Airport shooting

[Bark's Lounge]

It's a battle on all fronts here in the U.S. and the world at large.

 

Whether it be religious extremists, hate mongers, or the mentally ill.

 

We (the U.S.A.) just elected a candidate for president, who used hate concepts to rise to the cream of the crop and win the election. Fear and hate created Brexit. It won't stop there until people pull there heads out of there asses.

 

Education is the key, without it the peasants are lost and easily manipulated. Television and the internet are an obstacle. They do not need to be, but because of our dumbed downed minds it has become that.

 

I would like to hold out some hope for the future. I have concrete doubts. Something miraculous needs to happen.

 

That does not mean divinity in a miraculous sense, but a collective of a great amount of people, with a sensibility that spirituality and the real world are two very different things. That is what will unite people. A common goal, void of the repercussions of faith and the supernatural. A push for the common good.

[drjim]

It's a battle on all fronts here in the U.S. and the world at large.

 

Whether it be religious extremists, hate mongers, or the mentally ill.

 

We (the U.S.A.) just elected a candidate for president, who used hate concepts to rise to the cream of the crop and win the election. Fear and hate created Brexit. It won't stop there until people pull there heads out of there asses.

 

Education is the key, without it the peasants are lost and easily manipulated. Television and the internet are an obstacle. They do not need to be, but because of our dumbed downed minds it has become that.

 

I would like to hold out some hope for the future. I have concrete doubts. Something miraculous needs to happen.

 

That does not mean divinity in a miraculous sense, but a collective of a great amount of people, with a sensibility that spirituality and the real world are two very different things. That is what will unite people. A common goal, void of the repercussions of faith and the supernatural. A push for the common good.

This is true to an extent, it's the reality of a fallen humanity. But in other ways it is important to remember humanity has never been better in better shape. We live longer, healthier, wealthier, more educated, less likely to die a violent death. These are all trending in the right direction.

 

Remains to be seen if some of the recent trends are a hiccup or the start of a change of direction for the worse.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

This is true to an extent, it's the reality of a fallen humanity. But in other ways it is important to remember humanity has never been better in better shape. We live longer, healthier, wealthier, more educated, less likely to die a violent death. These are all trending in the right direction.

Remains to be seen if some of the recent trends are a hiccup or the start of a change of direction for the worse.

The dominos can fall quicker than you think. Maybe the times are better for some, mostly the well to do. What you said does not represent the poor or the failed educated.

 

Fallen humanity falls on the wealthy and their inability to use their wealth to change the educational system and their inability to properly place funding into an ever growing low income poverty center of humans.

[TheLeviathan]

 

The dominos can fall quicker than you think. Maybe the times are better for some, mostly the well to do. What you said does not represent the poor or the failed educated.

 

Fallen humanity falls on the wealthy and their inability to use their wealth to change the educational system and their inability to properly place funding into an ever growing low income poverty center of humans.

 

I know this is a common phrase, but globally, are we really at a point where the rich are the richest and the poor are the poorest?  

 

I can't help but feel the tone of your argument is one of those "first world problems" sorts of things.  We say this but is there really any truth to it?  But I'm open to hearing what you base this on - are we really at our lowpoint relative to what has come before?

[drjim]

The dominos can fall quicker than you think. Maybe the times are better for some, mostly the well to do. What you said does not represent the poor or the failed educated.

 

Fallen humanity falls on the wealthy and their inability to use their wealth to change the educational system and their inability to properly place funding into an ever growing low income poverty center of humans.

I don't know. For most of recorded history the vast majority of humans lived as sustenance farmers with no education and minimal possesions.

 

Within a century there were wars that killed about 10% of the world's population.

 

Before those wars the infant mortality rate was pushing 50%.

 

150 years ago we had state sponsored slavery.

 

Things got so good so fast we still don't know how to properly respond. I'm not saying we live in a perfect society by any means, but we do need to have some perspective. It would do all of us some good.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

I know this is a common phrase, but globally, are we really at a point where the rich are the richest and the poor are the poorest?  

 

I can't help but feel the tone of your argument is one of those "first world problems" sorts of things.  We say this but is there really any truth to it?  But I'm open to hearing what you base this on - are we really at our lowpoint relative to what has come before?

Damn Levi. You mirror my wife with that question. (:

 

You have to clean up your own back yard and get it right before you interfere with other's back yards.

 

We as a society, have traveled a long ways in a short time to get to where we are now, and it certainly is good, but is flawed.

 

As far as it goes with developing countries, I don't know. Inhospitable terrain, ****ty dictators, lack of humane interest, religious doctrine, poor resources. It's all screwed up, and a country is aware if there is an intervention that they will be conquered by a christian nation.

 

I like to think about getting it right at home, before abroad - and that is not a simple conclusion to come to.

 

Every life matters, but it is a step by step process. I don't know how it could be different.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

I don't know. For most of recorded history the vast majority of humans lived as sustenance farmers with no education and minimal possesions.

Within a century there were wars that killed about 10% of the world's population.

Before those wars the infant mortality rate was pushing 50%.

150 years ago we had state sponsored slavery.

Things got so good so fast we still don't know how to properly respond. I'm not saying we live in a perfect society by any means, but we do need to have some perspective. It would do all of us some good.

The perspective is there. You are giving excuses to our futility as humans. I don't want any of it. We don't need any more excuses.

[TheLeviathan]

 

Damn Levi. You mirror my wife with that question. (:

 

You have to clean up your own back yard and get it right before you interfere with other's back yards.

 

We as a society, have traveled a long ways in a short time to get to where we are now, and it certainly is good, but is flawed.

 

As far as it goes with developing countries, I don't know. Inhospitable terrain, ****ty dictators, lack of humane interest, religious doctrine, poor resources. It's all screwed up, and a country is aware if there is an intervention that they will be conquered by a christian nation.

 

I like to think about getting it right at home, before abroad - and that is not a simple conclusion to come to.

 

Every life matters, but it is a step by step process. I don't know how it could be different.

 

It's a fair take.  I'd caution sometimes the issues abroad find their way ashore.  I'm also all for what you suggest, but I think sometimes that message gets lost when we overstate how bad things are, relatively speaking.

 

I'd like to think the more powerful way to phrase it is "Look how far we've come!  But we can, and should, and need to do more"

[drjim]

 

The perspective is there. You are giving excuses to our futility as humans. I don't want any of it. We don't need any more excuses.

 

It's not excuses, it's the human condition. Our current society has provided health, wealth, education, safety, etc on amazing levels, it is still basically trending in that way, and it is still not nearly enough.

 

No matter what they have in their life, people are still hurting and people still have problems. Might be "first world problems" but they are still problems and still very real and still very devastating. I think the primary lesson we should take of the last several years is that salvation is not coming from our government, and there is no magic political solution to what ails us to our core. It might feel good to say if some wealthy people weren't so greedy and would just share their wealth more everything would be better, but that's a lie.

[PseudoSABR]

I think the first world problems angle cuts both ways. Are tribal populations really better off in the globalized environment?  I think our Native American neighbors may disagree with the whole world is better off.   Are people happier? Living in less fear and worry? Find as much meaning in their lives?  Yes, these are abstract questions, but ultimately matter to every person.

[Craig Arko]

I think the first world problems angle cuts both ways. Are tribal populations really better off in the globalized environment? I think our Native American neighbors may disagree with the whole world is better off. Are people happier? Living in less fear and worry? Find as much meaning in their lives? Yes, these are abstract questions, but ultimately matter to every person.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/f0496fc3-74ec-4cc9-8f8a-8be09c4f652a

 

By the way, five shot in Minneapolis in the past 24 hours, including our first gun death of 2017.

[TheLeviathan]

 

 Are people happier? Living in less fear and worry? Find as much meaning in their lives?  Yes, these are abstract questions, but ultimately matter to every person.

 

What if, overall, the answer to all those questions has grown positively towards yes?  As in, more humans throughout the world are willing to answer positively about these questions more than at any time in our history? 

 

We tend to think our most immediate issues are the worst and fail to keep perspective.  And that perspective is important because it informs us of what we can do and have already succeeded at.  

[Squirrel]

 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/f0496fc3-74ec-4cc9-8f8a-8be09c4f652a

By the way, five shot in Minneapolis in the past 24 hours, including our first gun death of 2017.

Is that all?

[PseudoSABR]

 

What if, overall, the answer to all those questions has grown positively towards yes?  As in, more humans throughout the world are willing to answer positively about these questions more than at any time in our history? 

Well I think however we might speculate to answer that question, such answers would probably be guided by our initial assumptions.   So it becomes an exercise in confirmation bias. 

 

I think many recent phenomenons (from brexit/trump to terrorism (both lonewolf and radical islam)) find their base and their fervor within a deep-seated dissatisfaction with modern life and globalization.  I think as a global society we've done more to give resources like clean water and modern medicine, but those resources merely extend life, they don't make life worth living.   Literacy is both a powerful tool to free one self, and to maintain false narratives and oppressive regimes. 

 

All that said, I tend to understand our society on a spectrum of maturity, where I see our civilization in adolescence (short term thinking, tribalism, etc. etc.); and I do have hope for the future, but my hope is premised on our ability to recognize and implement systemic change (esp. in regard to our global economic structure/system). 

[Craig Arko]

Is that all?

In the city limits. Too damn cold to be out killing your neighbor, I guess.

[TheLeviathan]

 

 

All that said, I tend to understand our society on a spectrum of maturity, where I see our civilization in adolescence (short term thinking, tribalism, etc. etc.); and I do have hope for the future, but my hope is premised on our ability to recognize and implement systemic change (esp. in regard to our global economic structure/system). 

 

Perhaps, if one takes your analogy as indicative of our condition, you would seem to have answered the question a bit from your end.  And perhaps not the way in which you intended?

 

Maybe we are adolescents.  Like adolescents we're volatile and emotional and we think the world is the worst (or best, depends on the day.  Well, maybe the minute) and we lack perspective on how far we've come and we struggle to visualize the path forward.  

 

But let's stop and think what an adolescent is: We're no longer learning to crawl, or walk, or talk, or add, or subtract, or feed ourselves, or....well, the list could go on and on.  Sure, we have a lot to learn, but that shouldn't let us lose sight of how far we've come.  We have grown.  Just think about how much science is a part of our culture more than at any other time and what a wonderous thing that is.  So, yeah, some of that growth has complicated life and created new complications, but it's still much further along the path to adulthood than when we couldn't feed ourselves.

 

So what do we, as adults and parents try to do for adolescents?  We try to guide them on the right path towards maturity and to help them keep perspective on where they've been, where they are, and where they are going so they set the right path forward.  I'd caution all the concerns you might be compelled to feel make right now worse are the sort of reactions you might find in, I don't know.....a teenager       

[nicksaviking]

I hadn't planned on posting on the subject, but an old friend of mine was a few rows back of this guy on the plane and the subject just keeps popping back into my mind. After getting his luggage from the carousel my friend saw the guy walking to the bathroom with a small case, which turned out to be the gun case. He was outside waiting for his shuttle when everything happened.

 

It's hard not to constantly think about how unfortunate everything would have been for him had his luggage not been some of the first to come out. My luggage almost always seems to be among the last to come out.