posted
For some reason I've found myself thinking about this for quite a bit lately. Is the world becoming a better or a worse place as time goes on?
A lot of older people talk about the past in terms of it being safer, more innocent times. I think a lot of it has to do with them looking back at them with nostalgia but often times I wonder if perhaps there isn't some truth to it as well... Is the world deteriorating?
I just can't seem to shake the feeling that it is and that it will only get worse as time goes on. I don't think I'm being pessimistic, it just sort of seems to be the natural assumption to make based on what I see every day.
Why is it that young kids these days can't roam the neighborhood without the fear of danger? Was this ever different and if it was, why?
I see a lot of good in the world, but I also see a lot of bad in it. I just can't help but worry about what the future will bring, not for myself but for future generations. Are we stuck in a downward spiral and if so, what does everyone think could be done to "fix" it, if anything?
There's no wrong answer here, I'd just like to know how everyone here feels about this. Posts: 459 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
I think the world is better in some ways and worse in some. Kind of lame cop out, but just stick with me. It's better because technology has pretty much made everything more efficient. Living is easier than it has ever been. However, that doesn't neccesarily make life easier at all. People have more free time and there has to be a great adjustment for people to begin to learn how to use this time efficiently. Also, there are always more people, meaning more resources, who seem to not be able to apply themselves in ways that can progress themselves as individuals and societies collectively. My argument is basically economic. Too many resources and no efficient uses for them. If everyone were to simply count their blessings, life would be pretty great, at least here in the first world (I apply the term only economically). However, it appears that, ironically enough, people are not busy enough to count their blessings. And so, we get crime and complaints about how rough we have it. My message it this: count your blessings, and, if you have to, name them one by one. If you really do, you'll probably be surprised at the sheer volume.
Posts: 42 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Better, for the most part. A lot of what you see or hear about isn't anything worse then what use to go on, you just hear about it now when before it was hidden from view.
Also, news covereage is better now, and that leads to better overall informatin...think Amber Alerts...but it also makes people more aware of things when they go wrong.
One of the best examples is school violence...we all hear about it, from school shooting to other things...but the actual crime statistis show that schools overall are as safe, if not safer, than when our parents were in school. You just hear about it when the aren't safe, that's all. Also, a lot of forms of violence are not allowed these days, at least not to the same extent.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I don't think the world's getting any worse. Our lives are in a continual state of flux. It’s easy for us to look at the past and see the things that seem to have gotten worse. However, we seem to acclimate ourselves to things that have gotten better so we barely notice them. I don’t think there’s any need to worry about future generations.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Is the world better or worse now? It depends and is relative.
For a while the world was really really great. It is definitely worse now than it was then. Then things got bad, and went from bad to worse. Things are better now than they were then. Then things started to shape up, and the world was doing pretty well indeed. Better than it is now, in fact. Then it started dropping off, and getting worse. Things got pretty bad, in fact. Really, really bad. The world is definitely better now than it was then. Then the world started to improve. It has been getting better in some places faster than others, but is generally on the upswing.
And that is the history of the world, according to Shvester Esther
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
It might be worth making clear whether one is assessing the state of "the world" or the state of "the USA." Different things. Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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quote:Originally posted by Kwea: Ahhh yea, bak in the day where posting meant you actually had somehting to say, when nOObs didn't 'rack up 3125 posts in months.
posted
Of course. He's envious of the one person on this forum who actually went through the trouble of making an IPA dictionary.
Posts: 2978 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
And wouldnt it be nice if people would simply say something in the affirmativ or negative in regards to this question. Instead of talking around it and asking for a definition of better or worse. Though it takes longer I do not mind reading a concise definition of what people consider ideal, and what people consider is the reality of our condition.
I will attempt to convey here what it is I am looking for:
I think the world is on a gradual decline. This decline is accelerating at an alarming rate. The center of this predicament in my opinion is the condition of A in our society. People a long time ago were more B and C and this helped them to foster an environment where progresive change could take place. Today people have abandoned B for D and C for E. The problem with D is that it inadvertantly leads to an F condition, which is something I consider to be destructive. G follows in the wake of E and gives rise to H, I, and J. I know alot of people consider A to be an idealistic way of thinking and that in reality society is more J. Back when people were A they were also guilty of promoting K. Alot of people think that A must therefore lead to K, but I think its possible for people to be B, and C, and yet still retain some of the virtues of a L society. Look at the M empire, and the Kingdom of N. People then were very C, very B, and yet still retained a strong support of the virute L. But O and P dont go well with L and B. Our media is constantly extoling the idea that good people believe in O, P and to a lesser extent D and E. While people who believe in B, C, and L are condemened for being old fashioned and unrealistic. Society has also forgotton the idea of an honest Q, R without hesitation and to S every day. Instead poster BlackBlade has stated that an absence of T is one of the biggest problems. I feel the less T we have the more S and that makes room for U. I cant really get into the intricasies of V, W, X, and Y. I need to get to class/work. But I honestly feel that without B, and C playing a prominant role like they used to, society will ultimately fail, and we will be back to Z.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Why thank you I only wish I could actually replace those letters with my own ideas but I need to type a term paper on Plessy Vs Ferguson and it wont get done if I do. I dont have to use MLA or APA format on a forum(BlackBlade 56)
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Since the world has clearly gotten both better and worse, I guess answering would depend on estimating the relative importance of the good and bad changes.
I tend to think "better." But it's hard to say. Much of what we know about the world is second or third hand, and I don't entirely trust those that report it to give a clear picture.
This is the longest I've ever taken, I think, to say, "I don't know."
Posts: 1877 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I'm very much in the "better" camp. There have been so many positive changes in the world in my lifetime.
1. When I was a little tot, racism was considered just the normal way people were, and that it could never change. A few "weirdos" felt differently. Very few. Since then the world has changed a whole lot for the better. Miraculously so, even. Way more than anyone ever dreamed. Still we have a long way to go but we will get there eventually, no question.
2. Domestic violence was considered just something that happened. The laws were even ambiguous about whether it was really even a crime. "You mean I can't beat my own wife?" Children were regularly beaten in school and at home, hazing, fraternity and otherwise, was rampant and considered a normal part of childhood. Sexual violence was far more acceptable, and usually was dismissed by saying the victim asked for it.
3. Women had almost no jobs available to them. They could be teachers or nurses, and that was basically it. Faced with the choice of destitution or an abusive marriage, many women chose the latter. Women weren't allowed into many colleges such as Cal-Tech (which I just found out went co-ed in the 70s). Girls sports teams were almost non-existent pre title IX. Girls could be cheerleaders for the boys' teams, but not much else.
4. Medicine has improved greatly. Many new drugs have been discovered. Cancer, which was considered an automatic death sentence when I was a child, is now often a long term treatable thing. My best friend in first grade, Tracy, died of leukemia in second grade. That probably wouldn't have happened now.
5. Technology, computers, internet, etc. We couldn't google for answers back then. I still boggle when I try to remember how we had to look stuff up the long boring hard way that was usually not worth it.
6. There were no sticky notes. I mean, really! How can anyone think life was better then???
posted
I was waiting for someone to post all that so I could point to that post and say "I agree". So there. Thanks! Posts: 4519 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Under the category of "attitudes toward women" I should have mentioned sexual harrassment in the workplace. There used to be silly cartoons in the New Yorker about the pretty young female secretaries being mauled by their powerful old male bosses. It was just something working women had to put up with. Not really considered bad, just fodder for jokes. The fact that you worked at all made you a "career girl" which meant you were probably "fast" anyway and must have asked for it.
When the Clarence Thomas nomination hearings brought this issue forward, it was clear that the overwhelming majority of women in the workplace had experienced this sort of thing repeatedly, that sexual harassment was pervasive in the workplace. Though it still goes on some now, it's so much better since people can successfully sue. Now there are not snide jokes about it. It's taken seriously now and stopped. That's a huge improvement.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Just to clarify, I was refering to the state of the world.
I am aware of the fact that the world is better in some ways and worse in others, the main thing I was looking for though was how people here felt it weighed in to the overall "total". Weighing all the good things and the bad things together, how does it measure up to past generations? Are we doing better, worse, or the same?
Posts: 459 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
Havind reconsidered my previous post, and realizing that Rico's original post obviously asked about the state of the world as a whole, and in effort to be more succinct: better. See, I finally got there. Posts: 42 | Registered: Aug 2005
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
Economically, socially, Pollitically.
Economicly: Better; I have to disagree with the assesment of "too many resources" in fact we have too few. We maybe burning 100 candles a minutes doesn't mean they are only 12.6783 in the box.
However otherwise we're doing good, production has gotten so efficient, and cheap labour so extensive goods are cheaper and in greater supply then ever before, technology has advanced that anyone in a first world/second world nation can join into the fun.
cons: only 10-35% of the world is first or second world, leaving a large portion of the world to either produce our products with our investment money, agrarian, or in chaos.
But technology will also let us one day be able do these things without having a slave society somewhere and socialism will garantee a free and open society able to enjoy the benefits of a strong economy anywhere in the world.
Socially: Iffy:
Society is far more free and open now in many ways then ever before but at the cost of our ancestors morals. Easy sex, easy money, fast cars, fast booze, a elephantine bearocracy throughout has led to corrupt middle management, and even more corrupt high management in the worlds mega corporate coglomerates. The ambiguiety in todays political system and the dancing of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches and countries everywhere has led to a hazzy confusion in politics making it easier for companies to hijack interests and influence in politics, and to completely co-opt the very freedoms of the individual in certain countries.
More and more the heroism of an individual is swallowed up by the indeference of their peers, and the cold self-righteousness of bearocrats, know-it-all school teachers and uncaring school boards playing back room politics.
Politically: Definatly better, since the end of the coldwar there have been more mulit party states then ever before as the West and the Soviet Union stopped playing 3rd world countries against each other in a massive game of Risk. The true emergance of socialist democracies, the rising power house in China and the economy recovery in Japan and Russia will herald in the coming age a new balance in geopolitics with the waning economic strength of the USA.
Problems: We are still cleaning up the various messes left over from the coldwar such as the israeli-palistinian problems, massive debt in the 3rd war due to weapons deals, corrupt dictatorships, and lack of proper economic and medical aid, and peace keeping efforts. Russia is still a mess and while recovery will come, we still have to deal with their breakaway republics, and ethnic problems such as Chechnyan terrorism.
The end of the cold war has also led to HUGE FREAKING MUTHER OF GOD HUGE HUGE!!!! Debts per nation due to arms spending to "repel the Communist threat" and to mantain the "Nuclear Umbrella". And with the collapse of the USSR has led to the USA and NATO with large militaries and nothing to do with them.
And the greatest mess facing us left over from the Cold War is fanatical extremism in the form of Muslim Fundamenalism, a few dirty bombs in a few oil wells will f*** the global economies in ways you'll never imagine.
So, while things maybe better, they could be immenently soon alot worse.
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posted
Heavy answer: I think in many ways the world is better now than it has been: the rapid flow of information; the increasing intolerance of, well, intolerance; the boom in technology, especially in fields like transportation and medicine.
But I have a two-year-old daughter, and it pains me to say that I think things are going to get worse in a big way, and I think it's going to happen soon. Energy is never going to be this cheap again, and the developing industrial infrastructures of countries like China and India are going to react viciously when that prevents them from acheiving the anticipated levels of production and wealth. I think paying $3.00 a gallon at the gas pump is going to seem like a minor, even pastoral side-effect of the coming crisis. And to whatever degree you agree or disagree with our manmade effect on the environment, I think the boom in factory production in countries with little to no environmental standards is going to make much of the world look like mid 19th century England, which is to say, perpetually clouded in soot.
quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: Economically, socially, Pollitically.
Easy sex, easy money, fast cars, fast booze, a elephantine bearocracy throughout has led to corrupt middle management, and even more corrupt high management in the worlds mega corporate coglomerates.
Whimsical post-script: Sex is easy now?! Aw, for heck's sake, why didn't someone tell me?
posted
Easy sex, easy money, fast cars, fast booze? Woohoo!
Seriously, though. I don't necessarily think that any of these things are any more or less accessible than they were in the past. Take sex, for example. It's not like people didn't do it in the past. They just weren't as open about it as we are now.
posted
well, it is argueable that "easy and open sex" has lead to higher divorce rates, broken up families, and psycotic children. I have no facts to back me up but I'm certain that large ghetto like places and disturbed families may or may not be a result to easy marriage, lack of traditional values etc.
I really have no clue its just a "feeling" nothing to take seriously unless you believe it.
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