It's such a sophomoric question that we've all pondered, usually in high school or the early college years when we are just beginning to pull our heads out of our asses and realize there is more happening "out there" than getting grades, laid, or drugs for the weekend. It's such an obvious question, and surely one worth answering, but it seems like it has just become taken for granted. It's as if you develop a shocked awareness of it as you emerge from the pubescent cocoon brimming with arrogance and belief in your ability to do whatever you want to, but then get sidetracked (usually with work, pussy, and drugs) and just accept the fucked up state of affairs.
I was almost afraid to even bring up the topic because it seems to be such a foregone conclusion. The more cynical could argue that I'm idealist, but that's just a pathetic excuse for not being realistic, or pragmatic at least. It's minimally immoral to not judge humanity harshly for the current state of affairs. Either immoral or humans are just a bunch of amoral hypocrites (in which case my question is answered. But I've got more to say here and now).
There are so many ways to look at the problem, but in general it boils down to the fact that we live in a world of shit. Some of us have it pretty good, but for the most part, life utterly sucks for people. Most people alive on Earth right now are worse off than had they been born 10,000 years ago. Sad testament to how far we've fallen and good reasons to be pessimistic about our future. But it isn't the sorry state of existence for people that is so damning, but the fast that it just doesn't have to be that way is the rope we hang ourselves with.
We are such petty creatures, unwilling and unable to rise above blind devotion to the little concepts adopted by our progenitors, worshipping the lines they've drawn and refusing, yea, actively resisting attempts to remove the blinders, refusing to recognize that the concepts and cognitions we define ourselves by are nothing more than mental holdovers of historical circumstance.
What separates people like me, who think it despicable that we squander heritage and use our technological progress to cash in on the future, leaving the interest payments for those who come after us, and those who are doing the check cashing and barrier building? What is so horribly wrong with the idea that working towards meeting a standard of minimal human dignity is worthwhile? Why are we hellbent on living in the now, without even an inkling of foresight or adherence to ideals?
Is the Enlightenment dead?
This isn't just a veiled rant at any particular government or corporation, but humanity as a whole. Of course we have elements of actual intelligence, elements that are able to accomplish a great deal, but they are a minority. Why can't the powers that be actually do something worth being proud of on a grand scale?
Are we too greedy? Too stupid? Too arrogant? Too racist? Too indifferent?
Why doesn't this matter?
Posted by Nutrimentia at May 6, 2003 07:54 PM | TrackBack