What are the main challenges facing Mankind today?

PureX

PureX

Well-known member
chair said:
By the way- it makes no difference whether the climate change is man-induced. The effects are here.
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The difference would be that if we are causing it, we could do something to mitigate it.

And we are causing it (but are too selfish and greedy to do what is necessary to mitigate it).
 
T

The Lord's Sword

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PureX said:
That's a great question. One that I wish our nation and global human collective would ask itself far more earnestly that it does.

I would say our #1 problem right now is that our technological prowess has far, far outstripped our ethical prowess, to the degree that on several fronts, we are in danger of literally destroying ourselves and perhaps destroying the ecosphere of the entire planet. Currently, we are the only known expressions of "intelligent life" in the universe, and we are teetering on the edge of extinguishing it by our own hand.

I would say that out #2 problem is that we don't live long enough as individuals to apply what we learn over the course of our lives to the well-being of life and humanity in general. And as a result, every generation keeps making the same mistakes over and over and over. When, I believe, if we lived twice as long as we do, the second half of our lives could be spent actually applying the wisdom we acquired in the first half, because most of the survival tasks would be taken care of. The children would be raised, the wild oats have been sown, the heartbreaks and disappointments will have been put to rest, and we would still have some time and energy to actually do some good in the world. As it is, by the time we've gained some actual wisdom and common sense in life, we're too old to apply it effectively to the universal human endeavor.

And if I were to choose a 3rd universal human problem, I would say that it's the sudden and overwhelming degree of abstraction in most of our lives, as modern humans, causing us to become somewhat "insane" without even realizing it.

People living in the modern nations of the world have become so specialized and removed from the task of survival that most of them could not survive if the abstract, inter-related societies in which they live were to collapse or fall apart. Which they could do very easily. Almost none of us could build our own shelters, hunt our own food, make our own clothes, or defend our own lives if it were to become necessary. And because we don't know how to do these things, or even think about them, anymore, we have little cognizance or respect for the affinity with nature that goes along with such an elemental lifestyle. And we become too easily willing to poison and destroy the very natural habitat that we need to survive. We are getting lost in all this abstraction, and we are becoming literally insane as a result. We think money is more important than clean air and fresh water. Which is truly insane.
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I think this is a good post. Climate change may not be all man made, but still it is important
 
chrysostom

chrysostom

Well-known member
Hall of Fame
chair said:
I see what is happening in the Middle East and Africa, including the migration into Europe, as part of a huge problem. Perhaps a symptom of underlying problems.

Causes are complicated, but corrupt government, religious fanaticism, and climate change appear to be the main culprits.

By the way- it makes no difference whether the climate change is man-induced. The effects are here.
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great thread chair

some interesting answers

it is not easy for me to be this polite
 
R

rexlunae

New member
PureX said:
But I'll be honest, I don't think honor is something that we humans exhibit, generally. I think America's 'greatest generation' understood and exhibited honor because they lived through the great depression and WW2. They learned through sacrifice and hardship the importance of looking out for each other, as citizens and as human beings.
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Maybe. But it was a world-wide depression, and clearly a lot of people, including whole countries, learned bitterness and spite. What do you suppose made the difference for the US?
 
The Berean

The Berean

Well-known member
chair said:
I see what is happening in the Middle East and Africa, including the migration into Europe, as part of a huge problem. Perhaps a symptom of underlying problems.

Causes are complicated, but corrupt government, religious fanaticism, and climate change appear to be the main culprits.

By the way- it makes no difference whether the climate change is man-induced. The effects are here.
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And this has led to a sharp rise in European right wing nationalism and identity politics. At some point European nations will say, "No more!" to what they consider undesirables, i.e. non-whites, and close their borders. Well, maybe not Sweden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KSJY0c8QWw

NOTE: There are a few profanities in this video.
 
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PureX

PureX

Well-known member
rexlunae said:
Maybe. But it was a world-wide depression, and clearly a lot of people, including whole countries, learned bitterness and spite. What do you suppose made the difference for the US?
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I think there are a lot of particulars that went into it. But what came out was a lot of American men and women who had suffered through the dust bowl and the great depression. And then who had to fight together and support each other through a global war. These people were not spoiled bumpkins. They had seen it all and survived it all by helping and trusting each other. They knew what honor was, and what it meant, because they had seen men fight and die for each other. And they had seen cowardice and dishonor, too. And here at home, too, as people truly sacrificed for the war effort, or just tried to get rich off it.

But that generation is gone, and our subsequent generations have not experienced those things. We're lazy and ignorant and selfish in comparison. We squander the freedom, security and wealth that they struggled and died to achieve. We've allowed the robber barons to take over the world, again. To corrupt our government, again. To enslave us, again. We've allowed the demagogues to turn us against each other and make us blame each other for their malfeasance. We have returned to the dogma of "every man for himself … and himself alone". We exhibit little honor. We don't even know what it means, most of us.
 
Nathon Detroit

Nathon Detroit

LIFETIME MEMBER
LIFETIME MEMBER
Quetzal said:
Yeah... a problem for sure.
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Do we really have to play these games?

Only a complete moron doesn't know what liberalism has come to mean.

This is why folks like you are a waste of time. All you want to do is obfuscate, nitpick, and throw rocks from the sidelines.
 
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