If the earth was a farm, people would certainly be its crops. A single kind of crop. Plant farm. There is a vicious tendency towards convergence. Convergence of people into a uniform kind. This convergence might be merited by evolution since it would naturally tend to favor the eventual emergence of a certain kind of crop, or at least a breed of crop with certain basic attributes.
However, for the present humans, it is very debatable if evolution is rightfully at work; that the best and strongest of its members are the best fitted to survive. Evolution, after all, serves the purpose of making the entire species better and more adapted to the emerging environment, right? Looking at humanity now, I doubt that it is the best of humans who survive and prosper. The modern human looks like a crop, or a reared animal. There seems to be an increased prevalence of fools. So prevalent is the foolish population that stupidity might as well as be added to the four fundamental forces and make them five.
Nowadays people seem to be very cultured. Cultured in what to think, how to think, what to like, what to say, what to listen to, what to believe in, what to love and what to hate. It is ignorant of me to concentrate on this period in time as if this hasn’t been occurring through ages. Isn’t this normalization of the individual the way nations, religions and human societies born? I believe it is. But maybe the other ages have more to show for the little knowledge they had access to than we have for the knowledge we have.
Looking at it critically, well, we spend billions of money that doesn’t exist and by doing so, turn it into debt. Then, what do we spend this money on? Arms. Missiles. Drones. Junk. Un-entertaining leisure. And who do we give this money to? Politicians, Hedge fund managers, Wall Street crooks. And what happens to this money? It goes back to the banks, after we pay them some interest for lending it to us. What is the common man doing? Working hard to pay back the bank. What is the bank doing? Making more debt for you to pay, destroying expired or settled debt and making profit while at it. While we are stuck in this cycle, what happens to academic research? What happens to innovation? What happens to education? What happens to healthcare? Research projects that could usher in technology of the future remain underfunded and naturally, they stop unless they have a direct benefit to the ‘economy’. Innovation dies unless it is the kind of innovation that means better edges for the balance sheet. Worse healthcare for the ordinary person. Education? Education is naturally modified to reflect the needs of the current society. The amazing result is an industry whose wheels are turned by disaster and a sick culture that takes pride in ignorance and conformity. I wonder what the future will say of us.
(Correct me where I’m wrong and I’ll be wiser and thankful.)
But then, I don’t think time has seen a more knowledgeable yet utterly foolish people than it is doing now.
