It may be that with nuclear proliferation we have entered a far more radically uncertain world than has ever been witnessed before; the distinct possibility of environmental catastrophe only adds to that sense of foreboding. If one were to look at Syria and the rise of religious extremism in many parts of the "Muslim world" then there are even more grounds for pessimism.
But is that the whole story? Really? Is it still possible to have faith in an uncertain world?
This comes on the back of reading what to me sound like some rather bizarre comments:
1. If you look at Syria it kinda makes you nostalgic for the cold war.
2. Look at the wars, the way black people are being gunned down in America. World War I wasn't this bad.
3. We live in an unprecedented era of disease, war, violence, drought..etc., etc.
Of course, there are some young people who love wallowing in misery and there are a good number of old ones who mistake their personal situation for the actual state of the world.
Blessed is the man who hears the crash of thunder and doesn't think of home.
--Basho.
~
On a cautiously optimistic note, then:
Comparisons. What is the base line? Compared with the extreme violence and barbarity of the 20th century are what we're seeing a real degradation? Is it even possible to imagine a lowering of the standards set by that most vicious of centuries?
So, not is only the negative less negative than in previous times; there have also been significant positive changes.
1. Nutrition levels (Angus Deaton. More on that later).
2. The number of people who have moved out of poverty over the last 30 to 40 years.
3. Gender equality has increased (despite all the horrific instances of crime and evil). In simple terms of artists, female professionals, female education..
4. Attitudes to race have mellowed (at least in the UK). Also, in America there's no slavery and no segregation (the incarceration of so many black Americans is an obvious rejoinder tot his point).
5. In many places people are becoming less obsessed by religion. That can only be a good thing. Without state funding a lot of the extremism might still exist but as a pale shadow of what it is now. Even now, because it is a force that is morally, spiritually, and intellectually bankrupt, it is hard to imagine it surviving for much longer.
6. There are tentative steps to democracy in some countries (helped by the demise of the Communists).
But is that the whole story? Really? Is it still possible to have faith in an uncertain world?
This comes on the back of reading what to me sound like some rather bizarre comments:
1. If you look at Syria it kinda makes you nostalgic for the cold war.
2. Look at the wars, the way black people are being gunned down in America. World War I wasn't this bad.
3. We live in an unprecedented era of disease, war, violence, drought..etc., etc.
Of course, there are some young people who love wallowing in misery and there are a good number of old ones who mistake their personal situation for the actual state of the world.
Blessed is the man who hears the crash of thunder and doesn't think of home.
--Basho.
~
On a cautiously optimistic note, then:
Comparisons. What is the base line? Compared with the extreme violence and barbarity of the 20th century are what we're seeing a real degradation? Is it even possible to imagine a lowering of the standards set by that most vicious of centuries?
So, not is only the negative less negative than in previous times; there have also been significant positive changes.
1. Nutrition levels (Angus Deaton. More on that later).
2. The number of people who have moved out of poverty over the last 30 to 40 years.
3. Gender equality has increased (despite all the horrific instances of crime and evil). In simple terms of artists, female professionals, female education..
4. Attitudes to race have mellowed (at least in the UK). Also, in America there's no slavery and no segregation (the incarceration of so many black Americans is an obvious rejoinder tot his point).
5. In many places people are becoming less obsessed by religion. That can only be a good thing. Without state funding a lot of the extremism might still exist but as a pale shadow of what it is now. Even now, because it is a force that is morally, spiritually, and intellectually bankrupt, it is hard to imagine it surviving for much longer.
6. There are tentative steps to democracy in some countries (helped by the demise of the Communists).
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