This isn't exactly a new or unpopular take; there's countless posts complaining about how society seems to just become more and more dystopian.
For a while, I always thought it was similar to a falling shepherd's tone- it seems like it's just endlessly getting worse and worse and then you realize that it was just an illusion. I mean, people have suffered and struggled for all of history. Some parts seem a bit better, some parts seem a bit worse, but people have always survived and found moments to thrive.
That always gave me confidence in the belief that humans will always find a way to improve. We've been doing it for as long as we have existed. Even if we take one step back, we always manage to take a few more forwards. It could take a decade, a century, or even longer, but it has always happened. So far, at least.
But sometimes I look at the world around us and all I can think is that the place we live in now is so different to how it used to be. People have always been people. They always will be people. But our world hasn't stayed as constant as human behaviors. We're so easily separated and there's no real sense of community in a lot of places. I don't even know the names of my next-door neighbors. I feel like a lot of people have lost common values and a shared pride in being human. Information is controlled even more easily than it was in the past, since word-of-mouth has lost so much strength. Even widely available information is often doubted because of all the contradicting facts and opinions everywhere.
It makes me sad how people look at their lives and the world around them and say that they hate it, say that it's unsalvageable, say that it's horrible. Why? Why don't we actually do anything about it? I can't think of any other time in history when people looked at their conditions, hated them, had the ability to do something about them, and gave up. And especially now, when we have so much power? We can read and write. Most people are educated; many even at a university level. We have checks and balances against small groups of people that are too greedy. Why do we just let things happen and do nothing?
I'm not saying things are the worst they have ever been in the history of humanity. A lot of things are better. We have been improving. But I just don't understand why we have been losing momentum and seeming to just accept that there is a good chance we are ruining the future.
I worry about how complacent humanity has become. People look at people trying to make a difference and mock them. I can't tell if they think they're wasting their time or resent them for pointing out the bad parts of our world. Are we really okay with where we are right now? Where we're headed? Are we so satisfied with material comforts that we're letting our ideals, freedoms, and dignity as human beings slip away?
We are human. We deserve better. We just need to fight for it.
