A few moments ago, I overheard one of my fellow employees asking yet another fellow employee if he knew of any Biblical references to UFOs. I kid you not. The end is near people. Bask in the glory of end times.
Glib? Probably, but at some point you have to ask how it is that humanity ( and I still have to keep myself from using the sexist term Mankind; curse you 60's ) has survived for so long, and I now believe that the lack of technology has been, rather than being an impediment, the key to our longevity. In the dark ages people were dependent on one another for their community, their survival in bad times, their moral center, their............
One would think, but who knows. My dark ages were the 60's, so my reference may not be complete. I have read a lot of history, though, and yes, that may not count for much either.
Still ( I intend to overuse that word extensively in this post ), and I'll tell the reason I'm even bringing this up soon, I'm beginning to believe we on the road to our Wall-E period, and unlike the people in that whimsical cartoon; we're doomed. Well, those of us in the western tradition are doomed to self obsession. All you need to know is this one word; Twitter. The inorganic progression from the inane cell phone call. Now instead of calling one person to let them know you're going to the bathroom, you can now inform everyone else you believe is deeply interested in your every move and thought.
-----This has possibilities in product surveys and or endorsements. Does this brand of toilet paper have the wherewithal to cleave the damage done or does it come apart in your hand? Inquiring minds.------
As if our society isn't narcissistic enough.
This came into my febrile little mind when listening to a story about a photographer, recently deceased, who commented that people used to live in the streets ( not literally, although we know that is a part of human existence ); that that's where their community was; that's where the action was. No TV. They had the radio. Still, one would assume, connection came from actual human contact.
Back in the day.
Still ( annoyed yet ), great civilizations thrive on outward growth, not inward navel gazing, and an inordinate interest in the mundane of the everyman, or woman. Our lives just aren't that important or interesting. Yet technology is apace to drown us in the detritus of our collective existence. We no longer need to strive to survive; we got more than we'll ever need ( whether or not it's adequately share so no person goes without is another question ), by far, to survive. The question has been posed as to whether that's a good thing or bad. Are we more generous? Are we more knowledgeable? Are we more righteous before the Lord; assuming we're not consumed by Biblical references to creatures from beyond the moon? Are we, like all great civilizations before us, growing weak by our own satisfaction only to be consumed by one more vigorous and opportunistic society? Conservatives worry about such things; progressives see it as necessary change; nativists see it as evil, and the rest of won't notice because we're too busy following some vacuous celebrity on Twitter.
The pessimist see all of this as the end of the world; not the earth ( we'll talk about that another time ), but of humanity as we know it. Why? Because there ought to be more to life. Because if we corrupt the rest of humanity into self centered shop-a-holics then where is the glory of existence to go?
Still, it's possible that having a life where you're free to spend your life navel gazing, shopping, collecting any variety of objects has it joys and merits. The freedom not to worry about having enough to eat, a place of shelter, the opportunity to do and say what you want with only minor difficulties has it's charms. Charms which a great number of people on this earth do not have.
Still.
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