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It's a fascinating part of this contemporary obsession with the end of the world. Never before has there been such widespread interest in if not the death of us all, but atleast the death of society.
Listening to Karnivool's new album I started thinking about this when the singer sings "lets reset it all".
Ofcourse, there is more to the subject of the world ending, but this seems to be one of the most prominent aspects of every apocalyptic movie. The fall of civilized man is presented against the backdrop of an overcrowded earth, enviornmental deterioration, poverty and war.
A silver lining can always be glimpsed as the ending hints that "perhaps this time we can do it differently".
I can appriciate the attraction of a hard reset of the world. Simply raze the economic system, away with corrupt governments, greedy corporations and lets figure things out from the bottom up again.
The world is no doubt growing increasingly complex. Not just technologically, but also inter-personal. With the rise of modern psychology and the neuro-sciences we are experiencing a radical shift from a view of the world as something solid outside of us to something more and more subjective and brain-to-brain relative.
I understand the initial draw of the idea that the end of the world could push man back unto a course less set on self-destruction, but there is a measure of dangerous escapism in this notion too. For some reason, the information era has not made us more prone to open discussion, we are still mired in the archaic patterns of zealous self-righteousness and unquestioning certainty in that the way that we percieve the world must be the right one.
I keep seeing this in the movies. The world ends and is then rebuilt by the "just" and by the "good". Working together, all differences set aside in the pressing need for survival, a truly human world could rise from the ashes of the old world.
It seems to me that each generation is bound to lose themselves in this narcisistic fantasy.
What is the basis for assuming that anything will have changed as people gradualy grow back to the safety of a functioning society? What magical force will keep us vigil to the same things that make the world such a hard place to live in now? Laziness, lack of moral backbone, fear of the ones with the power, apathy, ignorance, egoism... The littany is endless.
It is this revolutionary notion that rots at the heart of all the great ideologies of the world, I believe. A dream of life outside of obligation and responsibility. A paradise on earth where all are happy and bereft of pain.
I think the notion borders on oxymoronic. All the things that are worthwile require patience and discipline. A hedonistic life where machines caters to our whims is a pointless life. Material wealth does not solve the pressing questions of how we are supposed to live with ourselves. This is so overwhelmingly prominent in the richer parts of the world. Financial and personal security means nothing as our egos devour us whole.
The ego is not a product by an economic system or a product of the world being too complex-- the ego is a product of ourselves. The outer conditions matter ofcourse, but the path to a less egostical life is never easy. It requires all the great virtues of man, and if we for a second believe that "if only I had X" I'd be complete, we are missing the point completely.
I really hope people will stop expecting a miraculous hard reset and instead choose to be the change they want to see in the world. It is a tired saying, but it is never out of style. If we do not have the energy to make ourselves the best we can be, how can we expect others to do so?
I think we need to end the cycle of ignorance into enlightenment and back again. A cycle that has been running since as far back as human history has recorded.
In order to do that each and every one must wake up to the moral obligation we have to one another, to ourself and this planet.
We cannot hard reset human nature and we cannot legislate society into utopia. Inner transformation is essential, and noone is responsible for that but yourself.
 
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After enough time the world will always end up being corrupt like it is now.
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Even the people that benefit from the way our world is right now, no that shit ain't right!
Everybody feels powerless before the system and the powers that control us.. that's why people like and enjoy stories where people are back to the roots and fighting for themselves and their love ones!
It's a survival story like 99% of the world today.. surviving is the most important but you don't have a bigger power that you can face.. it's just you and yours versus the rest!
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On August 01 2013 00:52 CutieBK wrote:
It's a fascinating part of this contemporary obsession with the end of the world. Never before has there been such widespread interest in if not the death of us all, but atleast the death of society.
Listening to Karnivool's new album I started thinking about this when the singer sings "lets reset it all".
Ofcourse, there is more to the subject of the world ending, but this seems to be one of the most prominent aspects of every apocalyptic movie. The fall of civilized man is presented against the backdrop of an overcrowded earth, enviornmental deterioration, poverty and war.
A silver lining can always be glimpsed as the ending hints that "perhaps this time we can do it differently".
I can appriciate the attraction of a hard reset of the world. Simply raze the economic system, away with corrupt governments, greedy corporations and lets figure things out from the bottom up again.
The world is no doubt growing increasingly complex. Not just technologically, but also inter-personal. With the rise of modern psychology and the neuro-sciences we are experiencing a radical shift from a view of the world as something solid outside of us to something more and more subjective and brain-to-brain relative.
I understand the initial draw of the idea that the end of the world could push man back unto a course less set on self-destruction, but there is a measure of dangerous escapism in this notion too. For some reason, the information era has not made us more prone to open discussion, we are still mired in the archaic patterns of zealous self-righteousness and unquestioning certainty in that the way that we percieve the world must be the right one.
I keep seeing this in the movies. The world ends and is then rebuilt by the "just" and by the "good". Working together, all differences set aside in the pressing need for survival, a truly human world could rise from the ashes of the old world.
It seems to me that each generation is bound to lose themselves in this narcisistic fantasy.
What is the basis for assuming that anything will have changed as people gradualy grow back to the safety of a functioning society? What magical force will keep us vigil to the same things that make the world such a hard place to live in now? Laziness, lack of moral backbone, fear of the ones with the power, apathy, ignorance, egoism... The littany is endless.
It is this revolutionary notion that rots at the heart of all the great ideologies of the world, I believe. A dream of life outside of obligation and responsibility. A paradise on earth where all are happy and bereft of pain.
I think the notion borders on oxymoronic. All the things that are worthwile require patience and discipline. A hedonistic life where machines caters to our whims is a pointless life. Material wealth does not solve the pressing questions of how we are supposed to live with ourselves. This is so overwhelmingly prominent in the richer parts of the world. Financial and personal security means nothing as our egos devour us whole.
The ego is not a product by an economic system or a product of the world being too complex-- the ego is a product of ourselves. The outer conditions matter ofcourse, but the path to a less egostical life is never easy. It requires all the great virtues of man, and if we for a second believe that "if only I had X" I'd be complete, we are missing the point completely.
I really hope people will stop expecting a miraculous hard reset and instead choose to be the change they want to see in the world. It is a tired saying, but it is never out of style. If we do not have the energy to make ourselves the best we can be, how can we expect others to do so?
I think we need to end the cycle of ignorance into enlightenment and back again. A cycle that has been running since as far back as human history has recorded.
In order to do that each and every one must wake up to the moral obligation we have to one another, to ourself and this planet.
We cannot hard reset human nature and we cannot legislate society into utopia. Inner transformation is essential, and noone is responsible for that but yourself.
no. Movies are NOT real!
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I'm pretty sure this isn't a modern phenomenon by any means
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On August 01 2013 04:19 sob3k wrote:
I'm pretty sure this isn't a modern phenomenon by any means
Most religions, modern and ancient, look toward the end of the world. Definitely not a modern trend at all.
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This was well written and kind of interesting..
I'm not sure if this is a yearning or a reality. Nature is all powerful and man is capable of doing great damage to civilization and the planet itself. That's not even mentioning potential pollution problems like weather change from global warming and shortage of food.
Thus, maybe it just the unconscious mind coming forth in our art and entertainment.
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It's not a modern idea. My take on why we are so fascinated with the end of the world is that society and the material things it brings leaves a lot of us unhappy. Even when someone wins the lottery they more often than not are still unhappy and end up blowing all the money within a few years. I think deep down inside we realize that we are not evolved for the type of environment that we live in and see the end of the world as a way to return to a more naturalistic experience. Of course it would be impossible and stupid to give up on society but the fact remains that it is ill suited for us. I've often though about what it would be like to give it all up and live a truly free life but I also wonder how rough it would be and if I'm just romanticising an idea that has little basis in reality.
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EPT
