Jere Krischel
Jul 21, 2017 · 1 min read

I’m not sure that follows. Now, all caveats about past results don’t guarantee future returns, we can look at the past century and see a pretty optimistic trajectory.

The world in 2017 is greener than 1917. It’s perhaps a bit warmer, by maybe 0.8C. There are more people here, and poverty has dropped, and war has diminished, technology has boomed, art has exploded, and while we certainly still have problems in corrupt, expansive government, the defense of ritualistic genital mutilation, and exploitative globalization, I think any person alive would rather be living in 2017 than 1917, in any place on the earth I can think of.

But here’s the thing — humans are always fascinated by apocalypse. Every generation, since the very first human generation, has predicted the end of the world, the coming of the apocalypse, and the destruction of all. It’s a very human impulse, seen in every society, in every time period, for as far as we can go back. I’ll bet even within other primate species, they have their own doomsday worries.

Maybe processing the negative feelings has to include understanding that some of them might be completely irrational and unfounded in reality.

)
    Jere Krischel

    Written by

    Socially liberal, fiscally conservative, born again carnivore, musician, firearms instructor and skeptical civil rights activist.