So my first post isn't as insightful as the ones that will follow it, but I figure there are certain things on my mind right now that I believe need to be addressed.
The simple fact of the matter is that society has become immune to pain. I'm not talking about physical pain, I mean general emotional pain, on a non-personal level, has disappeared. The news is littered with stories of murder, of rape, of abandonment and of accidents. Yet, we watch at home, sitting on a leather couch, drinking an expensive glass of wine. We see these sad stories and respond with:
"That's sad." or "Thats terrible."
Then the phone rings and we forget all about it, or even better, we realize there's something more entertaining on a different station. Funny how our world works, isn't it? We pretend to be so perfect, pretending to be what we cannot be, but hey, at least we can't say we're striving to be what we cannot be.
In reality, every person should be morally outraged by the world we live in. But it seems that as the cigarettes fill the median or the empty bottles fill the void in our souls, we become immune to pain. I'm not saying that the entire world's population is addicted to cigarettes or alcohol, but I will gladly assume that everybody is addicted to something. The steriotypical connotation of addiction would refer to drugs, nicotine, alcohol, gambling, whatever it may be. I'd say that, along with those things, I would gladly place human conditions under the category of addiction. I believe ignorance is a subconcious addiction. I believe arrogance and pride are addictions. I believe all sin, pain, feelings of sitting on a non-meritted high horse, all human flaws are addictions. We are not given a personality and are told to deal with it, we are given life, a fresh aisle, and we decide to paint it black. So I'd argue that it is our own fault that our world is desensitized. Blame it on the media if you'd like, but do not forget that it is people who control that same media. Blame it on corporations, I know I do, then I remember that it is poisoned humans who control these same corporations. Hell, blame it on the corrupt governments that intervene far too often in a free market enterprise controlled by a free market world. Just remember who voted for the PEOPLE in charge of the corruption.
So yes, we are to blame!
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to pessimism! Care to join?
5 comments:
Love the post, and love the fact that you've made a blog! Hurrah!
I completely agree with you. Humanity has become so densistized, so dull - so numb, that nothing affects us unless we are DIRECTLY involved in some matter. Sure we watch the news and see the genocide that goes on in Africa, or soldiers getting killed at war, or people in our very city getting murdered, but hey... I didnt know that person so why should I care? We have all grown up with violence, and I think it would be more of a shock to our mentality's if we didnt have that constant stream, more so than if we werent desensitized. It appears that our bodys and minds crave the violence as if it were some sort of neanderthal/primitive nature that has been genetically bound to us for centuries.
Good idea, keep'em coming!
Chris S.
PS. I added your blog link to my blog! Hope that creates some traffic!
I totally agree with you Benj!!
The world that we live in now is a far cry from what it was even 25 years ago. People have a sense of self-righteousness about everything and feel that the world owes them. Everyone is so used to their material conforts that we just constantly want more and more and care less and less. I agree also that addictions come in many forms including eating,shopping (mine...), drinking, smoking, television etc....
It will be interesting to see what our childrens' generation will look like and how much lazier and more compliant they will become..
Very well written!
Total agreement here.
Everyone has a vice, and that's kind of sad. Back in the day when people didn't have cars, electricity, running water, etc., they still found a way to be happy. Somehow, as the generation who has everything, we seem to value nothing and take everything for granted.
It's kind of heartbreaking when you think of all those suffering in the developing world, yet a few seconds after we hear about it, we
forget it and move on. Yes, it is a product of our upbringing and the constant violence we're exposed to, and maybe there isn't really much we can do to change that.
Basically, you're right with the 'fresh aisle' statement- we start with clean slates, and always manage to break them to pieces. Sad.
Gotta love those pessimists, hey?
Found this, and thought it was fitting for your argument.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CT-Hq117w8s
Enjoy.
Chris.
That's exactly what I'm talking about.
Who are we to forget those who don't deserve to be forgotten?
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