Older values such as corporate loyalty and hierarchy are seen as discredited. But there is nothing to take their place. Hence Unravelings are more pessimistic and even nihilistic. Political movements begun out of the idealism of the preceding Awakening may display a distinct dark side. Finally, a national shock occurs, and a Crisis emerges.
Crises are periods of turbulence that can unite or destroy.
In previous Crises, a new national consensus emerged, creating new institutions and values. The country was transformed in ways no one could have predicted. The stage was set for the next cycle, and a new High began. Given this framework, the period that began just after the end of World War II and continued through the 1950s and into the early 1960s was a High. This period still exercises influence via the images of better and safer times conveyed by old television reruns such as Ozzie and Harriet , Leave It To Beaver , and The Andy Griffith Show .