Hey, sorry this is off topic, isn't it world freedom day today? Just sayin'
Jamie
The world really is getting better and better, page 1
Topic started on 6-3-2011 @ 04:51 AM by Skyfloating
I hereby argue that much of the doomsaying you can read here every day is itself disinformation meant to keep you in a state of fear and
inertia. The much slandered "powers that be" are actually doing an excellent job at creating an enlightened planetary society in which we live
side by side in diversity, mutual respect and prosperity. The fearmongers are not actually the "awakened ones" as opposed to who they call "sheeple",
its just the other way around. I can prove this.
I believe both the mainstream media and alternative media are manufacturing a false sense of reality by focusing almost exclusively on disaster, crime, genocide, war in order to gain attention and sell papers because reality is just too "mundane". If news-media were to show normal life or report good news, the majority would not believe that the world is generally a bad place. But this is not only the fault of the media, it is actively desired by the majority of humanity. People mostly pay for watching violent movies. Peaceful and harmonious movies usually dont become Blockbusters. That means humanity still prefers negative to positive.
Newsmedia tends to break reality down to a snapshot. So if, in some African country, a child got its leg blown off, they will take a picture of that. That picture will then come to represent "what is going on in that country". People will start associating that picture with the country. Of course that is a gross distortion of reality because 99.99% of the people are not having their legs shot off 99.99% of the time. Using 1% of reality and making it look as if this 1% represents 99% is the classical tool of disinformation.
The word is getting better, more healthy and more wealthy overall. The life-expectancy of the world has increased. The overall health conditions have gotten better. Overall, the world is more peaceful. The overall population is more educated and more people are getting an education than ever before. The world is better relations and communications with another. The world is technologically more advanced. The world is psychologically happier. There are many thousands of reasons to look at the future with optimism and zest...the exact opposite of what most newsmedia and "alternative" media suggest.
The end is not nigh. The "good ol days" were not better. Quit looking at the snapshot or the 0.0001% of what is happening, and look at the big picture, the whole film-reel. Two key concepts that prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the world is getting better:
1. Quality of Life
2. Standard of Living
As you can see from the articles in the links, the science is settled and the facts laid out.
Some typical objections I keep hearing:
"But the greedy rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor"
Truth: The middle class today are richer than the rich a century ago. Things that only royals and the elite used to have, are no longer restricted to the elite. A few hundred years ago some royals couldnt even afford a bathtub.
"But our greed is taking its toll on our environment"
Truth: Pollution has been in steady decline since the 80s
"But there are many parts of the world which are in extreme poverty. The greedy have only become rich at the expense of these poor people"
Truth: Of course poverty still exists in large parts of the world. But that poverty already existed 500 years ago...except that it was even worse. With the steady path upwards we are provably going, world poverty will be solved within another 500 years (looking at the whole film-reel of reality, not just the snapshot of today).
"But we're spiritually poor. We have money, but we have lost our values"
Truth: Today women are allowed to vote, and we have a Black President. Bookstores carry more spiritual literature than ever before in History. That idea is just nonsense.
"But there are many threats we are facing from the Middle East"
Truth: While it is true that we need to stay on the alert for various threats, the recent peaceful revolutions in various Arab countries are actually a sign of awakening, not of a problem.
"We can only be happy when there is world peace everywhere and at all times"
I tend to disagree with that for several reasons, some of them shown in this thread: Do we really need world peace?. We can have overall peace most of the time and in most places, but total peace "at all times" can only come about through totalitarian rule - which is certainly not preferable in my view.
Oddly, all these Internet-Doomsayers have access to the Internet (= open Communication to the rest of the world) where they can say anything they want (= more free speech than at any time ever in History), they have plenty of food in their refrigerator, they have clothing, shelter and are usually fairly healthy. Ive met people who own much less who complain less than these doomsayers.
Usually, when I present the idea that the world is getting better, someone will present me with a list of wars that are happening. That does not change the fact that 95% of the world are always at peace or in ceasefire.
The Satisfaction with Life Index is one of many ways science measures the overall happiness of the planet.
The green, blue and purple countries call themselves very happy to fairly happy and the orange and red countries call themselves unhappy to very unhappy.
From this we see that there is a fair balance of happiness and unhappinies, with a slight advantage for happiness.
We can see that happiness is connected to health, wealth and access to basic education.
We can also see that we are heading towards more happiness overall. Connected to are centrist/moderate democracies. This is what all the happy (colored green on the map) have in commin. Former Eastern European countries, as they were under soviet rule used to be "red". Since having gained Independence from Soviet Rule, countries like Poland have turned Purple. Poland is in an excellent example of a destitute nation turned happy as soon as their freedoms were restored. The fact that a strong economy is a major but not the only happiness factor is shown by the fact that one of the poorest countries in the world, Bhutan, ranks 8, far in front of the U.S (see Life Satisfaction Index).
Yes, there are "wounds" left to heal, such as the wound of the MiddleEast. However, even there, not all is as terrible as shown in the news. There too the Israelis and Palestinians have mountains, valleys, trees, singing birds, festivals, good food, windsurfers, couples falling in love, prayer and whatnot.
Many I present these facts to, claim that things have gotten better in the last 5000 years but are going downhill in the last thirty years. That claim to, is easily disproven with the Human Development Index:
A few more facts that prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the world is getting better:
I understand this contradicts most of what people are taught by their parents, taught in school, taught in the media, taught on the Internet, but there you have it. If you continue to insist that things are getting worse, it may be that you are psychologically projecting your own bad situation on the world.
I believe both the mainstream media and alternative media are manufacturing a false sense of reality by focusing almost exclusively on disaster, crime, genocide, war in order to gain attention and sell papers because reality is just too "mundane". If news-media were to show normal life or report good news, the majority would not believe that the world is generally a bad place. But this is not only the fault of the media, it is actively desired by the majority of humanity. People mostly pay for watching violent movies. Peaceful and harmonious movies usually dont become Blockbusters. That means humanity still prefers negative to positive.
Newsmedia tends to break reality down to a snapshot. So if, in some African country, a child got its leg blown off, they will take a picture of that. That picture will then come to represent "what is going on in that country". People will start associating that picture with the country. Of course that is a gross distortion of reality because 99.99% of the people are not having their legs shot off 99.99% of the time. Using 1% of reality and making it look as if this 1% represents 99% is the classical tool of disinformation.
The word is getting better, more healthy and more wealthy overall. The life-expectancy of the world has increased. The overall health conditions have gotten better. Overall, the world is more peaceful. The overall population is more educated and more people are getting an education than ever before. The world is better relations and communications with another. The world is technologically more advanced. The world is psychologically happier. There are many thousands of reasons to look at the future with optimism and zest...the exact opposite of what most newsmedia and "alternative" media suggest.
The end is not nigh. The "good ol days" were not better. Quit looking at the snapshot or the 0.0001% of what is happening, and look at the big picture, the whole film-reel. Two key concepts that prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the world is getting better:
1. Quality of Life
2. Standard of Living
As you can see from the articles in the links, the science is settled and the facts laid out.
Some typical objections I keep hearing:
"But the greedy rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor"
Truth: The middle class today are richer than the rich a century ago. Things that only royals and the elite used to have, are no longer restricted to the elite. A few hundred years ago some royals couldnt even afford a bathtub.
"But our greed is taking its toll on our environment"
Truth: Pollution has been in steady decline since the 80s
"But there are many parts of the world which are in extreme poverty. The greedy have only become rich at the expense of these poor people"
Truth: Of course poverty still exists in large parts of the world. But that poverty already existed 500 years ago...except that it was even worse. With the steady path upwards we are provably going, world poverty will be solved within another 500 years (looking at the whole film-reel of reality, not just the snapshot of today).
"But we're spiritually poor. We have money, but we have lost our values"
Truth: Today women are allowed to vote, and we have a Black President. Bookstores carry more spiritual literature than ever before in History. That idea is just nonsense.
"But there are many threats we are facing from the Middle East"
Truth: While it is true that we need to stay on the alert for various threats, the recent peaceful revolutions in various Arab countries are actually a sign of awakening, not of a problem.
"We can only be happy when there is world peace everywhere and at all times"
I tend to disagree with that for several reasons, some of them shown in this thread: Do we really need world peace?. We can have overall peace most of the time and in most places, but total peace "at all times" can only come about through totalitarian rule - which is certainly not preferable in my view.
Oddly, all these Internet-Doomsayers have access to the Internet (= open Communication to the rest of the world) where they can say anything they want (= more free speech than at any time ever in History), they have plenty of food in their refrigerator, they have clothing, shelter and are usually fairly healthy. Ive met people who own much less who complain less than these doomsayers.
Usually, when I present the idea that the world is getting better, someone will present me with a list of wars that are happening. That does not change the fact that 95% of the world are always at peace or in ceasefire.
The Satisfaction with Life Index is one of many ways science measures the overall happiness of the planet.
The green, blue and purple countries call themselves very happy to fairly happy and the orange and red countries call themselves unhappy to very unhappy.
From this we see that there is a fair balance of happiness and unhappinies, with a slight advantage for happiness.
We can see that happiness is connected to health, wealth and access to basic education.
We can also see that we are heading towards more happiness overall. Connected to are centrist/moderate democracies. This is what all the happy (colored green on the map) have in commin. Former Eastern European countries, as they were under soviet rule used to be "red". Since having gained Independence from Soviet Rule, countries like Poland have turned Purple. Poland is in an excellent example of a destitute nation turned happy as soon as their freedoms were restored. The fact that a strong economy is a major but not the only happiness factor is shown by the fact that one of the poorest countries in the world, Bhutan, ranks 8, far in front of the U.S (see Life Satisfaction Index).
Yes, there are "wounds" left to heal, such as the wound of the MiddleEast. However, even there, not all is as terrible as shown in the news. There too the Israelis and Palestinians have mountains, valleys, trees, singing birds, festivals, good food, windsurfers, couples falling in love, prayer and whatnot.
Many I present these facts to, claim that things have gotten better in the last 5000 years but are going downhill in the last thirty years. That claim to, is easily disproven with the Human Development Index:
According to Human Development Index, life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living, and GDP per capita are slowly increasing worldwide, although faster in some countries than others. The world population is increasing with 2.2 percent per year, expecting to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2050. There is also an ongoing technology development, sociocultural evolution as well as economic development.
A few more facts that prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the world is getting better:
25 years ago in China, over 600M people were living on < $1/day. Today this number is 180M … meaning 420M+ people are now above this level.
Between 1999 and 2004, 135M people worldwide rose from < $1/day to above this level. This is more people, more quickly than at any other time in history.
In South Asia, the number of people without clean water has halved since 1990.
In 1975, 75% of people aged 15-25 were literate. Now the rate is almost 90%.
In 1970, the fertility rate in East Asia/Pacific was 5.4 and now is 2.1
Almost half of all humans live in countries with growth of more than 7% per year (which doubles the economy every decade).
I understand this contradicts most of what people are taught by their parents, taught in school, taught in the media, taught on the Internet, but there you have it. If you continue to insist that things are getting worse, it may be that you are psychologically projecting your own bad situation on the world.
edit on 6-3-2011 by Skyfloating because: (no reason given)
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 05:12 AM by OmegaLogos
reply to post by Skyfloating
Explanation: S&F!
I agree but I think you are mistaking pure numbers [ie 1000 people is greater than 100 people] as a clear indicator of better than using a PERCENTAGE based analysis. 1000 people may be more than 100 people but if happy /not happy RATIO is the same then there is no better. Can you please show explicitly how that ratio has changed for the whole planet since the start of ww2 [i.e. within living memory = contemporary to our time]
Here is why from a link supplied in the OP.....
Note edited both quotations to bold for emphasis.
Is there even credible data going back that far that can be analyzed and scrutinized that would give a clear picture?
Personal Disclosure: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics!
Explanation: S&F!
I agree but I think you are mistaking pure numbers [ie 1000 people is greater than 100 people] as a clear indicator of better than using a PERCENTAGE based analysis. 1000 people may be more than 100 people but if happy /not happy RATIO is the same then there is no better. Can you please show explicitly how that ratio has changed for the whole planet since the start of ww2 [i.e. within living memory = contemporary to our time]
Here is why from a link supplied in the OP.....
However, there can be problems even with just using numerical averages to compare material standards of living, as opposed to, for instance, a Pareto index (a measure of the breadth of income or wealth distribution). Standards of living are perhaps inherently subjective. As an example, countries with a very small, very rich upper class and a very large, very poor lower class may have a high mean level of income, even though the majority of people have a low "standard of living". This mirrors the problem of poverty measurement, which also tends towards the relative. This illustrates how distribution of income can disguise the actual standard of living.
Likewise Country A, a perfectly socialist country with a planned economy with very low average per capita income would receive a higher score for having lower income inequality than Country B with a higher income inequality, even if the bottom of Country B's population distribution had a higher per capita income than Country A. Real examples of this include former East Germany compared to former West Germany or North Korea compared to South Korea. In each case, the socialist country has a low income discrepancy (and therefore would score high in that regard), but lower per capita incomes than a large majority of their neighboring counterpart. This can be avoided by using the measure of income at various percentiles of the population rather than a highly relative and controversial overall income inequality measure.
Popsicle indexThe Popsicle Index is a quality of life measurement coined by Catherine Austin Fitts as the percentage of people in a community who believe that a child in their community can safely leave their home, walk to the nearest possible location to buy a popsicle, and walk back to their homes.
Note edited both quotations to bold for emphasis.
Is there even credible data going back that far that can be analyzed and scrutinized that would give a clear picture?
Personal Disclosure: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics!
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 05:44 AM by Skyfloating
reply to post by Dyax-
99% of all posters here will disagree with the OP, for exactly the reasons you state. Im expecting that, so thats OK. But maybe you`ll give the subject some deeper thought than compiling a list of wrongs. We could go on compiling lists of bad things or good things all day, but it is the overall state of humanity? Even if you say "the state is bad", can you really deny that its getting better?
"Getting better" could also mean from horrible to bad.
99% of all posters here will disagree with the OP, for exactly the reasons you state. Im expecting that, so thats OK. But maybe you`ll give the subject some deeper thought than compiling a list of wrongs. We could go on compiling lists of bad things or good things all day, but it is the overall state of humanity? Even if you say "the state is bad", can you really deny that its getting better?
"Getting better" could also mean from horrible to bad.
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 05:58 AM by Dyax-
reply to post by Skyfloating
i can see ur point
i guess its a double edged sword
some places/things are getting better
at the same time some places/things are getting worse
its a game of ying an yang
push an pull
the world isnt perfect
maybe 1 day it will be
but its a big maybe
i often think if a 1 world government would be so bad
it might not be
if it was done right an fair for all
but thats a whole new arguement
peace
i can see ur point
i guess its a double edged sword
some places/things are getting better
at the same time some places/things are getting worse
its a game of ying an yang
push an pull
the world isnt perfect
maybe 1 day it will be
but its a big maybe
i often think if a 1 world government would be so bad
it might not be
if it was done right an fair for all
but thats a whole new arguement
peace
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 06:00 AM by LiveForever8
reply to post by Skyfloating
I approached this topic in a thread a wee while ago and used the following video as the crux of my argument:
Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy
Another thread on the subject: The Good News Is The Bad News Is Wrong
I do think the mainstream news does have a demoralising effect on us, more than we would believe. And I do agree that statistically things are getting "better", which of course is dependant on your own opinions of what is and isn't "better", so if this is true, why do I feel like I'd prefer to live 500 years in the past?
I think counting "advancement" in technological terms can be massively misleading. It's almost as if the advancements in technology act as a smoke screen, diverting our attention away from the things that really matter.
The carrot and stick idiom sums it up perfectly...
I approached this topic in a thread a wee while ago and used the following video as the crux of my argument:
Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy
Another thread on the subject: The Good News Is The Bad News Is Wrong
I do think the mainstream news does have a demoralising effect on us, more than we would believe. And I do agree that statistically things are getting "better", which of course is dependant on your own opinions of what is and isn't "better", so if this is true, why do I feel like I'd prefer to live 500 years in the past?
I think counting "advancement" in technological terms can be massively misleading. It's almost as if the advancements in technology act as a smoke screen, diverting our attention away from the things that really matter.
The carrot and stick idiom sums it up perfectly...
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 06:09 AM by backinblack
reply to post by Skyfloating
You say forget the good old days but why should I.??
It wasn't that long ago that a man could work his reasonable hours and still manage to earn enough to support a family and buy a home..
The wife stayed home to bring up the kids and rarely worked..
This is easily proven here in Australia when you see the number of elderly home owners..
But now both the husband and the wife have to work, sometimes long hours, just to TRY and buy a home..
Family life is gone thanks to the greedy bankers with their interests rates and the greedy, ever growing Government with their increasing taxes and charges..
I don't see the improvement apart from a few useless gadgets and in fact I worry how our kids will fare..
You say forget the good old days but why should I.??
It wasn't that long ago that a man could work his reasonable hours and still manage to earn enough to support a family and buy a home..
The wife stayed home to bring up the kids and rarely worked..
This is easily proven here in Australia when you see the number of elderly home owners..
But now both the husband and the wife have to work, sometimes long hours, just to TRY and buy a home..
Family life is gone thanks to the greedy bankers with their interests rates and the greedy, ever growing Government with their increasing taxes and charges..
I don't see the improvement apart from a few useless gadgets and in fact I worry how our kids will fare..
edit on 6-3-2011 by backinblack
because: (no reason given)
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 06:28 AM by Skyfloating
Originally posted by LiveForever8
Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy
Another thread on the subject: The Good News Is The Bad News Is Wrong
I like those threads.
And neither of your threads went past page one. Thats the type of grim mentality we're dealing with here.
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 06:48 AM by backinblack
reply to post by Skyfloating
Why are you rambling on about India.??
What does that have to do with the average Australian,American or the British etc.??
We are being screwed slowly into slavery..
Home ownership is dropping because it's near impossible to buy..
We are working longer hours and more are on medication for depression and stress..
BTW, I'm fine..My house is mine thanks to hard work..
edit: Oh I get it..Your idea is we should just settle for a tiny home with no TV etc like in India..
BTW, ask that Indian how much tax he pays...
And why do you assume you need a whole house? 2 years ago I visited a man in India. He had no sofa for me to sit on. But he made me some tea. And he had no TV. No Internet. He had one room for his whole family. He did have a mattress. But he was happy. His smile was radiant. He did have toothpaste, apparently.
Why are you rambling on about India.??
What does that have to do with the average Australian,American or the British etc.??
We are being screwed slowly into slavery..
Home ownership is dropping because it's near impossible to buy..
We are working longer hours and more are on medication for depression and stress..
BTW, I'm fine..My house is mine thanks to hard work..
edit: Oh I get it..Your idea is we should just settle for a tiny home with no TV etc like in India..
BTW, ask that Indian how much tax he pays...
edit on 6-3-2011 by backinblack because: (no reason given)
reply posted on 6-3-2011 @ 07:00 AM by backinblack
reply to post by Skyfloating
No one wants to know about 5000 years ago...
Try talking 50 at most...And it's gone downhill..
Even forgetting luxuries like a home, family life has deteriorated for many..
But it sounds like you think we should all live in nice clean little shacks, maybe even with a flushing toilet..
And where will our trusty leaders and bankers stay.??
Will they each get their own palace? Plenty of jobs for servants eh.??
Looking at the last 5000 years you will see a super-steep curve upwards in terms of
No one wants to know about 5000 years ago...
Try talking 50 at most...And it's gone downhill..
Even forgetting luxuries like a home, family life has deteriorated for many..
But it sounds like you think we should all live in nice clean little shacks, maybe even with a flushing toilet..
And where will our trusty leaders and bankers stay.??
Will they each get their own palace? Plenty of jobs for servants eh.??
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