Welcome to Z-Pack:.your antidote to the 24/7 news cycle. Cut through the noise, understand what matters, and get on with your week - in less than 10 minutes.

If this is your first Z-Pack, welcome - I'm Zach.

_{The vibe-killer disclaimer: The opinions in this post and all other posts only represent myself and do not represent the opinions of my employer or any groups I am a member of.
This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.}

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The Crazy Dance with Nostalgia

The other day, I woke up to a sea of red.

I was busy processing this, until my feed hit me with a left hook.

I know, it’s quite the jump to go from the current stock market crash to the demise of the McDonald’s PlayPlace, but they’re like two sides of the same coin: nostalgia.

Nostalgia hits hard when the present feels uncertain. Suddenly, 2019 doesn’t look that bad compared to our stock market in free fall, and even the tackiness of a 1990s McDonald's aesthetic feels like a lost utopia compared to its current corporate aesthetic.

But like a crazy ex, you remember the ^highs of the past, while conveniently looking over the _lowwwwws.

Thanks, Mark.

Now here are some tips on how to handle nostalgia.

_{No, I’m not here to lecture you on tariffs today (that’s what this post is for).}

The Past’s Trend is the Present’s Novelty

Remember McDonald’s old ‘creative’ aesthetic, like I showed you above? And their PlayPlaces? The neon, the plastic chaos, the unapologetic tackiness. You may have loved them as a kid, but all the adults thought they were homogenous, cheap, and obnoxious.

Inescapably ugly, if you will.

What was the past’s insufferable trend is the present’s precious rarity.

Just take a look at this guy’s take below, which ignores this reality entirely. He argues that today’s up-and-coming American cities (like Austin, Nashville, Scottsdale) are dominated by a ‘slop’ aesthetic — meaning, they all have the same beer gardens, scooters, axe throwing, and group fitness.

And he may be right… to a degree.

But I’m sorry, do you remember what it was like before? Did you prefer the cheap crappy beer and gym deserts of decades past? Good luck finding a dope Amber Ale from the mini market.

My point here is this:

🔶 It’s the cycle of culture — what’s usually commonplace today becomes nostalgic tomorrow. Hated by the parents but loved by the kids, especially in a country like ours, which has always been loose and fast with our ever-changing combinations of food, music, and aesthetics generation to generation.

🔶 Everything has a lifespan — there are no longer any Neanderthals, only us; there are no longer any Romans, but Italians; there are no more pay-phones, just cellphones.

_{Note: I was inspired by this guy’s post.}

The Johnson Treatment & Selective Amnesia

It’s wild to see so many movements calling for some kind of return to the past (like MAHA - Make America Healthy Again).

For example, some of them argue that food was healthier before. But… was it? Sure, microplastics may not be great (they sure sound scary), but you know what else isn’t? Starvation.

Modern food preservation, with its plastic wrapping, fertilizers and pesticides, is one of the reasons why billions of people can eat every day.

This shows up even in politics.

On one side, you have the right romanticizing a nonexistent golden age, one where there was a perfect family unit (ignoring the rampant domestic abuse), food was pure (bland and spoiled quickly), and everyone got along (forget about segregation!).

And on the left, they can get all poetic about revolutionary eras that were, in reality, violent, messy, and far from utopian.

Some try even try and argue that politics in the old days was more civil.

Of course we can and should do better… but did you ever hear about the Johnson Treatment?

President Linden B. Johnson (LBJ) was infamous for physically overbearing you — touching, grabbing, spitting, cornering you for hours, to get what he needed out of you.

He was so well known for this that it was dubbed the Johnson Treatment.

The guy also had a friend called Jumbo…

Politicians obviously say some crazy stuff now, but I don’t know if I would call it worse than even this small example from LBJ.

Everything is Ending Everywhere Every Day.

One of my favorite authors, Morgan Housel, once shared a 1920s Atlantic Monthly quote complaining about how the previous generation left the world in shambles:

"The older generation had certainly pretty well ruined this world before passing it on to us."

Sound familiar? Every generation thinks the one before it had it easier.

Scientists even pinpointed when we think music peaked: whenever we were teenagers. Of course! The power of nostalgia. _{On a side note: it does look like music is getting much more repetitive, which may mean less creative.}

I think history moves like a pendulum — back and forth, but gradually, over time, in the right direction. Don’t fool yourself — this isn’t automatic. It requires the blood, sweat, and tears of millions of people pushing this rock up the hill, every day.

Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. But bringing back the past won’t save the future.

So, what bygone era has you in a chokehold? Was it really how you think it was?

Or do you just miss the McDonald’s ball pit?

Thanks for taking the Pack,

Zach

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.