[Sencha]

I probably already know the answer, but I think it needed to be asked. I never remember so much world turmoil in my life. My heart aches for the 1990's. That's where my fondest memories were, and when comparing that decade to the new millenium, I really, really miss it.

Its an addiction of mine to be kept up on the news, I think I visit alternative media sites everyday. Its like monitoring the crashing of the world around me. I can't believe it could get this bad. The evironment, government, society, war. WTF is going on? It almost seems surreal. I really can't humor myself with the idea of living a peaceful, fairly prosperous, wonderfully average life anymore.

I couldn't look at a history textbook and read about world wars and economic depressions and think "I'll never see that, glad I wasn't around for it."

The human race is literally destroying itself and it just doesn't make a damn bit of sense to me. Do we want this for ourselves? We have millions of years of evolution behind us, millenia of experience, development, etc. After all that time, we still rape, kill, steal, pollute, cheat, destroy and whatever else negative and not mentioned.

I'm sick of this crap, when does the next meteor strike? The dinosaurs got off easy. Ok, I'm just venting now, but it really disappoints me that we've let things degrade so far. A stand-up comic once said, "We're the Alabama of the universe." If an intelligent race visited us, I would be ashamed and then vaporized by one of their anti-matter rays.

I can't stand people that glorify ourselves and think we exist on some sort of plane that is above the rest of the creatures on this earth. If anything we are inferior to them. We contribute nothing to the environment (is destroying it our purpose?) All of our "accomplishments", language, culture, science, art, etc. are just gross, overblown misuses of our abilities that we were probably never supposed to do. We're the only one of our kind on this planet, which leads me to believe we're either freaks of nature, or aliens entirely.

Whenever I see children I feel bad for them, I think how sad it is that they have to grow up in a world with limitless potential but hindered by unlimited incompetance. I honestly can't understand how anyone with a clear conscience can willingly propagate our species in the disgusting and disturbed state that its in. We are eternally trapped in a nightmare of our own making. I wish that there was some other way to wake up from it all, other than death. Maybe I'm just weak, I don't have the stomach for the reality I'm in. Maybe I never accepted that life isn't going to be some fantasy novel with black and white morality, and the good guy always wins and lives happily ever after.

Earth will forever be a skid mark on the underwear of the universe.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sencha', '
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The human race is literally destroying itself (

[Sencha]

I believe every culture is guilty, and that they have some part in our own collective destruction. Futhermore, if you think about it, its always been up to the next generation to solve the previous generation's problems. But what does that generation do? Proliferate the problem, or create entirely new ones for the next generation to work on.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sencha', 'I') believe every culture is guilty, and that they have some part in our own collective destruction.

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sencha', 'I') believe every culture is guilty, and that they have some part in our own collective destruction.

[Ebyss]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hy is the world so screwed up?

[hotsacks]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
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Earth will forever be a skid mark on the underwear of the universe.

[ohanian]

Q: Why is the world so screwed up?

A: Because a human do not live forever. Therefore, why not have today an easy life by borrowing heavily from the future. As long as you pay only back the debt after 100 years, you be long dead before you even start to suffer the consequences.

How else can you explain the desire to use up all the world's easy oil in less than 200 years from the first oil well. Worry about the present because in the long run you are DEAD.

Have you ever blamed your grandfather for screwing up the world? Of course not! Why do you think your grandson will blame you? He is probably too busy trying to survive to have time to assign blame to anyone.

[whiteknight]

I think the question needs questioning...

Why is the world so screwed up? Well, first off, what do you think is "screwed up" with it? Reduce each "screw up" to its fundimentals and then ask why does that aspect exist.

Of course you can take the easy path and blame your own personal bugaboos, I always like blaming governments. In my own anylsis of thing I see governments causing the problems they claim to solve. I see corrupt politicos redirecting aid money and resources while innocents starve.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '
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Name 1 culture (From any time period) that didnt pick up a weapon against his fellow man.
Name 1 culture (from any time period) that didnt have criminals in its midst.

You cant. Humans as a species are fundamentally flawed. Whether that flaw stems from a basic, primal flaw of some type or a flaw that comes from being intelligent we may never know. But that doesnt change the fact humans are, as a whole, flawed.

[Raxozanne]

Humans have always been prone to being greedy, selfish, violent etc. If you are aspiring to a world where we are all angels and where no murdering, raping or stealing occures then unfortunately you will be waiting forever as this will never become a reality.

The point being made is that the bushmen of the Kalihari have been living like they have for thousands of years. In fact the whole world lived like the bushmen for hundreds of thousands of years without causing big environmental problems or social upheavels. Granted they didn't live like angels but then again they didn't screw the world up and make their lives overly stressful for themselves.

[Sencha]

I understand the world isn't perfect and that it can't be. I'm okay with that. What I'm not okay with is the fact that we are so quick to rationalize and take actions that objective examination should determine detrimental to the success of humanity.

I think there has never been a better time to reinvent ourselves and question the legitimacy of our actions. That probably won't happen because there's too much pride. Everyone wants to believe their way is the right way. We preach our values and then completely ignore them. We're so hypocritical that its humorous, in a depressing way.

We can't seem to act out the things we think. Take the golden rule for instance: Treat others as you would have them treat you. Nobody thinks about that when they commit a crime, declare war, betray someone etc. Its so frustrating that I can't figure ourselves out. We glorify ourselves, yet we deface ourselves. We love ourselves, yet we hate ourselves. We are so paradoxical as to defy all reasoning. I really must think humanity suffers some kind of collective insanity.

[ubercrap]

I think you already hit the nail on the head- you (and I) "came of age" during the '90's during an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity. My dad had to remind me of this the other day. He told me to consider the relative short time span that the first world war, The Great Depression, and WWII happened in.

[rogerhb]

A number of science fiction films have some alien organism that replicates fast, is incredibly destructive and knows no limits.

Just like us.

[oowolf]

Humans are "screwed up" because of the fact that empirical knowledge can be transmitted from generation to generation but ethical knowledge must be learned by each human individually and, despite efforts, is not generationally transmittable. So technical knowledge increases while those who wield it often fail to learn how to use it wisely.

"White man smart but not wise." Ishi, quoted by Saxton Pope.

[bobcousins]

Human is as human does. Humans are part of a highly complex system, operating within its rules. We like to think we are choosing our actions, but really we act instinctively and then rationalise afterwards. So do not be too hard on people. Blame the system!

The behaviour of complex systems is fascinating, but the thing that interests me here is, why do you think that the world should not be screwed up? Where does the idea that the world should be an ideal, harmonious place come from?

Unfortunately, if you believe that, you will always be disappointed. Previous, and even current cultures, rationalise the apparent chaos of the world by ascribing "negative" events to supernatural workings - capricious gods, the devil, "misterious ways". If you don't buy the religious explanation, then you must follow the logical conclusion that life is completely senseless. That is, as a product of physical processes, there is not supposed to be any meaning to it.

[Reality_Conference]

Yea, the world is a pretty f**ked up place. There are some very valid reasons why this is so on this page. I think another one may be the point we find ourselves in the evolution of our consciousness. We're just babies. We don't know what the hell we are doing out here on this small planet. We don't know the untapped potential of our minds. Right now we are lost amid petty grabs for power and small-minded notions of creature comforts.

Will we always be this way? Perhaps. I'd much rather take an optimistic view and think that if we were given long enough we would one day evolve to the point where human life on this planet is free from all the crap you see nowadays. Will we have that long? Probably not. We'll probably bomb ourselves silly beforehand trying to secure a cheap energy source. Or that asteroid really WILL crash land and change things in a hurry. I think we are evolving but ever so slowly.

And I don't know who said that comment about us being the Alabama of the Universe, but I resent it. I'm in Alabama. We're not ALL rednecks.

[bobcousins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sencha', 'W')e can't seem to act out the things we think. Take the golden rule for instance: Treat others as you would have them treat you. Nobody thinks about that when they commit a crime, declare war, betray someone etc. Its so frustrating that I can't figure ourselves out. We glorify ourselves, yet we deface ourselves. We love ourselves, yet we hate ourselves. We are so paradoxical as to defy all reasoning. I really must think humanity suffers some kind of collective insanity.

[PhilBiker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ebyss', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')hy is the world so screwed up?

[dollyp]

Nice posts, Bob Cousins. I'm new to this forum, and it's great to see participants are familiar with behavioural science, Tragedy of the Commons, etc. Like you, I get amused that people are so stressed by human behaviour, (i.e the fact that it never goes according to our ethical hopes), rather than just accepting that we are, at the population level, out of control of our actions. Even if, as individuals, we strive to do the "right" or "good" thing; at the population or societal level we must, be definition, move towards over-consumption etc. It's this natural behaviour at the population level that makes the world seem " so screwed up" to many.
But current neural theory seems to be saying that consciousness is something that happens after the brain decided on a course of action, not before. A few milli-seconds after. I love this theory - I don't need to feel guilty when I don't return my mothers' phone calls..........
The thing that fascinates me is that if you say to people "there is no hope" i.e. we will continue to act greedily and selfishly etc, then people get very angry and outraged, and assume you must be a suicidal wreck. Whereas I'm a pretty bubbly and contented person. I wonder if this is something others have experienced?