The World is Going to Hell in a Handbasket

Warning - the below may be depressing. Viewer discretion is advised!

I'm not what you'd call an optimist. I wouldn't even call myself a realist anymore, because I find that to be too narrow minded and not forward-thinking enough. I've settled on the term far-seeing pessimist - I see the future, and what I see is mostly bad. Now mind you, I'm happy with the opportunities my own life should present for itself right now, I have no problems with that.

However, I look at the news and society around me and feel like we're the next Rome (not necessarily just America, but the west in general, of which America is the "leader"), ambling on through life like a lamb to the slaughter by cultures hungrier and larger than ours. Maybe that sounds arrogant to you, but mind you I am not really putting myself above any of this if only because I have not been a part of the solution up to this point. I feel that I am less frequently a part of the problem because of what I am - a person who feels that one is accountable for their own actions, that you should be self-sufficient until the TRUE utmost of need, and the result of these two things combined is that you do not live beyond your means.

What this means to me is a few simple "guidelines for life". I avoid purchasing on credit whenever possible. When I fuck up, I own up to it. When I have money, bills come first, investments come second and luxuries third, though that doesn't mean that I don't have a mix of all three at most times. Most people would say that these are pretty reasonable ways to live, yet by and large society as a whole does NOT live this way today, and all you have to do is look around you. People trying to cover up even the smallest of mistakes. People defending others who have committed indefensible actions. People living high on the hog at the expense of others through excessive welfare and relief programs sponsored by the government (and paid for by the people, the ones with the most money who pay the taxes; usually the middle class who can't afford to have a personal accountant). People taking on too much debt (that is not related to unforeseeable medical emergencies, mind you) and having to file for bankruptcy. Our culture today is summed up in two ways: Not my fault, and not in my back yard.

Ultimately, the quality of society comes down to the collective sum of individuals and the choices they make every day. You choose whether or not to get up in the morning and go to work. You choose whether or not to pay your rent, and if you will pay it on time. Generally you choose to do the "right" thing because the consequences of choosing the "wrong" thing are too great; don't go to work and you get fired and then can't eat; don't pay rent and you don't have a place to live and will be out on the street. These are very basic choices that most people understand and choose according to need. However, there are other choices where the consequences are unclear, completely distorted, or nonexistent. For most people, the consequences of littering are unclear because there are no direct consequences for the action itself (save by the off chance a police officer sees you, not likely). The consequences of failing to raise your children to be decent human beings are nonexistent because once they reach a certain age, they become society's problem and not yours. The consequences of failing to be a productive member of society are distorted because whether you are able or not, you can take advantage of programs for money, food, and medical expense that were designed for truly disabled people.

Being these things as they may, my friend's experiences as a teacher have changed my perspective on who's to blame for the ills of society. While yes, everyone maintains freedom of choice, the human will, regardless of society or situation, it is very hard to change yourself and you are not responsible for your upbringing, or the level of society you are born into. How is someone to develop the sense of responsibility outlined above as the 5th child of a single mother who dropped out of high school and has been on welfare her entire life, as a parent and a child herself? They're not getting it from the public school system, because the school system can barely function on the basics of literacy as is (and doesn't at times). They aren't getting it from entertainment, because entertainment has debased itself to a level that is mostly beyond cultural merit; compare the most popular television shows and movies to the popular works of the Renaissance and we have not made a lot of intellectual progress in 500 years. And finally, they aren't getting it from the government, which (in this country at least) should be setting the example of a virtuous life above anyone else, and yet they are as corrupt as any organization or cult through all levels of local, state, and federal. These people then go on to have more children than they can afford, while the "educated" will have few to no children (being absorbed in other things like work), making the balance even worse because the smartest and most able people are not passing their ideals to the next generation while the leeches of society are growing exponentially.

Not only is there nowhere to turn for a positive example on how to live for a lot of children, but their freedom to discover different things has been restricted, even compared to 15 years ago when I was a child. Only the squeaky wheel gets the grease and today that is the wheel of extremism, whether it's the quasi-fascist right, the quasi-communist left, the violently fundamentalist Muslims, the painfully restrictive evangelical Christians, the irrationally uncompromising Zionists, the inflamed to the point of self destruction Palestinians, or any other group of which you can think. The level of "conversation" has become a din of combating talking heads and The O'Reily Factor is not the source of all this, but just an example of art imitating life. Unfortunately, life also imitates art and society as a whole is locked into a downward spiral in the toilet (counter-clockwise in America, thank you). The only source of inspiration for the lowest common denominator is network TV, and sometimes basic cable; both largely regulated by the government through the FCC which is mostly controlled by hand-picked Bush cronies. This is both frightening and sad.

So ok, people make bad choices and it's only half their fault if that, so where does that leave us? As I stated in the beginning, I feel like America is the next Rome. It has been said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, and that (in my eyes) is increasingly possible each and every day. We (I'm including myself in this) are a fat, lazy, and corrupt populace ruled by an unjust government, and such an arrangement can only last for so long. Compare the United States to what we were a half century ago, and ask yourself how we're going to be in a better place 50 years from now? I just don't see it. If we don't blow ourselves up, we'll run out of natural resources and die. Or more likely the combination/middle, natural resources will become scarce and we'll blow up ourselves fighting over them.

My viewpoints as described above are not significantly different than anything I have developed in the last 6 years or so. What has changed is that I do not feel that I have that ability to facilitate positive change on anything but the smallest scale. Which I do, when I can, but it is but a sand castle and the tide is in, you know? I have a fatalistic view to the point that I will live my life as best that I can, try to do as much good as I can, and hope that if the end comes during my time in this world that it is not a painful one. Only time will tell.