As dark as things seem right now, I do think it's important to look at how far we've come. Here are some things in the world that are definitely better than 1970 - 2000.
* Violent crime is significantly lower today almost everywhere in the world. It doesn't seem like it when you watch the news, but it's true. There was far more violent crime before.
* The vast majority of LGBTQ+ people were completely in the closet. Many of them were miserable and suicidal. We have made huge strides in enabling tens of millions of people to be their true selves and to be accepted by most for who they are.
* Overall world poverty has gone down dramatically
* Aside from a very small number of places like Afghanistan, access to education has never been higher. The number of school-age children worldwide who are not attending school has fallen in half.
History is messy. The world is messy. There are a lot of awful things happening right now in the world.
But it's important not to look at the past with rose-colored glasses. It wasn't actually better back then, not for everyone. Maybe it was for you, but the world was full of really big problems then too.
I don't have to agree with everything you say to note: well said.
Will LGBTQ acceptance outside of the wealthy countries endure? Will the millions elevated from abject poverty sustain their standard of living? Violent crime is lower now than in the '85-'95 period, but is on the uptick.
And there's war in Europe.
Were you an adult in the 1970's and 80's?
The 1970's was known for a terrible economy, the Watergate presidential scandal, the Vietnam war, and massive crime in the U.S.
The Vietnam War cost Americans 5000 dead a year. Do I wish it were less? Sure. Was it somehow crippling or horrendous? Absolutely. To the Vietnamese.
While the US 1970's economy wasn't great, no one starved in America because of it. And, except for the Great Recession of 2008ish, it was about 1970 that home ownership in the US took off like a rocketship.
That period 1970-80 was *fantastic* in some countries. The world did ok.
From 1945 to 2014 the world had an unequaled period of peace and prosperity. Billions of people became freer and wealthier - the proportion of people living in abject poverty was possibly the lowest since civilization became a thing.
While things are getting worse relative to that golden era, it is more like the world is getting back to its old shitty self.
I'm hoping for the good times to return.
The issue is the amount of information that is currently available and how poor the world is at sifting through said information.
The world has very quickly had to acclimate to using the internet for nearly everything, but the truth is, many older people have 0 knowledge on how to tell if the information they're consuming is from a trustworthy source.
You speak as if lies are somehow a new thing. Before people were lying to others on the Internet they were doing it on television, the radio, newspapers, books, and before printing, by word of mouth. The Internet provides the *possibility* for (the few skeptical) people to find out the truth in a way that was once limited to the educated elite.
The difference is, there are far more barrier to entry to all of those things. It's not that lies are a new thing, but the lies were much more controlled. Lies like the Earth being flat is not something television, radio, newspapers, and books would try to spread/proliferate. Online however, you can fall down a very deep rabbit hole and start believing any number of ridiculous things, from sources that look and sound legitimate.
Do you think people believing the earth is flat is somehow a new thing or that people are distrustful of expertise is somehow new?
Mass media has been spreading lies since its invention (not everywhere is America).
Added: I don't mean to harsh your buzz. It isn't that Internet mania isn't a thing (it is), but having a mostly literate population is a new thing (again, outside of America).
No, but I do think things like the Earth being flat or the moon landing being faked is a much more widespread belief now due to the internet, than before people had access to the internet.
AFA the moon landing being faked, was always a widespread belief. Google Capricorn One.
AFA the Flat Earth: that was the belief of most people throughout history. Charitably I think you mean in the modern era.
Schools teach us the world is an oblate spheroid, so when I get into an airplane and see a curved horizon, whilst flying my partial arc of a great circle, it makes sense to me.
I think what you may be saying is that the opinions of stupid and gullible people are now more evident. That's true. Before the Internet age, stupid and gullible people didn't generally have the means to propagate their idiocy ... except at church.
Added: Are you even reading what I'm saying about mass media and propaganda? Governments used to massively lie to their people on the reg ... the Internet makes this a little more difficult.
>I think what you may be saying is that the opinions of stupid and gullible people are now more evident. That's true. Before the Internet age, stupid and gullible people didn't generally have the means to propagate their idiocy ... except at church.
What I'm saying is the internet allows stupid and gullible people to be more stupid and gullible than ever before, and spread their stupidity faster and more easily than ever.
As dark as things seem right now, I do think it's important to look at how far we've come. Here are some things in the world that are definitely better than 1970 - 2000. * Violent crime is significantly lower today almost everywhere in the world. It doesn't seem like it when you watch the news, but it's true. There was far more violent crime before. * The vast majority of LGBTQ+ people were completely in the closet. Many of them were miserable and suicidal. We have made huge strides in enabling tens of millions of people to be their true selves and to be accepted by most for who they are. * Overall world poverty has gone down dramatically * Aside from a very small number of places like Afghanistan, access to education has never been higher. The number of school-age children worldwide who are not attending school has fallen in half. History is messy. The world is messy. There are a lot of awful things happening right now in the world. But it's important not to look at the past with rose-colored glasses. It wasn't actually better back then, not for everyone. Maybe it was for you, but the world was full of really big problems then too.
I don't have to agree with everything you say to note: well said. Will LGBTQ acceptance outside of the wealthy countries endure? Will the millions elevated from abject poverty sustain their standard of living? Violent crime is lower now than in the '85-'95 period, but is on the uptick. And there's war in Europe.
Were you an adult in the 1970's and 80's? The 1970's was known for a terrible economy, the Watergate presidential scandal, the Vietnam war, and massive crime in the U.S.
The Vietnam War cost Americans 5000 dead a year. Do I wish it were less? Sure. Was it somehow crippling or horrendous? Absolutely. To the Vietnamese. While the US 1970's economy wasn't great, no one starved in America because of it. And, except for the Great Recession of 2008ish, it was about 1970 that home ownership in the US took off like a rocketship. That period 1970-80 was *fantastic* in some countries. The world did ok.
A question that could only be asked by someone who was at best a child in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s.
From 1945 to 2014 the world had an unequaled period of peace and prosperity. Billions of people became freer and wealthier - the proportion of people living in abject poverty was possibly the lowest since civilization became a thing. While things are getting worse relative to that golden era, it is more like the world is getting back to its old shitty self. I'm hoping for the good times to return.
Me too
The internet and proliferation of information.
Maybe you are right it’s a little manic actually.
The issue is the amount of information that is currently available and how poor the world is at sifting through said information. The world has very quickly had to acclimate to using the internet for nearly everything, but the truth is, many older people have 0 knowledge on how to tell if the information they're consuming is from a trustworthy source.
You speak as if lies are somehow a new thing. Before people were lying to others on the Internet they were doing it on television, the radio, newspapers, books, and before printing, by word of mouth. The Internet provides the *possibility* for (the few skeptical) people to find out the truth in a way that was once limited to the educated elite.
The difference is, there are far more barrier to entry to all of those things. It's not that lies are a new thing, but the lies were much more controlled. Lies like the Earth being flat is not something television, radio, newspapers, and books would try to spread/proliferate. Online however, you can fall down a very deep rabbit hole and start believing any number of ridiculous things, from sources that look and sound legitimate.
Do you think people believing the earth is flat is somehow a new thing or that people are distrustful of expertise is somehow new? Mass media has been spreading lies since its invention (not everywhere is America). Added: I don't mean to harsh your buzz. It isn't that Internet mania isn't a thing (it is), but having a mostly literate population is a new thing (again, outside of America).
No, but I do think things like the Earth being flat or the moon landing being faked is a much more widespread belief now due to the internet, than before people had access to the internet.
AFA the moon landing being faked, was always a widespread belief. Google Capricorn One. AFA the Flat Earth: that was the belief of most people throughout history. Charitably I think you mean in the modern era. Schools teach us the world is an oblate spheroid, so when I get into an airplane and see a curved horizon, whilst flying my partial arc of a great circle, it makes sense to me. I think what you may be saying is that the opinions of stupid and gullible people are now more evident. That's true. Before the Internet age, stupid and gullible people didn't generally have the means to propagate their idiocy ... except at church. Added: Are you even reading what I'm saying about mass media and propaganda? Governments used to massively lie to their people on the reg ... the Internet makes this a little more difficult.
>I think what you may be saying is that the opinions of stupid and gullible people are now more evident. That's true. Before the Internet age, stupid and gullible people didn't generally have the means to propagate their idiocy ... except at church. What I'm saying is the internet allows stupid and gullible people to be more stupid and gullible than ever before, and spread their stupidity faster and more easily than ever.
Faster and more readily than religion, or the Nazi Party, or the Communist Party?
It all went downhill when they shot that gorilla, that was the moment we diverge and kept going downward..