I know it’s more pleasant to think that this is the result of propaganda by a small number of awful people, but at some point we have to accept that we, as a species, are awful as a whole. Including ourselves.
I don’t think we’re awful as a whole. To some extent, I need to believe this, in order to avoid breaking down and killing myself. However, I do think it counts for something that there are so many people who want humans to be better, and are doing what they can. I think that resigning oneself to humans being awful will lead to a world with more awfulness.
This is an area where failure is not a binary. As bad as things are now, it can always get worse. The more people give up, the worse things will become.
I understand why you feel that way, and I’m certainly not trying to persuade you that you should feel optimistic about the world. It sounds like giving up hoping might be a thing that helps you to cope with the awfulness of the world — it’s reasonable to want to shield oneself from inevitable disappointment.
I think that at the core of my own resolve to keep resisting terrible things is my sadness at how it’s not helpful to try to persuade people like you that things are worth fighting for. I think that, at my core, I agree with you. We’re both so jaded by what we’ve seen that it’s hard to imagine anything better. To some extent though, I don’t need to — my own coping mechanism is to hold onto the abstract hope of future people being able to effect change (and to think in terms of how I can best set the groundwork for them). Effectively, I am setting aside the question of whether people are worth the effect now, and imagining a future where people are worth the effort.
I recognise that it’s irrational, but it helps me to get by — in terms of my own life, I’ve found it’s a mindset that helps me to grow in a way that I like, so it’s a useful guiding principle if nothing else. I emphasise again though, I’m not trying to persuade you of anything. There is so much awfulness in the world that I’m just glad that you’ve been able to continue existing, even if you feel hopeless about things.
I think a lot of awfulness is just the result of a poor internal model of the world. Intentionally spreading a poor model of the world is an effective propaganda strategy and often done. However it is difficult to tell apart people who have been lied to and people who have been unintentionally misled.
I think a great many people, myself included, have been misled about a great many things. Mostly not even out of maliciousness, but because reality is not as obvious as it could be. Our perspectives are often so limited. My takeaway from all this is to try and broaden my perspective, and when possible, give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they just need some new information, or the removal of a malign influence.
I know it’s more pleasant to think that this is the result of propaganda by a small number of awful people, but at some point we have to accept that we, as a species, are awful as a whole. Including ourselves.
I don’t think we’re awful as a whole. To some extent, I need to believe this, in order to avoid breaking down and killing myself. However, I do think it counts for something that there are so many people who want humans to be better, and are doing what they can. I think that resigning oneself to humans being awful will lead to a world with more awfulness.
And they’re all still failing at making us even a halfway respectable species.
This is an area where failure is not a binary. As bad as things are now, it can always get worse. The more people give up, the worse things will become.
That’s the best part: No matter how much I do it will always get worse, just more slowly.
It hasn’t gotten better since 1999 and I don’t believe people are worth the effort anymore.
I understand why you feel that way, and I’m certainly not trying to persuade you that you should feel optimistic about the world. It sounds like giving up hoping might be a thing that helps you to cope with the awfulness of the world — it’s reasonable to want to shield oneself from inevitable disappointment.
I think that at the core of my own resolve to keep resisting terrible things is my sadness at how it’s not helpful to try to persuade people like you that things are worth fighting for. I think that, at my core, I agree with you. We’re both so jaded by what we’ve seen that it’s hard to imagine anything better. To some extent though, I don’t need to — my own coping mechanism is to hold onto the abstract hope of future people being able to effect change (and to think in terms of how I can best set the groundwork for them). Effectively, I am setting aside the question of whether people are worth the effect now, and imagining a future where people are worth the effort.
I recognise that it’s irrational, but it helps me to get by — in terms of my own life, I’ve found it’s a mindset that helps me to grow in a way that I like, so it’s a useful guiding principle if nothing else. I emphasise again though, I’m not trying to persuade you of anything. There is so much awfulness in the world that I’m just glad that you’ve been able to continue existing, even if you feel hopeless about things.
I think a lot of awfulness is just the result of a poor internal model of the world. Intentionally spreading a poor model of the world is an effective propaganda strategy and often done. However it is difficult to tell apart people who have been lied to and people who have been unintentionally misled.
I think a great many people, myself included, have been misled about a great many things. Mostly not even out of maliciousness, but because reality is not as obvious as it could be. Our perspectives are often so limited. My takeaway from all this is to try and broaden my perspective, and when possible, give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they just need some new information, or the removal of a malign influence.
Humans like to think they’re cool.
Humans are not cool.
Deal with it.
I feel like that sometimes too :(