Is our society regressing?
_
Posts: 6,651
Am I the only one who fears lately that as a society we are moving backward instead of forward? Has anyone else noticed an increase in intolerance and injustice and a decrease in compassion and humanity? Are people more self-interested than they used to be? Is our chauvinism and xenophobia getting stronger? Has it been this way all along and I'm just starting to notice? Is this message board just totally warping my sense of reality? I spoke with some friends about it today who know nothing of this message board and they think it really is getting worse. What do you think?
ETA: I guess the follow-up questions are: If this is really happening, why? And what can we do about it?
ETA: I guess the follow-up questions are: If this is really happening, why? And what can we do about it?
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. - Louis Brandeis
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Yes, I feel like you're right. So what are we going to do about it? :?
I think we need to protect ourselves and there are different ways to go about that however now we live in an age where we fear everyone.... that is dangerous and in extreme cases leads to such things as genocide
I use to have a close friend that also said how she hated the notion of patriotism, that this idea alone caused people to view themselves as better and lead people to separate themselves from the larger view of the world, the human race
Michael Franti & Spearhead....Tolerance
A child is born, and a mamma's torn
About the life that it's bound to live
A sun and moon and a modest home
Is all they asking the Lord to give
But politics and big events they never seem to notice the little guy
So make a plan or simply hold a hand but don't ever be a passer by
Tolerance or violence and the whole world go to war
Is one enough or is one too many
Before we say, "No More"
Could you ever love a pot of gold?
Could you ever love another lonely soul?
Could you ever find a love that was oceans wide?
Could you ever find love in another stranger's eyes?
Oh, give a little,
Tolerance, tolerance
We need you more and more
So lend a hand or simply hold a friend
That’s in need of a life support
Draw a picture, share a whisper
Anyway that you can rise above
And when the end is near who is goanna volunteer
To be the last one to die for love
Tolerance or violence and the whole world go to war
Is one enough or is one too many
Before we say, "No More"
no more, no more, no more, no more
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. - Louis Brandeis
scb,
I am with you on your thread and I am also with you on taking action....My commitment is available....
I was actually thinking of posting a similar thread....
Yea! Does that make us a movement?
I heard this quote a little while ago and to me it seems relevant:
"What is perceived as real, becomes real in it's consequences"
Dont remember where I've got it from, but probably from some sociology book I read while at the university.
Peace
Dan
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
My mom thinks around the time that JFK was asassinated things and the way people started treating one another started to go south.
Another factor that I think is often overlooked is the information overload. There are too many things out there that a person should be compassionate about. My point is that in 1950 you worried about your community, your job, whatever the local paper was covering, and the Russians. Now, there are so many tragic news stories daily that when nine people are killed by a car bomb, it hardly phases me. And its not that nine dead people don't bother me, but it has gotten to the point that there are two of these stories every single day. So you feel bad for about 5-10 seconds, then you eat a donut, then you check PJ's setlist from K.C., and then the story is forgotten.
I think everyone has to pick their battles for what they want to stand up against. If you end up trying to worry and be compassionate about too many issues, your head will explode or you will end up very unhappy and frustrated (i.e. Sean Penn).
people definitely have lost all compassion ... these wars overseas ... corporations poisoning people for the might buck ... it's endless ... people who try to make a difference are often ostracized by society simply because of ignorance ...
I have a warrant out for my arrest for driving on a suspended license. But I've proven to the State of PA that there was never any reason to suspend it. They did so because they said I was driving without insurance, which I have proven to them to be untrue. But the DMV and the State Police apparently cannot communicate because the police are looking to arrest me, even though I went to the county police station and resolved the issue there.
On NPR this morning they presented 2 ways to deal with Iran's nuclear capabilities: Preemptive attack and regime change. So... the liberal media says we must go to war with Iran.
My employer gives me 7 days of vacation the entire year, which includes days I call off sick. I had the flu earlier this winter so I'm down to 4 days the rest of the year, and I live paycheck to paycheck because the dollar's purchasing power is a fraction of what it once was. Basically, I'm an indentured servant.
Any brown person is now suspect in Arizona.
Medical pot is going to be much harder to get now in CA.
People are still killing each other over fairy tales.
My net pay is 52% of my gross pay because spousal support is ridiculous... even though she left me.
I can't go camping in this state without paying $23 or going to a private campground.
The US is still fighting 2 wars in the middle east, but the primary hotbed of terrorist activity is in southeast asia.
Mankind just ruined the Gulf of Mexico.
The US has over 5,000 nuclear weapons but doesn't want any other countries to have any, unless those countries are the UK, France, or Israel (and Russia is okay because of MAD). The logic behind this baffles me.
Global climate change is unquivacablly real, but for some reason people are denying it. I guess so they can continue driving SUVs and living in 5,000 sq ft mansions guilt-free.
I heard someone say "irregardless" today.
Sarah Palin is alive.
..........
so, yeah.
actually ... it's because corporations tell them it's not real and to some here corporations are more trustworthy than scientists ...
in any case - when you piece it together bit by bit - it just seems more and more ludicrous ... beyond the fact sarah palin is alive ... she is making money hand over fist which basically shows what society values ... the superficial and the stupid ...
But if you currently live in the southwest, you may have a different opinion based on the current debate. If I was still living in southern Texas or San Diego, I may have a different opinion as well. Regardless, I'm not concerned we are heading back towards an era similar to 1960's Mississippi.
well, I guess it depends on who you talk to...There will always be the "back in my day" crowd, who for some reason think the past is "better" that the present...
for me, I think society is simply society...there will always be something "bad" happening...and if you only focus on the bad, you can't see the good...granted, progress is slow, and often times things get worse before they get better...but overall, I think society is doing ok...
Now this girl would loose a fight to peice of marsh grass,that's how skinny she was. Im all for free speech,but really??? I mean is that really necessary to wear something like that in a family type setting. I just don't get why someone would want to draw that kind of attention to themselves.
Your comment was funny as heck.....I thought the shirt statement was also funny ....inappropriate, but funny
Maybe we can ask the federal government to step in and regulate.......
Problem is that a lot of kids get there values from TV. Most parents don't need a babysitter, they just get another TV and sit there child in front of it.
When that kind of behavior trickles down to its lowest common denominators, it morphs into plain old disregard and lack of common decency. The only thing that changes is that lives and/or money is no longer what's at stake, but what used to sometimes be referred to as "brotherhood" is.
It became "okay" to do a lot of things as a result of the Bush administration. Not that those that came before him were saints, he was just way more blatant about not giving a damn. If you stop and think about it, a helluva lot of things changed during that 8 years - things we can never recover from. I think as a society, we did regress.
Mohandas K. Gandhi
~I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulette I could have worn.~
Henry David Thoreau
Yeah your spot on about kids geting their values from tv and not their parents. I watched an episode of Parental control and I was like :wtf: :shock: I couldn't believe what i was seeing. A lot of parents are so busy working just so they can pay the bills and they don't have time to actually raise their kids so MTV does.
I could see wearing that shirt to a lamb of god concert or somthing but to a coffe shop ??? There were a couple of black girls that work there and you should have seen the looks on their faces. It was like ,, Yeah right white girl . I'll talk shit and lets see who get's hit
I know!! It makes me sad. :(
Here's a warrant story for you: My brother once got a ticket for following too closely. He had to go to court. He had a court date and was planning to go. He was scheduled to go before Judge Brown. Well on the night before his court date, Judge Brown was arrested because she and her boyfriend got drunk and threw rocks through the window of a payday loan place. So my brother got notice that his court date would be rescheduled. The court was supposed to contact him to reschedule and he waited patiently for their notice. Then one night he calls me and says his car has broken down. It's the middle of the night and he's stuck on the side of the road. I said I would come to get him. Before we got off the phone, a cop pulled up behind him. He thought the cop was there to help. But the cop carded him and ran his name through the system an apparently he had a warrant for failure to appear in court. So he got arrested and the car (which was actually my mom's) was towed. Our justice system sucks sometimes.
That's kinda the way I see it too. :(
Like, take the example of School prayer being taken out of the Public classroom as the reason for our downfall. Really? Prayer? Does that mean the WASN'T Racism, murder, intolerance, violence, crime or rape when ther was prayer in Public schools? The answer is "YES". All of that existed back then. A bit different back then... it was pretty much okay to rape someone because the girl was usually 'asking for it'. Sure, violence wasn't plastered all over the movie and television screens, it was alive an well in our suburban bedrooms... where it belongs.
The things we are seeing today... in my opinion... are the shifting of powers. The move towards a Global Economy where our Middle class is being migrated to the massive populations of India and China. I mean, look at the bulk of those populations... something like 2/3s of the entire planet's population. Those numbers can support a Global Model for the markets... just like the Middle Class of the U.S. supported the economics of this nation.
Because of these shifts, we... Americans... see our middle class deteriorating. We either have to move up towards the class of management, that will manage the Global accounts (workers)... or slide down to the lower class.
We see these Chinese, Indian and other ethnic foriegners as a threat to our well established way of being. These people are 'taking our jobs' is what we are told. But, in reality. Our employers are giving them our jobs in favor of a greater profit, resulting in a higher stock price. But, we buy into 'Those People' taking our jobs from us... because we believe that Americans would never screw over Americans, right?
So, all of you, 'Let The Markets' decide folks out there... the markets have decided... they picked China over us.
Is it good or bad? Neither. It is just the days we live in. We can fret all we want about it... but, really, it it our choice to make? No. So, quit worrying about shit you can't control and concentrate on those you can. You only have one shot at this... make it worth it.
Hail, Hail!!!
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. - Louis Brandeis
No, but it's in my Netflix queue. (Oh my God! A non-American word! And used by an American company no less! THE HORROR!!!
Do you really think things are the same now as they were in the '30s? Did we not make any progress with the Civil Rights Movement, for instance?
Do you know the feeling you get when playing UNO? I get the opposite feeling if I spend several hours sifting through some of these threads. But it’s worth stopping by every once in a while to gain different perspectives. I just have to log my time so I don’t get too much exposure, sort of like the guys that handle radioactive material . . . I don’t want to ruin my glass-is-half-full outlook on life