We Can’t Live With Each Other and We Can’t Live With Ourselves
Some people want 15 seconds of fame more than a life of purpose and meaning. This is a profound statement. It’s also a frightening statement, because it rings true now, more than ever. The title of the video you’re about to watch is “Why I think this world should end.” Will it?
The question perhaps is not will it, but should it?
We live in unsettling times. The world is changing rapidly and in many ways, not for the better. Yes, of course we have made advancements and improvements, but it seems that for every step forward, we take two steps back. Those backward steps just happen to be in the very things we humans truly hold dear — love, kindness, peace, quite, compassion, hope and positivity.
Don’t get me wrong here — I’m not being negative, nor am I being a doom and gloomer. Quite the contrary, because in truth, I’m being positive. To have true, lasting positivity, we must confront and challenge the negative. And in this case, the condition of our world is one such negative that needs some serious confrontation.
So the young singer who made this video seems to be giving his reasons for why this world should end. It’s a very drastic statement — but before jumping to any conclusions, watch this compassionate young man and hear him out. Really listen and hear his words and ask yourself if what he says holds true in your opinion:
People might call this gentleman a defeatist. After all, he highlights a litany of negatives and it may appear to some that he’s given up and only sees the dark side of life. I disagree and counter that rather, he is doing what a positive person should — he’s calling attention to the darkness and dragging the negative out into the light.
A positive person should never bury their head in the sand like an Ostrich. Being a true positive thinker means being a realistic person, but one who knows that things can and will get better — it also means taking an active role in helping to make things better.
I’d like to call attention to some of the compelling observations he makes in the video:
- The air is polluted, the ocean is contaminated, animals are going extinct
- Education is shot
- Intelligence is shunned and ignorance is rewarded
- Everyone is depressed
- What’s popular is more important that what’s right
- Ratings are more important than truth
- Politicians trick us
- Our government builds twice as many prisons than schools
- If you disagree with me I’ll kill you, or even worse, argue you to death
- The average person watches 5 hours of television a day and there’s more violence on the screen than ever before
- Pride is at an all time high, humility at an all time low
- Everybody is blaming someone
- Videos of mis-fortune go viral and people laugh
- We can’t live with each other and we can’t live with ourselves
He goes on to say:
“So what can we do in the face of all this madness and chaos? What is the solution? We can love…not the love you hear in your favorite song on the radio. I mean real love…true love, boundless love. You can love. Love each other from the moment we wake up, to the moment we go to bed. Perform an act of kindness because that is contagious. We can be mindful during every interaction, planting seeds of goodness, showing a little more compassion than usual. We can forgive, because 300 years from now, will that grudge you hold against your friend, your Mother, your Father, have been worth it? Instead of trying to change others, we can change ourselves.”
The last line holds so true, because it speaks to the root of some of our greatest problems — in our world today, “if you disagree with me, I’ll kill you, or even worse, argue you to death.” We have become so ingrained in ourselves — so hardened, obstinate and closed off. Today, we are inexplicably determined to fight a losing battle to force people to see, feel and believe in things just as we do. We no longer consider differences of opinion — instead, we identify those differences, target them and then try to eliminate them. In the process, we wage a war of wills that has no winner.
If we ‘can’t live with each other and we can’t live with ourselves,’ then the solution really has to start with us — you and me. Each of us must look deep inside our soul and ask “am I making this world a better place, or am I part of the problem?” It’s incumbent on every human being to ask if someone’s race, sexual orientation, political affiliation, gender or religion really matter. Is the continued abuse of our planet — our home — helping us, or destroying us? Do we continue on as we are, or do we finally decide that the way the world is now, just isn’t working.
“Everyone is depressed”
Antidepressants are some of the most popular drugs in the United States, and their usage shows no signs of waning. A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that from 2011 through 2014, the most recent data available, close to 13% of people 12 and older said they took an antidepressant in the last month. That number is up from 11% in 2005–2008.
The most recent numbers have increased by nearly 65% since 1999–2002, when 7.7% of Americans reported taking an antidepressant. — Time Magazine
Why are we depressed?
Americans have less human interaction and sense of community, the greatest proven source of happiness and reassurance. This reality won’t be reversed in our lifetimes, but only grow worse with our children, who will be ever more addicted to electronic substitutes for human interaction. — Psychology Today
This brings us back to the title of his video, “Why I think this world should end.” My takeaway is that he doesn’t mean a literal end or destruction of the world, but more ending the way the world is now. I believe his point is that we need to re-build and create a new approach to life that is centered on purpose, meaning, love, compassion, tolerance, understanding and hope. After all, if something isn’t working, you fix it.
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