I'm a bit of a dreamer. OK, thats an understatement. I'm a huge dreamer. I daydream constantly and I love imagining what the future could be like. I'm rarely in the moment. Instead I'm usually about 10 steps ahead, wondering what the results of the results of an action might be... I don't recommend it but it seems to be the way I'm wired!
Anyways, I'm always daydreaming of what the future might hold and what our society could be like. It seems like everyday you hear stories of war, uprising, crimes of humanity, and downright crazy, unbelievable things that make you question the good in humanity. All this unrest can lead to a feeling hopeless and a feeling that the future only holds more troubling conflicts, generation after generation.
But it doesn't have to be this way. I think that technology and information are rapidly evolving our world into new ways of thinking. Think about it, what differentiates "civilized" from "uncivilized?" You can focus on just one part of the problem but I think if we can see the world in a more holistic way then we can actually start to fix the problem.
We as a society and as a government tend to focus on only one thing at a time while at the same time another tidal wave is headed our way. In my economics classes we learned that many things are results of the market or economy trying to reach a level of balance or equilibrium. When one thing gets too much "out of wack" it can create endless other externalities or or negative results. Also, sociology taught me that things without an even playing field will never be balanced, in the economy or in life. Without everyone having the same information and advantages it will never be a fair fight.
For example, there are numerous players that result in, for example, someone becoming a drug lord in Mexico or Africa.
1. Negative peer pressures. My mother once said, "You become like your friends, choose them wisely." And I did my best to do so. I sought out good character and virtues in others. But what if I did not? My friends helped me define what was good or not, helped me pass classes, gave me hope, and gave joy ot my life. Some people can bring you down, bring you to ruin, encourage you to make bad decision to make themselves feel better, the list goes on and on. When you have no "good" friends to choose from you might lead each other deeper into darkness. A true case of the "blind leading the blind."
2. Poor family upbringing. You cannot undervalue the importance of family or people who believe in you. Oftentimes people without proper family support don't know the true harmful results of their actions and they also do not have wise guidance to help them get past the struggles of growing up.
3. Lack of education. Education provides tools for problem solving. It opens your mind to new ideas and possibilities. Without an educated mind you might see the world as only black and white, us versus them, or a straight path to death.
4. A feeling of hopelessness. When you have nothing else to live for, you can live for nothing or anything. No moral compass, no compassion, no desire to do "good" in this world are all results of hopelessness
5. History. Perhaps someone in his family was "wronged" in some way by the government or authority figure so he's lost complete respect for anyone or any rule that tries to govern them
6. Lack of opportunities. When you have nothing else to occupy your time or to aspire to, you are bound to find ANYTHING to fill your time. And if you don't know any better it might be a negative action
7. Poverty. Poverty is closely tied to hopelessness. Money can be used for good or bad but without any of it at all you might feel like the world was never yours to begin with. I'm not talking middle class poor, I'm talking you never felt safe because the money wasn't there for bills, necessities, and food. Many people who see others do things that seem foolish might not realize that in that person's case the risk was worth it because it was, at least in their mind, the only way out of a financial mess
8. Chaos. You might have noticed that one of the themes here is fear. Fear can bring out the ultimate worst in people because face it, you're fighting for your life. If you can't feel safe and calm then you will do anything you can to gain some sort of control. That is why government does have a purpose, to provide a land that is safe from attack. We take it for granted but not too many years ago you were not safe on your own land.
There are more, but the point is that you cannot target only one without taking a look at many other factors that play into someone's psyche and why they behave how they do. And you cannot rule them by your rules because their paradigm is so different.
Until we begin to treat the "disease" instead of the "symptoms" we won't see things improve. It might be too late for many people alive today, but it might be time to start thinking about our future and the world they will be born into. Don't we owe it to them to help them and to make the world better? It won't start with fear tactics and manipulative government. The change has to come from each person. We cannot keep expecting someone else to come along and fix everything.
Anyways, I'm always daydreaming of what the future might hold and what our society could be like. It seems like everyday you hear stories of war, uprising, crimes of humanity, and downright crazy, unbelievable things that make you question the good in humanity. All this unrest can lead to a feeling hopeless and a feeling that the future only holds more troubling conflicts, generation after generation.
But it doesn't have to be this way. I think that technology and information are rapidly evolving our world into new ways of thinking. Think about it, what differentiates "civilized" from "uncivilized?" You can focus on just one part of the problem but I think if we can see the world in a more holistic way then we can actually start to fix the problem.
We as a society and as a government tend to focus on only one thing at a time while at the same time another tidal wave is headed our way. In my economics classes we learned that many things are results of the market or economy trying to reach a level of balance or equilibrium. When one thing gets too much "out of wack" it can create endless other externalities or or negative results. Also, sociology taught me that things without an even playing field will never be balanced, in the economy or in life. Without everyone having the same information and advantages it will never be a fair fight.
For example, there are numerous players that result in, for example, someone becoming a drug lord in Mexico or Africa.
1. Negative peer pressures. My mother once said, "You become like your friends, choose them wisely." And I did my best to do so. I sought out good character and virtues in others. But what if I did not? My friends helped me define what was good or not, helped me pass classes, gave me hope, and gave joy ot my life. Some people can bring you down, bring you to ruin, encourage you to make bad decision to make themselves feel better, the list goes on and on. When you have no "good" friends to choose from you might lead each other deeper into darkness. A true case of the "blind leading the blind."
2. Poor family upbringing. You cannot undervalue the importance of family or people who believe in you. Oftentimes people without proper family support don't know the true harmful results of their actions and they also do not have wise guidance to help them get past the struggles of growing up.
3. Lack of education. Education provides tools for problem solving. It opens your mind to new ideas and possibilities. Without an educated mind you might see the world as only black and white, us versus them, or a straight path to death.
4. A feeling of hopelessness. When you have nothing else to live for, you can live for nothing or anything. No moral compass, no compassion, no desire to do "good" in this world are all results of hopelessness
5. History. Perhaps someone in his family was "wronged" in some way by the government or authority figure so he's lost complete respect for anyone or any rule that tries to govern them
6. Lack of opportunities. When you have nothing else to occupy your time or to aspire to, you are bound to find ANYTHING to fill your time. And if you don't know any better it might be a negative action
7. Poverty. Poverty is closely tied to hopelessness. Money can be used for good or bad but without any of it at all you might feel like the world was never yours to begin with. I'm not talking middle class poor, I'm talking you never felt safe because the money wasn't there for bills, necessities, and food. Many people who see others do things that seem foolish might not realize that in that person's case the risk was worth it because it was, at least in their mind, the only way out of a financial mess
8. Chaos. You might have noticed that one of the themes here is fear. Fear can bring out the ultimate worst in people because face it, you're fighting for your life. If you can't feel safe and calm then you will do anything you can to gain some sort of control. That is why government does have a purpose, to provide a land that is safe from attack. We take it for granted but not too many years ago you were not safe on your own land.
There are more, but the point is that you cannot target only one without taking a look at many other factors that play into someone's psyche and why they behave how they do. And you cannot rule them by your rules because their paradigm is so different.
Until we begin to treat the "disease" instead of the "symptoms" we won't see things improve. It might be too late for many people alive today, but it might be time to start thinking about our future and the world they will be born into. Don't we owe it to them to help them and to make the world better? It won't start with fear tactics and manipulative government. The change has to come from each person. We cannot keep expecting someone else to come along and fix everything.
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