Is society becoming less sane?

[Nivsch]

It is more of a gut feeling I have, rather than a scientifical examination, but it seems like there are more and more twisted - the entire opposite than expected from a healthy thinking - positions, on many many issues that in the past enjoyed more common sense and agreements.

One possible explanation might be the social media that is to blame in all of this, because it intensifies the conflicts, what makes everyone to polarize in their stances as a defense mechanism and to maintain a sense of inner order to the mind.

Another, deeper, reason might be that after couple of decades of decent democracy, our nature is to gradually take it more and more for granted, and to forget what made us be democratic in the first place.

This erosion is maybe inevitable, when the more the years pass, we start to crave animalistic traits in our psychology we have neglected and suppressed in the couple of last decades, and like they 'want' to be expressed again.

Kind of like we had more spirit in our thinking 20 years ago that we slowely loose. We can see it even in the Popular Music industry and the shallowness of the newer creations in music especially in the last decade, and in other aspects of art too.

If this is true, then we are necessarily going towards a kind of 'depression' or low phase in society again for 10-30 years or more, hopefully not as bad as WW1+2, before a new, maybe even better, democratic and saner, phase will be established.

Edited April 20 by Nivsch

[Nivsch]

Couple of points I put here to not overload the main message:

1. Yes there is still progress in many issues like Veganism, LGBTQ, Enviromental, Alternative Health approachs and more, but in average I feel like we as a society are in a net negative trend currently.

2. I am taking into account the Nostalgia-bias that maybe always makes the past to look better than it actually was, but still, I feel this is not the only reason.

Edited April 20 by Nivsch

[Leo Gura]

It's cyclical, like the stock market.

Collective madness waxes and wanes.

[Nivsch]

26 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

It's cyclical, like the stock market.

Collective madness waxes and wanes.

Yes, though even if you know it works that way (which this knowing isn't something to be taken for granted, it's really comforting to hear that again and to be reminded of the proportions) it becomes much stronger to see it live in how it actually affects cultural aspects, you remember from childhood, in a negative way like things you grew up with as a child are dissolving, and this is when it becomes really rough, when it comes to your private doorstep and makes you wonder again about your function and meaning in society.

Edited April 20 by Nivsch

[Nivsch]

@Leo Gura I meant that the thing itself isn't obvious or to be taken for granted in general (not that you do), and that your reminder helps. Just to clarify.

Edited April 20 by Nivsch

[Breakingthewall]

I don't think we're crazier than we were before, but rather that we were blinder. Those in power issued a narrative, and we believed it. Everything was very simple. On one side were the champions of goodness, and on the other, the dark kingdoms of Mordor, who were also weak and poor. The reality was constant wars, colonialism, plundering of resources, and immense poverty. But nobody cared. Screw those dark ones and their dictators.

The problem was that rising birth rates made it necessary to open the borders, and things got much more complicated. Furthermore, social media began to spread alternative narratives, and things got even more complicated. Finally, the balance of power began to shift eastward, so no one knows exactly what they should think until some radical narrative appears, and weak minds believe they've found solid ground to stand on, as they always have without having a clue about anything. 

Besides, the Americans, the great empire, are no longer the great empire, they are no longer the strongest. Everyone acts as if they were, and they puff out their chests like school bullies who don't dare to fight. No one wants to show them the reality as long as everything is balanced, but at any moment this can change, and the balance will definitely pivot in another direction, and doing this without turbulence would be a miracle.

[Nivsch]

1 hour ago, Breakingthewall said:

I don't think we're crazier than we were before, but rather that we were blinder. Those in power issued a narrative, and we believed it. Everything was very simple.

But it was better than what we have today. The narrative then was of course limited too, but had healthier roots, and made us live our life in a mental state which is more stable and with a stronger compass.

I am not talking about a century ago but only 20 years ago and before. The 90s and early 00s as the reference point.

Edited Sunday at 08:17 PM by Nivsch

[PurpleTree]

Yea because of social media and so on.

[Lila9]

Oh yes, it feels like the Dark Ages. But at least there were beautiful cathedrals in the Dark Ages...

Where are the cathedrals now? No one builds them anymore

I'm looking forward to the moment when I can speak about today's affairs as something from the past.

I’ll probably be quite old, and I’ll probably scare children with horror stories about this era lol 

In the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep my sanity by educating myself with high-level sources, emotionally supporting myself and others, and focusing on spiritual development. It’s actually a great opportunity.

[Leo Gura]

14 minutes ago, Lila9 said:

Where are the cathedrals now? No one builds them anymore

 

[Ishanga]

Yes, I think we are going insane more so as a whole population, not that society was ever sane anyways...

But in the older days, like even just 50yrs ago, ppl lived harder lives, its much easier today, you can call and get food or whatever delivered to Your door, and its much easier today for anyone to go insane just via the access to information and data, and conflicting information that anyone trying to learn anything will be massively confused, there is so much more Bias out there today about things than ever before and most everyone is controlled by this, ppl are so sure about things they actually think they know when in Reality they don't.. Just choose any famous celeb, business person, rich person and ppl here will tell You exactly Who they are, without ever having met them or spent time with them, that is a small aspect of the insanity that is going on, the judgment level today is super high, the unconsciousness, selfishness, egoic and narcissistic levels are rising all the time, never mind the rising Mental Health crisis.. So Yes we are going more and more insane as time goes on! 

[Lila9]

5 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

 

That's impressive, but I was referring more to the aesthetics of the gothic cathedrals. I love this sort of art.

[PurpleTree]

3 minutes ago, Lila9 said:

That's impressive, but I was referring more to the aesthetics of the gothic cathedrals. I love this sort of art.

La Sagrada Familia is still getting built in Barcelona 

 

[Lila9]

5 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

La Sagrada Familia is still getting built in Barcelona 

 

Cool, nice to know that such projects still exist. I would love to see this sort of beauty in other types of buildings as well, not necessarily only religious ones.

The modern environment is too dull and sterile. There's more focus on efficiency and building cost rather than beauty and color. 

[Nivsch]

13 minutes ago, Ishanga said:

its much easier today, you can call and get food or whatever delivered to Your door

Perhaps this is part of the problem.

[PurpleTree]

4 minutes ago, Lila9 said:

Cool, nice to know that such projects still exist. I would love to see this sort of beauty in other types of buildings as well, not necessarily only religious ones.

The modern environment is too dull and sterile. There's more focus on efficiency and building cost rather than beauty and color. 

I hope that they really start to do psychedellic trippy 5meo shroom architecture a lot. It could be a new era of architecture.

[Lila9]

7 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

I hope that they really start to do psychedellic trippy 5meo shroom architecture a lot. It could be a new era of architecture.

That would be so magical and fun.

[Davino]

26 minutes ago, PurpleTree said:

La Sagrada Familia is still getting built in Barcelona 

 

Gaudi's vision was extremely complex and rich in details, that in conjunction with being funded mostly by donations has made Sagrada Familia to be in construction for decades.

[Nivsch]

1 hour ago, Lila9 said:

Oh yes, it feels like the Dark Ages. But at least there were beautiful cathedrals in the Dark Ages...

So now its worse, because we have Dark Ages without the good things of the Dark Ages 😝

[Lila9]

2 minutes ago, Nivsch said:

So now its worse, because we have Dark Ages without the good things of the Dark Ages 😝

We literally have a similar ignorant collective mentality and crude human nature as in the Dark Ages but now with better technology, social media, and more advanced weapons. This is dangerous.

Hopefully, we experience a renaissance in our lifetime