So I came to this realization; and ultimately this general inquiry: Humans have been inexorably driven like cattle throughout the history of the world. We have shown time and time again that a lack of willingness to challenge the masses for a number of reasons often has led to brutal dictatorships, imperialism, subjugation, and colonialism; even when it betrays our conscience. This is because we often follow our leaders, feeling too small to challenge such a raging tide. This is even true of democracies. We might be given the illusion of choice; but ultimately these people are elected to lead, whether representing us or nefarious interests. The point still stands to reason that they lead and others follow, even when we dont agree or it makes no sense. Case in point: legalization of marijuana. Whether or not you enjoy it, is it really more destructive than substances which are legal in this country? Moreover, in what way does someone smoking a joint in their living room on a Friday evening impact anyone else? This seems so obvious, yet its illegal; we have more non-violent drug offenders in jail than we do violent offenders. So we accept this fact of living with gritted teeth and a shaking head; but accept if from our leaders nonetheless. Recent events have prompted me to examine what is changing about this. The Arab Spring saw a country, which had been brutally suppressed for a large portion of its history, break the chains of oppression, and ultimately demand freedom; the American resistance against conflict with Syria illustrated a public untrusting of Government firmly place a foot down and say no more; the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge catapulted an issue that garnered little notice, pushing donations from $25,000 in 2013 to $115,000,000 in 2014; the Ferguson shooting confronted an entire country with real racial differences, and challenged it to look away. So what is changing this? What is giving this society greater power to confront itself than ever before? The Internet. We are more connected to our networks than ever before. Think about how isolated you feel when your phone dies and you cant immediately plug it into a charger. Humans are increasingly moving to a collective consciousness, which relies less and less on monolithic leadership. Less and less are we forced to simply accept the bullshit that we outwardly know is wrong. Two words comes to mind when a cause pisses you off: share and retweet. People take to social media to say hello, organize events, or to simply use the bathroom for the entire world to see. Positions which used to hold so much prestige are becoming increasingly laughable, as we see our President and elected officials paraded around like clowns to be publicly pelted for their misguided piety and self-serving agendas. The tables are in fact turning for humanity, as we are inadvertently seizing control, by making control itself irrelevant. This leads to my general inquiry: if this is the direction that we are progressing, what is and will drive us?
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 02:13:50 +0000
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