Where did we go wrong?

I've been spending a little time this morning thinking about the state of the world, and where our future may take us. Humans have been on this planet for quite some time now, and much has changed for us since we began to become a civilized people.

In the earliest times, we lived in caves and crudely constructed homes. We had little understanding of the universe and it's mysteries. Over the course of thousands of years, we've learned and adapted to the world around us.

Common illnesses that would have left someone with little hope of survival are easily treatable today. We have learned how to purify the water our body needs, and how to grow the foods that sustain us. Some of the things mankind now creates and understands is simply breathtaking.

While we have developed greatly, and we have much to be thankful for, there are still some things that are missing in our society. With all the knowledge that we have, there are still people who go hungry, children who have never received an education, and sick people who find no treatment when a cure is at hand.

The purpose of creating this thread is to find and understand the errors in our thinking as humans. This thread is for looking for the answers to questions about how we as people, and the governments we are under, can create a better world to live in.

This thread is asking "Where did we go wrong, and how do we fix it?"

Is the greedy desire for monetary gain at fault for the shortcomings of our world?
Do we not love our fellow man enough to assist him in times of need?
Does government just get in the way of the needs of the people?

ATS members are some of the sharpest minds I've come across.

Can we find some answers to questions such as these?

Opinions of what we need as humans varies greatly. In my mind, I see that every person deserves the right to be free to do what makes them happy. They should be able to receive medical treatment for ANY reason, without using every penny of their life savings to get it. We should have access to healthy food and water. And most important, we have the right to live and to love.

Some of the questions that face us are not so easy to answer. I think healthcare should be free, but there is not simple answers to "who" pays for it. My question is why does it need to be paid for? Why can't we work in our chosen fields for the love of what we do? What if we didn't need a world with money?

What if we lived in a world where people helped us to build a home because they were our neighbor? What if the farmer gave away his crops because he loved to feed his friends? Why can't the professional sports player just play for the love of the game, and to entertain, instead of receiving undeserved amounts of money?

If money didn't exist, and humans worked together, can we achieve more than we are today? Long, long ago, we traded the things we have for what we needed. Now we rely on paper, coins, and credit cards.

I may be wrong, I often am, but why bother with money? If everything you need is given to you freely, what's the point of monetary greed or envy? I was having this conversation the other day, and the most common response was..."It won't happen. Nobody would work."

My response is "WHY NOT?!?!?!"

Would an artist who paints to sell his work for supplies, food, and rent stop painting if his work was free and so was the food he ate and the place he lived?
Would a doctor not care for the gift of life if he didn't make $200,000+ a year?
Would a teacher not want to progress the minds of youth?
Would a carpenter lay down his hammer when a mother sits homeless?
Would a farmer not love the land anymore if he gave away his crops for free?

Of course, this is just they way I see the world. My ideas are not solutions. They're just thoughts. It doesn't mean they are right, but it doesn't mean they are wrong either.

What I'm curious to know is, what would each and every one of you do to make the WORLD a better place for us all to live? How can we all be free? How can we all be happy? How can we all be healthy?

What is your answer to the problem?

reply to post by isyeye


People need to stop relying on leaders, I believe that's where we went wrong. We put all our trust in Government, fully support their decisions, fund their wars and give them the illusion of 'power'. We need equality and we need it NOW!

Great post.

I to feel the same way.

Money has a massive part to play in all this, by the way it creates equality among humans. We are also very easy to manipulate by people in the know and the term Consumer springs to mind.

Our parents should have passed skills onto us that meant we would not have to serve technology to survive in this world. We are slaves to it and it will be our undoing.

I also ask myself just what if the power suddenly stopped, could I survive ? I am not sure.

When people started owning things that belong to the earth. A cow. A piece of land. Gold. An apple tree. A nice view. Other people. The list is endless. When you claim something as yours you take it away from everyone else.

Originally posted by WildWorld
When people started owning things that belong to the earth. A cow. A piece of land. Gold. An apple tree. A nice view. Other people. The list is endless. When you claim something as yours you take it away from everyone else. ]

edit on 9-8-2012 by WildWorld because: (no reason given)

I think that sometimes.

How can people own land ?

reply to post by judus


My parents are one thing that I'm very grateful for. They taught me early in live to be able to take care of myself in any situaltion, to be self-sufficient, and to question the world around me. Much of my childhood was spent doing things that weren't "normal" to most of the world around me. I remember helping to put up solar panels on the house when I wasn't even in school yet, and listening to the neighbors laugh. Taking weeks upon weeks off of school to explore the world. Learning to grow my own food...and much more...I'm grateful for everything they ever taught me...and the essential NEED for money wasn't one of them.

reply to post by WildWorld


Exactly...Why must we "own" anything? Why can't we use something for a time, and then pass it to another person who needs it when we are finished or just simply share?

We have become too materialistic.

Originally posted by isyeye
reply to post by judus

 

My parents are one thing that I'm very grateful for. They taught me early in live to be able to take care of myself in any situaltion, to be self-sufficient, and to question the world around me. Much of my childhood was spent doing things that weren't "normal" to most of the world around me. I remember helping to put up solar panels on the house when I wasn't even in school yet, and listening to the neighbors laugh. Taking weeks upon weeks off of school to explore the world. Learning to grow my own food...and much more...I'm grateful for everything they ever taught me...and the essential NEED for money wasn't one of them.

You owe them a lot.

I never had the same skills shown to me until I was a adult.

But like most people on this site I feel trapped in the system, and yes it is easy for people to say you can just walk away but it would mean giving up a life time of the system .

We have to kill greed.

Greed is the root of all our ills.

Greed for money. For power. For control.

If we can all agree that greed is the true root of all evil, that's a starting point.

From there we could probably go a great ways into fixing what we have been so quick to ruin.

A long time ago, I had a discussion with another person about responsibility.

We decided that to be free in today's world, you need to be responsible.

First you have to be responsible for yourself. If you can't take care of yourself then you are not free. You need to be self supporting and capable of meeting your financial needs.

Once you have mastered the first level of responsibility (freedom) then you can be in a relationship. If you can meet your needs and the needs of 1 other person, then you are ready to be part of a couple ie marriage.

When you and your significant other are capable of taking care of and being responsible for children then and only then should you have kids.

To meet those requirements in today's society is not always easy.

My view of most of the problems that we face as a society is that many people are not capable of taking care of themselves, let alone a spouse yet they continue to have children.

Perhaps it's time to reflect on what the individuals in a society owe that society .
Why should anyone expect society to take care of them and/or their children?
What are you as an individual contributing to the group?
How can society pass down values that would help to make the group as a whole stronger?

reply to post by Wildbob77


I completely agree with you. Personal responsibility is something that is lacking in our society. Just last night, my girlfriend and I were talking about the number of young girls in the local school system that were pregnant last year. The numbers are astounding...These "children" can't take care of themselves yet, and are already having babies. We are failing as parents and a society by not reversing these trends, and teaching our youth the right way to grow up, and to learn to take care of yourself.

As you stated, there are levels of responsibility, and skipping them has drastic effects.

reply to post by isyeye


'Where we went wrong'.......For starters, it was a big problem when we started letting the human food chain exist, kill or be killed, and gave into our own selfish and materialistic desires. It started when we stopped giving a damn about the little guy next to us, and just aspired to our own wants. When all along if we had just stuck together, and helped one another, there is nothing we couldn't have accomplished.

We started succumbing to the fear and propaganda placed before us by the ones who were responsible for starting the survival-of-the-fittest, in the first place. There is an in numerous amount of reasons we went wrong. Most of all, we went wrong when we fell from spiritual beings living peacefully in nature; to trying to invade other countries, slaughter and pillage that which wasn't ours to take. We turned down this road when we traded compassion and love, for hatred and greed.

Where did we go wrong??
That is easy
We stopped believing in ourselves, and started to believe that what other people say about us is true.
We let others convince us that people can not do great things only government can.
And when people like me get on here and try to tell you that we can do great things, things that no government can do. They go to great lengths to discourage people from even trying, and insult and ridicule those who do.

........and then when a person succeeds at accomplishing something, despite all the warnings of failure, they claim they were always supportive......or offer up excuses like.....I always believed in you, but because I told you that you could not succeed you tried harder to prove me wrong....therefore I am due credit your success

Thanks to everyone that has posted replies so far.

Your comments illustrates that the problems we face as a world are varied and great. There are many reasons for the state of our civilization today, and each one of them important for different reasons.

As I suspected, my fellow members here are wise, and enlightened to the problems around us, as well as to what we need to do to correct the errors of the past...Getting the answers to the masses is another question to be answered.

I do not buy into the illusion of money or nation or law or education

Money today is just a form of usury - This means that one profits by the loss of another.
The banking system is fraudulent and the printing of money is the printing of debt - that is how it works without going into too much boring detail

Nation is an Illusion - Ruled by tyrants instead of representing and caring for their peoples wishes and needs
The common illusion is that Nations are separate - Yet it is a shadow World elite that control them

Law is merely to protect the inequality of the status quo and punish any who oppose it

Education is a form of brainwashing into the accepted official line within the subjects it teaches

Where did we go wrong - Well we allowed it to happen or were intimidated into it

Could we live without War Greed Law - Yes we could live very well

As an artist I would always want to create and share
As someone who also loves the land I would always grow food in excess of my needs and share

We have lost faith in our own Humanity and our higher nature and fallen victim to fear mongering/Intimidation by those with most to lose

No one owns the land it is everyones
No one is above another - we are all equal

Can a new way work - Well the old ways are bearing rotten fruits - what is their to lose but fear
All we really need to do is be who we naturally are

reply to post by isyeye


Money is not the problem.The definition of happiness is.

We learn from a very early age that happiness equals a big house,a couple of cars,lots of clothes and a fat bank account.We are taught that it's more important to become a doctor for the good money.
We are told over and over that going to school and have good grades is important for the future to find a good job.
Girls often told by their mothers,to find a rich man to marry.

This is not happiness.Happiness is to become a doctor,because you want to save lives,you go to school to learn and you marry someone,because you love him/her.

If we redefine happiness and we teach the new generation that it's more important to help someone than to have a bank account,it might be the solution to the problem.
And don't think i just preach.I follow this myself.I have been called naive and "victim" (and many other things) for not caring about money and for finding more important to help people around me.By my example i hope i will touch some people and they will do the same.

Money is with out question an illusion

American Indians thought money was seashells, or wampum

People in the desert countries thought that salt was currency

Both would have laughed at you if you tried to buy something from them with shiny pieces of metal, and claimed you were trying to screw them.

People, were the problem. We wouldn't get out of bed if we didnt covet some sort of money.

It would be nice if people would go to work each day so that everyone else could have for free what it is they produce, and you could have what they make for free as well.

I guess it also is this. If I was in a bar and Jimmy Page walked in, knowing he is a multimillionaire I would still be falling all over myself to buy him a drink. But if any of you were in the same bar I would tell you, What do you think I am made of money, go buy your own drink.