are precisely the same ones who believe they know what the "correct" direction is that society should be "progressing", and here we are. Miserable control and power freaks trying to make society mirror their own misery. Finally, in order to achieve their ends, they realize they will have to "eliminate" those of us who don't want to go along on this ride. The times are very dark. Let's hope they come just before the dawn. Any darker is a truly scary thought.