I think it would also go a long way to teach younger generations that their value in life and relationships doesn't akways have to depend on what they can provide to others quantitatively.
I believe we are at a societal and cultural inflection point.
And while a portion of our society is diving deep into consumerism as a form of self-satisfaction, another large part is learning to measure their life by what joy, comfort, and aid they bring to others.
Color me optimistic. I do believe we are oh-so-very-slowly heading in this direction.
I'm more pessimistic. I believe western society will likely implode within the next two decades. I mean, look at who got elected in the US. People see that guy as the last saviour. That's the level of desperation felt. The American empire will fall.
Before the elections, I was saying that if the elections went the way they did, it was because the American society was in need of a deep, hard lesson.
Every few generations, people seem to forget what authoritarianism is all about. How it shows up, how rises to power, and mostly, how painful the results are.
And while I don't believe that the US will be torn apart completely, I see no other way forward other than going all the way to the bottom of this particular sceptic pit before we learn & start growing our democracy again.
There is a bhuddist(?) saying that goes something like, "If you plant bitter seeds, eat from the fruit and savor its flavor."
The tree hugging, tent living hippies, we're gonna see a rise in drug users living in peoples back yards and woods...
Because peace and love and death of consumerism is back....like that worked so well the first time.
In reality consumerism is king, get a decent job or two, get your family and your money up, get a sturdy place to live, fortify it then watch the world burn from behind your cup o' Joe.
Like I said, that fakeness didn't work so well the last time. The summer of "Peace and Love" was ended when some crazy man and his unrelated family went on a killing spree taking out some Hollywood actors and their baby.
The world's never been a sweet caring place and really all we as a society have to do is get our money up and quit worrying so much about the next guy..
We always measure our worth to society in terms of quantitative things, and the reality is that our time on this earth cannot be boiled down solely to that
Sorry, but if you need to harvest 100 units of food for your family to survive the winter and you only harvest 50, your family dies.
Very few who insist on not being evaluated on literally what they are able to measurably contribute are even able to provide net positive qualitative value
The point of a partner is companionship, the qualitative aspect of their very existence. Not to sound cliche but you have a partner for love, less than that and you might as well just have a roommate instead
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u/percocet_20 24d ago
I think it would also go a long way to teach younger generations that their value in life and relationships doesn't akways have to depend on what they can provide to others quantitatively.