It's come to my attention through talking with many friends, family, and the internet (Yea, I chuckled to) that people actually believe a end is near. No, not in the "crazy unwashed man at the corner" way, but the "Random News sources" way. I couldn't imagine how they muddled through each day believing such a dreary and utterly rediculous idea! I being a slick cat that I am, pressed these people for more info; Not only do they believe the world is going to end, but going to end because the world is in such dire straits!
Well, it was too much for me to stand. My mind is muddled with thought, so i'll present what I can in a list form for easier access. I don't like to mince words to much, so these are just skeletal thought arguments:
- We live in a unpresented time of wealth, information, safety, plenty, and technology. How can we look at history and think we're worse off then at any moment in history? Pick a date in history that looks like a better situation then we are in now, anyone will do. Research your brains out on this time and you'll soon realise just how grateful you were born in this paticular era.
- Do you honestly believe the world is ending? Do you want to come up to me and say with the strait face that Katrina, Bush, and Terrorists are the catalyst for an apocolyptic event. Oh, please.
The worlds has gone though unimaginable horrors to the like you couldn't possible study in one lifetime. The violent formings of continents! The bloody and seemingly endless wars of our past! The raping, death, and pillaging of seemingly countless counties and peoples! All to overshadowed by the silly trivialities of the world at this very moment.
The happenings of our time are mere pimples on the ass of this earth.
Totally. ^_^
Actually, we are this close to making the end of the world a non-issue with respect to the end of humanity. Not too long from now we will have advanced to the point that even if the Earth is made unlivable somehow - by war, virus, weather, whatever - our species will go on. I don't imagine that too long after that, we'll find a way to survive the destruction of the entire solar system... and eventually the galaxy (although, this one will probably take a bit longer ^_^)... and eventually, maybe even the universe (don't hold your breath).
Even today, though we are not there yet, we have the technology and the knowledge to know what we need to know to be able to survive just about any disaster - and that may not sound like much, but it's a rather significant step towards the ultimate goal of survival. We can run analyses to determine the minimum viable human population to have a statistically high probability of surviving despite natural disasters, genetic depression, etc - I believe it's around 50,000 people. We already have the technological capability to sustain 50 kilopeople in enclosed environments for an indefinite period, given enough advance warning.
As for terrorists, sure, they may have more ways to hurt more of us today than they had 50 or 100 years ago, but we have more ways to fight back, too. I think what people can't separate in their minds is that while our civilization is so complex and delicate that it may not be hard to destroy our way of life, that's only temporary, and certainly not the same as destroying the world. Terrorists can throw us into financial turmoil if they manage to nuke the world's financial districts, but I can assure you the species will survive, and rebuild.
This may be the first time in history when the end truly is near, but not the end of humanity, the end of worrying about the end of humanity.
| UlrikeSE wrote: |
| Pick a date in history that looks like a better situation then we are in now, |
How about before humans ever existed? The world was much better off then, I would suppose. | ocalhoun wrote: |
How about before humans ever existed? The world was much better off then, I would suppose. |
I can only speak from experience or intelligent speculation. I don't think i'd readily give up the warm glow of my computer for stick/hide shack a couple thousand years ago. 
The idea that things are so much better now assumes that you live in an industrial nation and are not one of the three quarters of the world living under the poverty line.
| mike1reynolds wrote: |
| The idea that things are so much better now assumes that you live in an industrial nation and are not one of the three quarters of the world living under the poverty line. |
No doubt about it. Which is why i'm posing the argument among similiar people, like yourself, and not in African slums on my soap-box. My words are in response to those who made the originated comments that the world was ending, and I was saying that it isn't.
Poverty is poverty in any era, but can you say it's worse then it's ever been. Were there foundations utterly devoted to sending food, clothing, and even toys to the utterly destitute say...300 years ago? Would you rather be poor now, then 500 years ago?
A simple 30 year old bicycle can provide more for a poor person today, then any invention could for a poor person XXX years ago. Among thousands, I could make similiar examples.Sounds a lot like rationalized complacency to me. Who ever said that just because things seem nice now means that things can't go to hell in a hand basket sooner or later. I can think of several sources of trouble both natural and man-made (so much for technology saving us).
1. Pandemic - One nice sneaky viral pandemic either natural or man made could write the end for a good many people if it's not stopped in time. The good news is they are normally never stopped but tend to die out on their own. That doesn't mean that it has to nessasarily die out though. The current pandemic is avian flu. Who's to say that something worse isn't around the corner. Even bactirial infections are starting to develope defences against antibiotics because of theiir wide spread use.
2. Major Natural Disaster - You mentioned that in the past that the Earth has gone through a lot of changes. What makes you think that they are over with? A major natural disaster such as the Yellowstone Caldera erupting will have global effects on a major scale. We are talking major ice age that should last long after all major life forms have starved to death. That's by no means the only thing that could go wrong of course. There is major impacts by asteroids and such. Did you know that scientists have speculated that the magnetic poles of the Eath are not as stable as thay seem? THey discovered that at certain intervals the magnetic poles actually reverse themselves. Ought to be interesting to see what effect this will have on the enviroment in general, on technilogy in particular.
3. Poor Stewardship - This is slow death compared to the others. Our much vaunted technology turned against us. Seems the more negative enviromental changes we see the louder the powers that be (usually the ones causing the problems) and their talking head puppets insist that there is no problem. Probably by the time they get around to acknowledging that there is a real problem it may be too late to fix it if it can be fixed. Until then it will be business as usual because doing something about it now might cut into the bottom line.
THe way people get through all this is not by putting their head in the sand and pretending "Nothing bad can happen", but by accepting that somethings can't be helped and it doesn't do any good to worry about it. However closing your eyes to the things that can be helped and doing nothing about it (poor stewardship) means we are just getting what we deserve.
One thing different between now and say 50 years ago is that man has less love for his fellow man. You are constantly hearing about parents killing their children, you have more people preying on children (in that I mean, sexual predators).
While we do have more ways to help people than we did 50 years ago, we also have more ways to hurt. We now have children taking guns to school and killing people. There are more gangs now then there were 50 years ago. These gangs are all about bringing terror to people, they seem to enjoy killing. Our prisons are overcrowded and we're constantly having to expand them to make room for everyone.
The general attitude of people seems to be, "What have you done for me lately?" instead of how can I help others. Some people have the attitude that if it feels good, do it. Don't worry if it hurts someone else.
By disagreeing with some people, you can actually get killed, I'm not talking about religions differences, I'm talking about if you're driving down the street and cut someone off, you run the chance of that person killing you. Anger seems to be closer to the surface than it used to.
You can't walk down the street without worrying about getting killed. I can't send my children to the store because I have to worry about them being taken. I have to worry over them on the internet because of sexual predators or of seeing things at 5 and 9 that they shouldn't see.
No, things aren't better, only more convenient.
| livilou wrote: |
| One thing different between now and say 50 years ago is that man has less love for his fellow man. You are constantly hearing about parents killing their children, you have more people preying on children (in that I mean, sexual predators). |
You hear about it more because mass media has only been around for scant percentage of human history. Even so, there are countless reasons why you never heard about it. It's not uncommon for families of the past to cover up murders, blame others, or even bride officials of such happenings. In very small sect towns in the mid-west even, you get pregnant for any reason before your married and your an outcast, and the law is probably the only thing keeping you alive.
| Quote: |
| While we do have more ways to help people than we did 50 years ago, we also have more ways to hurt. We now have children taking guns to school and killing people. There are more gangs now then there were 50 years ago. These gangs are all about bringing terror to people, they seem to enjoy killing. Our prisons are overcrowded and we're constantly having to expand them to make room for everyone. |
Again, mass-media. If you grew up 50 years ago, closely around the suburban sprawl, gangs were as many in number as today. Teenage boredom led ti teenage stupididty, such incidents were known and probably influenced "The Outsiders", "West Side Story", "Grease", and "Rebel Without A Cause" to name a few.
Let's not forget the higher crime, the one our kids ideolize today. The Italian Mob at it's hight was worse then anything you could probably find today.
| Quote: |
The general attitude of people seems to be, "What have you done for me lately?" instead of how can I help others. Some people have the attitude that if it feels good, do it. Don't worry if it hurts someone else. |
That's human nature since day one.
| Quote: |
By disagreeing with some people, you can actually get killed, I'm not talking about religions differences, I'm talking about if you're driving down the street and cut someone off, you run the chance of that person killing you. Anger seems to be closer to the surface than it used to. |
Seriously now, this attitude is tame to the past. Go skip down a dirt path 200 years ago in Hungary, you would of been run through without second thought. And say your killer was caught, what scientific proof could they provide? DNA evidence, finger prints..? It's not like they would need it though, a good amount of money could cover up anything. Hey, say you didn't like your neighbor! You could fake some epileptic siezures and say they cast dark curses on you or point and say "Communist! YOUR A BLOODY RUSKIE!", and they'd probably have a happy little jail cell for them.
| Quote: |
You can't walk down the street without worrying about getting killed. I can't send my children to the store because I have to worry about them being taken. I have to worry over them on the internet because of sexual predators or of seeing things at 5 and 9 that they shouldn't see.
No, things aren't better, only more convenient. |
Every era has a reason for you not to walk down your street, and the reasons will never vanish. You think their weren't pedophiles, it's some new invention? Go back years and you'd have pedophiles who don't have the internet to get lost to, no pictures to release themselves on. Predators are less dangerous because we actually have started to fight it, and thus hear about it alot more. Did we have Megan's Law, chemical castration, child protective service, or websites that constantly supervise and tell us where convicted molestors are stationed? No, we really didn't.
For our ancestors it was lions, fuedal lords, witch hunters, crossfire, English storm-troopers, landmines, wolves, and unlikable rich dudes. If anything, you child is safer today then any moment in history.I am not worried about the end. If there is an ending, it will be appropriate for the time period. If war brings us down, so be it. We deserve it for fighting. It's like mother nature's (or nuclear bombs) way to say "GO TO YOUR ROOM!" If we all suddenly fly through a black hole, oh well. There is nothing we can do about that. If "you" think terrorism is enough to bring an end, think again. I, myself, don't let terrorism or hatred influence my life.
If "you" are scared about the things happening in societies today, don't be. The first thing anyone should do is DON'T LISTEN TO THE MEDIA. The media is often wrong and relies on these stories of murder and rape to attract attention. The media is all about money. However, more and more people are allowing television to control their lives. While it is true that you hear about a lot more crimes being committed today than you did in the past, remember that we did not have international news networks running television shows 24/7 in 1960. This also links to what I stated above, since more and more people have stopped thinking for themselves and have let TV and the media take control of their thoughts.
As long as we can keep this talk of "the end of the world" out of our communities, nothing bad can happen. The more we think about this issue, the more people will give into it. Think about this: Most people do not think original thoughts. Everything we have established was based on someone else's work. Just think about that, instead. Think about how copyright laws restrict the world around us, if you have to.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that people will copy other people, and they will copy what they hear on television (and much more often than the internet, because people on TV are often professional, or at least appear/claim to be). With news anchors that don't seem to have any opinion about the stories they broadcast, people will be likely to pick up the wrong message. The news is just reinforcing crime. It just doesn't help.
Why don't we do something nice for someone today/tomorrow? Mother's Day is right around the corner!
By the way, I tried to write this before I read the whole topic, as to not be influenced by other's posts.
Oh, and Indi, I love your avatar. It's perfect for this discussion. 
Usually, I think that it's a balance between thinking that we are worse off than we ever have been, or the best ever. If the general consensus was that we are as good as we can get, there is no incentive for change. However, accepting the "end times" gives another excuse for not making change because it "doesn't matter" in the big picture. I suppose both the extremes allow a safety blanket to people that don't want to think about an uncertain and random future.
Part of that uncertainty comes from the fact that over the last hundred years humans have advanced to the point where we could destroy the world quite easily. This furthur unpredictability, in addition to natural forces, pushes more people to a state of non-involvement because it "doesn't matter."
Of course it could be the end times, but it is our and humanity's free will that determines that course. We can't plan for every eventuality, but we cannot stand frozen in the headlights. It's risk management on a global scale.
- 2c 
