Step One

I often wonder about the fate of society.

Not the Earth in general. It is scientific fact that eventually our sun will balloon up and explode, or condense and freeze, or some other such thing, and life on Earth as we know it will cease to exist. But we should all be fully aware of this as humans. We need to understand that not only is our personal time here limited, but the world which we call home, which we pollute and care for, berate and adore, curse and worship, will one day be loose, scattered atoms or a hunk of coal floating in space.

Do you think about it often? The fact that one day, your usual hang-outs and haunts and schools and offices and places to escape will be nothing but dust in the proverbial wind? I doubt it. Humans as a whole are limited thinkers. That is not an insult, but simply a fact. We see what is in front of us, whatever is readily apparent. The normal, average American (if there really is such a thing) is focused on their life. We are concerned with what the Republicans are saying to the Democrats, how much foreign aid we have doled out in the last fiscal year, whether our boss is going to promote that new, sexy, intelligent secretary over us. We debate and agonize over whether or not to take that weekend trip, what we should spend our meager paycheck on and how much of it to save, whether or not our children are going to grow up to hate us.  They lay awake at night, reliving the days of their past, looking forward to the future, and attempting to be happy in the present. Using any vice, whether moral or immoral, to escape from pain like a fox running from the hounds. Scope out slightly to the fringes on both ends, and we see a little contrast, but not much.

Those in poorer shape than what is considered average struggle for survival (and I have often believed these people see further into the condition of the Universe than those who are consumed by our entertainment-driven, sociopolitical, religious lifestyle in the good old US of A). Those on the low end of society (for make no mistake, there is still a class system in place stateside) fight day to day for what they can get, live more in the moment than anyone else, battle simply to exist.

And those on the other end of society, those who are rich and powerful, those men and women who, either by a combination of luck and skill, have risen to control more assets in the world than others (and here we stretch away from the US into a global perspective, run with me if you can keep up), who can really say what they believe or want. I would dearly love to trust the motives of our politicians (ha, wait, no I wouldn't), our rich corporate executives, even those who give wonderful advice. But I fear we have reached a point in our society where wealth, and the desire to maintain one's own well-being, has transcended common decency. We bow to the almighty dollar, cliche though that phrase may be. However, it is true. Those people in positions of power in this world, those who live comfortably, live in fear of losing that comfort. And I believe they will do anything, or almost anything, to retain that wealth. Because if they do not, who will it pass to? You, Joe Citizen? Who are you to control money? You spend your whole paycheck on pretty toys and petty amusements. Certainly it won't go to those on the bottom rung, those people of the streets and ghettos, who only want money to buy liquor and drugs.

Who then will it go to? Other countries? Fat chance. The leaders are corrupt individuals. They do business behind closed doors, ride in air conditioned vehicles while their citizens starve and beg and live in the Stone Age, or some variation of it. Leaders can't be trusted, and their citizens are little better than animals capable of speech. Even in places like Europe, they are so caught up in their own lives and so bogged down with laws and regulations and corruption at every level, the money will get lost. Asia? Russia? Better to give the money to a homeless shelter. Governement control will prevent any true good from being achieved. South America? Africa? Money won't solve their problems; after all, isn't that where all the US Foreign Aid is going anyways? Australia doesn't need our help, they can get along fine by themselves. England and other “first world” countries are close to us, close to that epitome of civilization. Of course, you know that because You have been there, seen it. Oh, right. No, you haven't. Toured the landscape, maybe. Tasted some culture. But when the lights go down, it's back to America, which thankfully Is the most safe place in this world. Okay, not safe, but maybe civilized and without lots of social problems.

Oh right.

You, the reader, can argue this is not true. Aren't there wonderful organizations out there doing good work? Places like Ashoka, Amnesty International, Save The Children? Advocates for promoting peace and cooperation? You may be right. Many, many people are Not Corrupt. Many have seen the horror and devastation, both in our backyard and across the seas. Many wish to help. You might even be one of them. You might say “It's ambiguous; you can either look at it as we are falling into a decline or we are doing the best with what we have. Lots of people are corrupt, sure, but lots more are not. We try to change what we can, and accept what we can't change. We are just human, after all.” You would even be right, and I cannot really argue. Many do the best with what they have. Many speak out against evil and corruption and racism and the established systems of government which do nothing to help. Many try to use the government honestly, truthfully, to solve problems. It's a simple debate, you might say, just a disagreement between different ideologies.

And you are right. Most of society is just that: endless, endless debate, so many voices trying to rise above others, fighting to “speak the truth” to the masses. Whether you live in the Algeria, the United States, Brazil, France, Afghanistan, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, Russia, or Zimbabwe, you are a human being. Your job is to survive. We are given this life and not told what to do with it. Some rebel against their creator, some trust in it, and some don't believe in a creator at all. Amid such diversity, what can we honestly do? We have so many responsibilities to our families and communities, so many wishes and dreams, so many tasks to achieve, all within the span of less than one hundred years. What does it really matter?

We certainly can't try to band together. No, we saw what happened to Russia for the greater part of the 20th century, and what goes on in China today. Communism doesn't work (and that is no sarcasm). There is an inherent truth that states people are greedy. People want to survive. One for all and all for one is not a viable system.

And we can't give it up to the capitalists. Those covetous, self-righteous bastards will tell us they are trying to help us while milking every dime we have. A little community self awareness, a little togetherness can't hurt is. Capitalism is a dangerous thing (again, not sarcasm). A system with no regulation? Who can survive in that?

Someone has to be a parent. Someone has to sit and watch us, tell us what we should do and what we should not do. Look at all these problems in the world! I mean, honestly, who is going to watch out for us? We have so little time on this Earth. Earth isn't even going to be around forever, but in the meantime, we have to survive, don't we? We need someone who can be responsible. We need systems, we need people to guide us. We need to govern ourselves!

Ah. A point finally emerges.

In all of this confusion, all this turmoil, we cannot see clearly. It is like a patrol element on a battlefield. When you are swimming in a sea of noise, light, explosions, pain, triumph, happiness, thoughts, and emotions, you cannot think clearly. Every human being on this Earth is embroiled in a type of combat every single day. Don't believe me? Your skin acts as a barrier to harmful contaminants. You fight traffic to get to work. You argue and combat against ideologies you do not believe. You struggle to gain a good position, good standing in society. You fight to maintain peace. Every person is a warrior of some kind. But, when one is constantly fighting, one can only see the tactics. The split second, minute details. The bigger picture is something abstract when you fight to stay alive.

Let's say that the human race is a single entity. How is that entity doing? It is slowly expanding to completely fill it's environment. Oh, we have a very very long time before we have to worry. I am not trying to promote a doomsday mentality here by any means. Humans may only see the tactics, but we are great at tactics. We can fight and fight and survive for a very long time. We have for many many generations.

But, then we have to ask ourselves... is that it? If the human race is a warrior, is that all we have? We fight to survive. We are constantly on the battlefield. And my fellow warriors will understand that the battlefield has only one certainty: if you remain too long in battle, you either are victorious or defeated. But if the human race is a warrior, who are we fighting against? The earth? Life?

Ourselves.

Because, let's face it, that is all we have to fight. The human race is a body, and the body is warring against itself. Human history is just one long war, punctuated by periods of peace. Some would argue it is necessary, and I can't disagree. With so many different perspectives, war is most probably inevitable. But there should not be continual war with no ground gained. There should not be a continued tactical strike without an endgame strategy. As humans, we have truly not asked: where are we going? What are we doing? What is our civilization doing with itself? If the history of civilization were a human, it would be a dead end college dropout, a tormented soul who has seen too much pain and conflict.

But it has potential.

There are some. You, again, may be one of them. You wake up in the morning and see beyond the headlines. You look up into the night sky and wonder, “What are we really doing here? Is this whole universe created just for me, or is there more?” Most people look at you as dreamy, spacey, out-there. You talk about Einstein, Galileo, Socrates, and all the other greatest thinkers of human civilization, and you don't just use them as punchlines or ways to prove a point. You struggle to seek an answer. An answer which most people think doesn't exist. So many people tell you every day, even the most wise and learned, that life simply is what you make it. Greater meaning may be out there, but it will only help you personally. Think about that and consider it, make your life better, don't worry about other people. That's what our governments are for, right?

Wrong.

We have forgotten what it is to be self-reliant. What it is to care about others. There are too many radical positions. We are too caught up in the tactics. Too immersed in prejudice to actually sit down with another human being and say “We have problems. How do we solve them?” We are either on one end of the spectrum or the other. Either we are too concerned about our own lives or too concerned about others. We have forgotten how to balance, how to have a discussion and not an argument, how to have a disagreement without a war. We are so concerned with the latest technology, the newest idea, the progression of our species that we have forgotten to stop and ask “To where are we progressing? What are we doing? And why are we doing it?”We don't have to agree. We don't have to all believe the same thing. We don't all have to act the same way or believe in the same form of government. But what we do need to do is stop relying on others to solve our problems for us while being concerned for others. Pay It Forward was a simple idea, but it rocked the world. Consider it: if we lived in a world where the majority of people cared about other people, relied on themselves to achieve what they wanted to achieve without stepping on the toes of others, and worked together while attempting to do the best things for themselves, wouldn't the world be a little less violent and painful? You argue, “So competition is bad? So we shouldn't fight to be the best?” Of course we should. But how many times in your ambitious lifestyle did you stop to think about how your ambitions would effect other people? How many times in your rush to do what it is you want to do did you stop to consider what effects your actions would have upon others? Regardless of religion, race, creed, sex, age, or political affiliation, we as human beings have stopped thinking about how to work together. We want what we want, and we will do what we need to in order to get it. We are in a rush to accomplish without thinking about what we are accomplishing.

This is not a blanket statement. I am not proposing a philosophy or rejecting one. I am not saying what is wrong or right. I am not saying even that I am correct. I have many flaws, wishes, goals. I make mistakes and have accomplishments. I am a human being, just as you are. All I am doing is pointing out some observations. Stirring the pot, if you will. People need to get out of their entrenched ways of thinking and look up to the stars again. We need to consider what is around us and stop going in blindfolded and prejudiced. We need to breathe in and rejoice in the life we have instead of cursing those who have made it worse for us. We need to talk, not shout. Listen, not wait to talk. We need to be able to be peaceful and calm, yet still be able to defend ourselves as necessary. I feel like humans are running on a treadmill in a cage: let's go outside the box and run, see the world. Let's drop our preconceived notions and see things for what they are, and not for what we want them to be.

Maybe then we will reach step one for a greater change.