Yes, we have grown up in a different era. "I been hit too hard, seen too much" Dylan sang in 1997 on Time Out Of Mind.

I did not read Gide's book, but his journals and he went there with hope of a reality that wasn't there. And when he went off the beaten path (past the showroom floor, so to speak) he saw horrors that could not be swept under the rug/

But his criticisms weren't just of that. I re-read a port of his journal last night and he said the people had flat, dehumanized expressions. There was no joy. They were lifeless.

Doubts and asking questions are good. That's a Socratic approach that is valid. If we never resolve anything or believe anything, that isn't so good.

What surprises me is how people, moved by emotion, seem not to have any bearings at all. Rational people need to operate out of a position that they have internally established, not be jellyfish going where the ocean currents take them.

Thanks for your thoughts