I think the world is sick

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I wonder if this is because too many people have too much time on their hands!

If you stepped back a little over a hundred years ago, most people worked from dawn to dusk just to survive. Life was grueling. You died prematurely. The average person did not have leisure life, time to spare, time to philosphize. They just lived one day at a time. And what may seem strange is that they were generally happy.

I wonder what the world will be like if in fact robots actually do replace half of all productive jobs in the next decade or less as I heard predicted recently.......

Christians believe that the world is "sick" or getting "sicker" because people have abandoned God, objective truths and objective morality. I know my Dad believes doomsday is nigh.

It does seem to me, for whatever reasons, people have had a feeling of hopelessness and despair in general for many years and far more so than when I was younger.

In one respect though, I don't feel so out of place in day to day public interactions - my mostly expressionless face is increasingly similar to the expressionless and hollow faces of the younger generation in service positions (cashiers, bank tellers, etc). Our expressions match, but for different reasons......

I find that the faces of cashiers and store clerks vary widely.

You have some whom you wonder why they are so exuberant.

Others are sort of weary.

It is rare for there to be a downright nasty cashier/store clerk.

...or the opposite. Perhaps he sees the world TOO well and it's depressing...

I've always thought that people were happy because they didn't know what there was that they didn't have. I mean in the modern world it is easy for anyone with internet access to find out about what kind of luxurious life they could get with money, but that wasn't the case back then. Of course, people knew that some had it easier than them, but they had no such an easy way of knowing how much or what good things they'd never get because they lacked the money.

It is my belief that people were happier because"
They knew their purpose in life. They learned to master simple skills and took pride in their work. They had family and extended family (cousins and uncles and aunts) that cared about their well being. Families are really close. They celebrated life together. This was their safety net, not the government. They accomplished life's tasks. Life was easier to master because the modern world is very complex. Take for example the Amish who live a simple life, everyone participates, everyone works, everyone respects each other, they respect their collective knowledge and the elders that lead the way.

Thanks ... fixed that. Don't remember setting it that way in the first place.

I recently read a good book called "Utopia for Realists", which analysed some of the ways in which current society is failing to live up to its potential.

One thing I remember was that there was a correlation between societal problems such as rising mental health issues and the divide between the rich and the poor. Extremes of inequality within a nation are damaging - and that's what we're living with right now.

I think the world does not make the people. People make the world, which finally reflects their saouls in average.

Sometime you look at the world from far away and it is beautiful. When you know it better, sometimes you are surprised how ugly it actually looks like.
(and it is the same when you look at the people)

Ah, yes - depressive realism. I've heard of it.

The thing is - how motivating is it to do that?

You have to keep enough optimism to want to keep living and trying.

maybe his thoughts have nothing to do with it. maybe he's right and his depression is a result of it?

either way, it's something worth discussing.

i would say that we're lonelier than ever, this much is definitely certain.
people need to be occupied, we have more lesiure time than ever and obviously this has its benefits but at least for me, i've felt most depressed when i had nothing to do.

we're more swamped with information now. but if it seems like the world is going to the dogs, then, it isn't the first time

Every generation thinks they've discovered what every previous generation has experienced. That's one reason why so many think someone like Trump is so shocking.

IDK maybe the world is not so sick, I mean there is a proposition in Colorado to decriminalize magic mushrooms, otherwise known as psilocybin. I guess the pot was not enough now we gotta make the headlines with trying to at the very least decriminalize mushrooms. I feel the world will be less sick when we realize people do drugs and always will, there are tons of good people incarcerated for simple drug use that every person indulges in...its the wrong approach.

Why should a normal human activity be criminalized? It is a normal human behavior the more we deny it the more problem it causes.

I do think that there is something wrong with the world, more left/right/religious extremists are voicing their opinions and idiots latch on to them like flies to flypaper.

Like Zappa said: -"If a million more agree, then there is no great society". Guess what, we are there.

But - i don't spend time worrying that much, i prepp instead for me and the members of my family.

If millions of people die from war or calamity and I have to join them I will accept it.

Yes it truly is

Lies, half-truths, ‘turning a blind eye’, bullying, victim blaming—- these things get u ahead.

any truly honest or ethical person will have a much harder time or is overpowered by the sickness of this world.

More effort fr the same thing just bcuz liars use their dishonesty n strategic tactics to get ahead. That is what I learned from lawyer/law clerk.
The pain tht genuine ppl feel, n also see around them ,
the psychopaths n sociopaths n those who become stone-hearted over time, don’t feel or care to see,

so they think the world is heavenly! They think u are a loser fr caring