I've had a lot of time to think lately. I actually think we are living in one best eras of all time. Relatively stable political scene, cheap energy, low poverty (UK), free (uncensored) internet, cheap international travel, equality, best medical facilities (so far) and longevity. In 50-100 years I don't believe it will be better. 100 years after that and its going to be grim.
trying to find something my friend read me 20 odd years back.. it was a long (ish) list of stats that went something like; if you have lived with out witnessing first hand, family members or friends being killed in your life time through war or famine or disease you are in 30%^ of the worlds population. if you have lived with out being witness to a world war you are .... cant for the life of me remember where or who he got these stats from or obviously what they where exactly but back then my generation in NZ was in the top 5% if thats how you would put it. as in only 5% or something of the population of world have lived without being personally involved in shit.... it was an amazing list
The times they are a changin' Who said “The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”
Best Time to be alive? Depends where you live I guess! and how old you are! Personally I do not think I am in the best time to be alive, sure I have more day to day material things than ever before, but day to day living I find very frustrating, back in the old days what you never had you never missed. I certainly loved my life in the 70's early 80's but was that because I was younger? but right now today I think times are crap with all that is going on in the world, although thankfully it does not so far effect me personally, I still see it, hear about it, and think about it. I guess everyone is different and what is going in on in their own life's in these times
I think it is because of now Some Children love Luxury, that they expect it on a plate, that has made them bad mannered, selfish, with little respect for Elders etc.
I'm unsure really. I enjoy life, but the amount of incredibly idiotic people and political correctness these days makes me want to go and build a log cabin, far farrrr away from civilisation and never see a human again.
I personally think we don't live in a particularly nice world anymore. Yes we may have better medicines and technology, but we have lost respect for fellow human beings. The media is a very powerful tool has a lot to answer for, we were with some friends on Sat night and they have stopped watching the news and swear they are happier people for it.
Socrates. The point being that personal thoughts haven't really changed with time and the best time to be alive is "now".
OK... Climate change. Increasing pressure on food and water resources. Population expulsion and then later control. Running out of cheap oil (the UK has more than 300 years of coal reserves, as does Russia and USA). Pollution.. All of these issues are going to grow exponentially over the coming 3-5 generations. That was the point of my initial post /thread, not happiness or contentment.
I don't disagree with the basic premise that now is a good time, for us here in the UK, and that the world as whole faces serious challenges long term. I have thought for some time that our western capitalist civilisation has peaked and is in decline. The balloon has been inflated to bursting point, will the train speeding towards the buffers run out of steam and coast to a halt before it hits the buffers. I don't know. The point I was making is that people have been asking similar questions for thousands of years.
Personally with the rate of technology, and with new resources, existing resources still being found, I don't see a problem in the real long term, it just depends on how quick the world unites, and releases that you cannot carry on at the current rate of population explosion, and so wasteful of resources in everyday life. It is shocking how we are forced to waste so much for the greed of corporate companies, one instance to throw away a complete printer because it is cheaper to replace it with a new one than to replace ink cartridges. the list is endless of the short term turnover we live in and the marketing of technology held back to make people replace items. when the resources are so low, by that time I bet we are so far advanced into space travel, new planets found to sustain life
Yes we are wasteful, but nobody is twisting our arm to do so. As for space travel and new planets to sustain life, that is what warranted the "funny" rating.
