folkertWed, Mar 19, 2008 I love this thread for many reasons, one of which is that over its course it has started to provoke the opposite of its initial concerns.
I feel like today's proliferation of choice made possible by increasing wealth, comfort and luxury leading to indulgence, decadence and corruption on the one hand, and on the other the decline of religion (for obvious reasons) that formerly provided masses with purpose and direction has left us in an open space, a vast lake that our raft spit us out into. Direction is (temporarily) lost and we are unsure of how large it is and where to go from here or where and when the river will continue.
Obviously, the reality we perceive is only a minute slice of the reality we could be perceiving, which in turn is a minute slice of all of perceivable reality. The important thing when thinking about progress is to look at the places where society dare not look because if it would, all its values break down. It is up to us to take matters into our own hands and create the tools and weapons to make sure none of the dead-end situations mentioned in this conversation take hold and to realize that it's going to take some pretty crazy and dangerous strategies (not to mention alienating) to get the situation back on track and moving forward.
I love this thread for many reasons, one of which is that over its course it has started to provoke the opposite of its initial concerns.
I feel like today's proliferation of choice made possible by increasing wealth, comfort and luxury leading to indulgence, decadence and corruption on the one hand, and on the other the decline of religion (for obvious reasons) that formerly provided masses with purpose and direction has left us in an open space, a vast lake that our raft spit us out into. Direction is (temporarily) lost and we are unsure of how large it is and where to go from here or where and when the river will continue.
Obviously, the reality we perceive is only a minute slice of the reality we could be perceiving, which in turn is a minute slice of all of perceivable reality. The important thing when thinking about progress is to look at the places where society dare not look because if it would, all its values break down. It is up to us to take matters into our own hands and create the tools and weapons to make sure none of the dead-end situations mentioned in this conversation take hold and to realize that it's going to take some pretty crazy and dangerous strategies (not to mention alienating) to get the situation back on track and moving forward.
And it can start right here.