It seems that as a global society we lost our dream of a better future, an optimistic outlook that things will get better and humanity will progress futher by working together and solving our global problems, including a vision of Space Exploration that was mirrored in Sci-Fi books and series (like Star Trek etc.) - and it has been replaced by an inward look, focusig on the ecological destruction of our planet, a bleak future dominated by capitalistic, autocratic societies overexploiting our natural resources, and no or little hope of a better future.
And I fear that this is the more realistic view of our future. That would make the end if the ISS a tragic symbol of a future paradise lost.