According to the opinions voiced during Part I, the concensus was reached (under people posting their true intent and not just clowning around) that if people would just be aware of what was happening and what the consequences of their actions were: Things would change.
While I have hope for humankind . . . it comes with footnotes.
People are too egocentric, even if the basic facts and figures of what is happening right now were common knowledge the average human would choose to ignore that in light of a more immediate concern: Dinner. And if not dinner, mortgage payments. Replacement of the car. If you are Massai: enlarging the herde so one can have more wives. I, before the world. The “Weath of Nations”, arguably the most influential book with regards to Capitalist economies states that with regards to his work any man acts only out of self interest. To put a meager (and not the best, that’s your job) quote in here: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages.” Now, I do not know if this was ever the case with humans, and I’m pretty sure it does’t apply everywhere. But whether it was or has become true it can be recognized everywhere now.
So, this is what we have to change. Hell, even Smith himself already argued against an economy based purely on “For the greaterglory of I”
OK, let’s run with the idea. Better education is never a bad thing. And it may lead to new leaders, which, concidering humans have this idiotic hero worship thing going on, may be the best hope for us. It will also convert an X number of people. People in a position to change, may change. And, like stated in part I People who have changed will influence other people.
But: How does one get a better understanding of what is going on in the world. How does one teach children the extent of their impact on the world around us. It is not simply a matter of stating that we have to change. We have to know how to change. And knowing how to change depends largely on the influences upon us.
What is the inpact of:
* Schooling
* Home situation
* Religion
* Culture
The very definition of what constitutes a better world differs in each person and even if the same facts and figures that make some people cry out in frustration are available to everyone, people will come to different conclusions and some/most will fail to see what the fuss is about.
Now, to get back to the bit you’ll be posting on: “If more people would be aware of their actions, things will change”. Now, how would these aspects of thought forming listed above require one to go about achieving such enlightenment among ones fellow citizens.
In Part I, the snowball effect was stated. Things need to change gradually (not that we won’t find something to do about all the cows if we “reached enlightenment” en mass tomorrow)
This is where my footnotes come into play.
We are playing a game with a time limit.
A strict time limit. There are currently 800 million people hungry in the world. As in: below UN set standards for the bare minimum of living. There is currently much cultureal/political/religious diversity in the world. People who percieve that they are being oppressed (wether true or not) often strike out. People who have no food, but see rich company excecutives drive through will throw stones. And many of the cultureal/political/religious diversity come with guns. Some of them BIG guns.
While it has been stated that “as long as I’m still around afterwards I don’t much care about how things get done” this view comes with the drawback that if certain key parts get taken during whatever will reduce our numbers, we won’t be living in a mostly human free paradise, but a nice nuclear winter.
I’d much prefer to walk a less violent path. And I’m sure a great many other people do to.
So, not only do we have to get people to become aware of the world around us. But we have to do it fast.
Our hope lies in 2 things. Ourselves, and our children.
We can teach ourselves to be better humans than we are now. With study, self consciousness and objective reasoning we can look at our postition in the world, our impact upon it and change it if we choose. But the vision we will get depends on where we come from. The 4 impacts listed above (and there’s more of them) have shaped how we look at the world. How we perceive our rights and wrongs. They have even shaped the vision we will come to when pondering our future.
The view we will arrive at wil not be purely that of one of these influences. Or, even that could be.
And once we reach the vision of what we need. And once we have acted upon what we need to do. Those same influences will still be around when we try to impart our wisdom(or lack thereof) on our children.
How does one handle these influences. And how does one navigate these murky waters to a more enlightened outlook on life. And once we have reached this state. How do we prevent these same influences of spoiling our best hope for the future. How does one wield them, use them, and forge from them: a better tomorrow.
And most importantly: How do we do it before we blow ourselves up.
Same rules apply as last time, though I’m adding “no Ad hominem“
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All political, socio-economic, philosofy bullshiitake aside
This is what I did today. I had my first actual shooting in 弓道. This is the result of my first arrow
I would hereby like to announce my retirement from the world of Japanese archery
Seriously, I’m never going to equal this. Why try
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Quote of the day:
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one
- MIke Godwin
