Hey everyone,
I would welcome your advice on something that I have been dealing with for a while.
As you know, the news is full of pretty staggering headlines and they seem to be getting stranger and more disturbing every day. It is getting harder to pretend we can keep "danger" at bay and to hold firm to the conviction that we will live to see a brighter future. The change in our moral and political climate is putting psychological strains on us all and each of us are having to find ways to adapt as our assumptions about human decency are tested.
That being said, it seems more than likely that we are heading towards a major global catastrophe, though it is still unclear what exactly that is. What, When, Why, I don't know, but the trajectory is unmistakable and we do not appear to be making the change course to a more humane and uplifting destination.
As an atheist I do not attribute this process to god but to man. For a long time I believed we could avert disaster but I have been deeply shocked that we have got this far and have now virtually lost faith we will pull ourselves out of the death spiral we are now going in to over the next few decades. We are not behaving rationally in either averting a state of emergency or of responding to one. I believe climate change will be the decisive factor, but I appreciate we may all have our own visions and demons in mind.
This tendency to social decay of course reflects in the degradation of people's moral values and conduct. Society seems to have unwittingly engaged in a collective suicide pact in which it will continue to advance to a major social collapse, neither fighting to defend itself and nor seek positive alternatives (with some exceptions). Instead, we see the breakdown of moral and legal standards as people in power violate the social contract that keeps society together to advance their own interests. Lying has become normal even when we are dealing with serious threats to life and people don't care about the truth, whether it be scientific, moral or anything else. In surrendering the truth we have surrendered the only standard by which to judge ourselves, our conduct and the source of power which could yet rally us forward. We conform and accept any manner of immoral conduct, we tolerate insane and deranged behaviour and engage in a radical disconnect between the apparent "normality" and routine of daily existence, the astonishing headlines we read from around the world and where we may anticipate they are taking us. It's hard to decide whether to be scared, despair, confused or just burst out laughing at what this says about the absurdity and futility of the human condition.
I am not what you would generally regard as a "bad" person, although I am certainly question authority and the conventional wisdom more than is perhaps really for my own good. But, in my heart, I still want to be a good person and exercise my conscience even as civilisation itself is unravelling. I don't welcome "the end" or the degradation and the loss of the achievement of mankind. I find it a tragedy which I struggle to describe and an insult to the work accumulated by past generations. In spite of our arbitrary cruelty to one another, I still care deeply about what happens to other people beyond myself and my own well-being. It is painful to watch others in distress and know there is little you can do to really help them.
So It is one thing to talk about and even believe the apocalypse is coming, but quite another to believe it has arrived and is on-going and come to terms with all the emotional effects of watching civilisation unravel. In the spirit of learning from others, I hope therefore you might provide me with some advice or guidance that could ease the journey man takes towards creating hell on earth somewhat:
1) How do you conduct yourself in adversity or the end times in a way that reflects the gravity of the situation and yet is consistent with your moral values and religious beliefs?
2) How do you come to terms with the loneliness of realising that you are surrounded by people who are either moral vacuums, having no clear conscience of their own or no willingness to act or to recognise the situation, or are so genuinely corrupt that they embrace destruction and cannot therefore rely on them to co-operate when things turn bad?
3) How do you ring the alarm bells to stay safe in your own personal life, protect friends and family whilst also keeping yourself calm and composed in the face of such overwhelming odds?
This being said I am not considering converting to Christianity or any major religion and I will concede that is something of a surprise even to myself given the reassurance it may offer. Perhaps it's vanity or maybe it's compassion for the wretchedness of man- perhaps they are the same thing. I would nevertheless welcome your thoughts, reflections and wisdom that helps me deal with the moral and psychological aspects of having a conscience in a time of crisis.
Thank you and God Bless
I would welcome your advice on something that I have been dealing with for a while.
As you know, the news is full of pretty staggering headlines and they seem to be getting stranger and more disturbing every day. It is getting harder to pretend we can keep "danger" at bay and to hold firm to the conviction that we will live to see a brighter future. The change in our moral and political climate is putting psychological strains on us all and each of us are having to find ways to adapt as our assumptions about human decency are tested.
That being said, it seems more than likely that we are heading towards a major global catastrophe, though it is still unclear what exactly that is. What, When, Why, I don't know, but the trajectory is unmistakable and we do not appear to be making the change course to a more humane and uplifting destination.
As an atheist I do not attribute this process to god but to man. For a long time I believed we could avert disaster but I have been deeply shocked that we have got this far and have now virtually lost faith we will pull ourselves out of the death spiral we are now going in to over the next few decades. We are not behaving rationally in either averting a state of emergency or of responding to one. I believe climate change will be the decisive factor, but I appreciate we may all have our own visions and demons in mind.
This tendency to social decay of course reflects in the degradation of people's moral values and conduct. Society seems to have unwittingly engaged in a collective suicide pact in which it will continue to advance to a major social collapse, neither fighting to defend itself and nor seek positive alternatives (with some exceptions). Instead, we see the breakdown of moral and legal standards as people in power violate the social contract that keeps society together to advance their own interests. Lying has become normal even when we are dealing with serious threats to life and people don't care about the truth, whether it be scientific, moral or anything else. In surrendering the truth we have surrendered the only standard by which to judge ourselves, our conduct and the source of power which could yet rally us forward. We conform and accept any manner of immoral conduct, we tolerate insane and deranged behaviour and engage in a radical disconnect between the apparent "normality" and routine of daily existence, the astonishing headlines we read from around the world and where we may anticipate they are taking us. It's hard to decide whether to be scared, despair, confused or just burst out laughing at what this says about the absurdity and futility of the human condition.
I am not what you would generally regard as a "bad" person, although I am certainly question authority and the conventional wisdom more than is perhaps really for my own good. But, in my heart, I still want to be a good person and exercise my conscience even as civilisation itself is unravelling. I don't welcome "the end" or the degradation and the loss of the achievement of mankind. I find it a tragedy which I struggle to describe and an insult to the work accumulated by past generations. In spite of our arbitrary cruelty to one another, I still care deeply about what happens to other people beyond myself and my own well-being. It is painful to watch others in distress and know there is little you can do to really help them.
So It is one thing to talk about and even believe the apocalypse is coming, but quite another to believe it has arrived and is on-going and come to terms with all the emotional effects of watching civilisation unravel. In the spirit of learning from others, I hope therefore you might provide me with some advice or guidance that could ease the journey man takes towards creating hell on earth somewhat:
1) How do you conduct yourself in adversity or the end times in a way that reflects the gravity of the situation and yet is consistent with your moral values and religious beliefs?
2) How do you come to terms with the loneliness of realising that you are surrounded by people who are either moral vacuums, having no clear conscience of their own or no willingness to act or to recognise the situation, or are so genuinely corrupt that they embrace destruction and cannot therefore rely on them to co-operate when things turn bad?
3) How do you ring the alarm bells to stay safe in your own personal life, protect friends and family whilst also keeping yourself calm and composed in the face of such overwhelming odds?
This being said I am not considering converting to Christianity or any major religion and I will concede that is something of a surprise even to myself given the reassurance it may offer. Perhaps it's vanity or maybe it's compassion for the wretchedness of man- perhaps they are the same thing. I would nevertheless welcome your thoughts, reflections and wisdom that helps me deal with the moral and psychological aspects of having a conscience in a time of crisis.
Thank you and God Bless