Have We Crossed The Rubicon?

[E.A Rumfield]

I think that humanity has reached the cliche point of no return. It feels to me that we have made our decision. We have chosen our future. As a majority we seem to comfortable. Too set in our ways to change now and now right now is the time for change if we haven't already missed it. We continue to hold elections with no real candidates. We continue to be distracted by TV and football and cage fighting. People on a whole seem to be giving up everything that is human. Individuality is falling victim to fear of rejection. Conform conform conform is the message everyday on the TV in magazines. I fear we are fated to continue marching down this desolate highway with full stomachs and pleasantly distracted minds until one day the road ends and we are not prepared to walk through the mud.

[Freudian Monkey]

I think that humanity has reached the cliche point of no return. It feels to me that we have made our decision. We have chosen our future. As a majority we seem to comfortable. Too set in our ways to change now and now right now is the time for change if we haven't already missed it. We continue to hold elections with no real candidates. We continue to be distracted by TV and football and cage fighting. People on a whole seem to be giving up everything that is human. Individuality is falling victim to fear of rejection. Conform conform conform is the message everyday on the TV in magazines. I fear we are fated to continue marching down this desolate highway with full stomachs and pleasantly distracted minds until one day the road ends and we are not prepared to walk through the mud.

Is this a satire?

Because if it is it's brilliant.

EDIT: I don't mean to be offensive at all, I really can see it as a cleverly constructed satire.

[Darcy88]

There never was a golden age. Rubicons have been crossed and crossed and crossed eternally. The enlightenment told us we could have a golden age but that was a big fat lie. We should strive as individuals to be the best we can be, physically and morally and psychologically, but as far as curing society and making it into a paradise - that is quite simply never going to happen.

[Red Hot Soho]

Is this a satire?

Because if it is it's brilliant.

EDIT: I don't mean to be offensive at all, I really can see it as a cleverly constructed satire.

What part of this is untrue?

Are people often ridiculed for no reason? Yes.
Do people then feel the need to conform? Yes.
Are intellectual, original and creative forms of entertainment the biggest contenders in the entertainment market? No.
Is the result of this a dumbed down society? Yes.
Does the schooling system encourage individuality and creativity? No.

The schooling system really gets me. They'd ought to teach our kids how to stand up for their rights out here, if they're not teaching them how to fall asleep without nightmares. They don't talk about multiculturalism, about how drugs can be used in moderation, or how they can escape council estates and earn money from a poor unprofessional background. Instead they'd rather teach kids on the death of Macbeth and then complain when students are running wild, beating each other up, smoking marijuana on lunch breaks and even before school. They don't know that marijuana can be abused as badly as crack, because it's all hush hush, "we don't talk about that!".

The media message is conform, this isn't a huge conspiracy it's fact, populations scared to get out of their comfort zones and conforming is good for sales.

You guys would be silly to think we as a society haven't been studied in depth. The guys pulling the strings know exactly what we're like and they're playing the majority of us like little puppets.

There never was a golden age. Rubicons have been crossed and crossed and crossed eternally. The enlightenment told us we could have a golden age but that was a big fat lie. We should strive as individuals to be the best we can be, physically and morally and psychologically, but as far as curing society and making it into a paradise - that is quite simply never going to happen.

Nobody wants a paradise, we just want improvement for the sake of our kids. It's cut-throat out there, god help them when they realize just how deep this rabbit hole goes.

[Darcy88]

What part of this is untrue?

Are people often ridiculed for no reason? Yes.
Do people then feel the need to conform? Yes.
Are intellectual, original and creative forms of entertainment the biggest contenders in the entertainment market? No.
Is the result of this a dumbed down society? Yes.
Does the schooling system encourage individuality and creativity? No.

The schooling system really gets me. They'd ought to teach our kids how to stand up for their rights out here, if they're not teaching them how to fall asleep without nightmares. They don't talk about multiculturalism, about how drugs can be used in moderation, or how they can escape council estates and earn money from a poor unprofessional background. Instead they'd rather teach kids on the death of Macbeth and then complain when students are running wild, beating each other up, smoking marijuana on lunch breaks and even before school. They don't know that marijuana can be abused as badly as crack, because it's all hush hush, "we don't talk about that!".

The media message is conform, this isn't a huge conspiracy it's fact, populations scared to get out of their comfort zones and conforming is good for sales.

You guys would be silly to think we as a society haven't been studied in depth. The guys pulling the strings know exactly what we're like and they're playing the majority of us like little puppets.



Nobody wants a paradise, we just want improvement for the sake of our kids. It's cut-throat out there, god help them when they realize just how deep this rabbit hole goes.

Its always been cut-throat. I just live my life the way I like to live it and make sure my family does too and then I mostly only associate with people who have good values and are intelligent.

There are no people pulling the strings. There is no string. There is human nature, climate, geography, FATE, God, ect. Almost all of what you object to is the result of historical accident. Technology plays a huge role too in making us demented, but there was no conspiracy to make people demented. It just happened, like a storm. Its nature, simple nature. Plus I think people have in a way always been demented. I myself am somewhat demented, half a philistine to be sure. Before, in a bygone time, we were all less distracted assuredly, but I don't think the sum total of intelligence has gone down.

The present is not special. The world has always been a scene of immense turmoil and upheaval.

[E.A Rumfield]

The present is not special. The world has always been a scene of immense turmoil and upheaval.

I'm saying exactly the opposite. Here in America we have settled in. We have lost our rebellious nature. Other countries may still stand up for their freedom but America has a way of fixing that. We have become complacent, domesticated if you will. Sure, it's been a long time coming but now it's being achieved. Also to say someone is not pulling the strings is naive. It's been that way forever.

“The really hopeless victims of mental illness are to be found among those who appear to be most normal. "Many of them are normal because they are so well adjusted to our mode of existence, because their human voice has been silenced so early in their lives, that they do not even struggle or suffer or develop symptoms as the neurotic does." They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society. Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental sickness. These millions of abnormally normal people, living without fuss in a society to which, if they were fully human beings, they ought not to be adjusted.”
― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited

[Freudian Monkey]

To my understanding people have been happy and docile long before the 20th century consumerism. Maybe you can mention some examples of cultures and time periods where people weren't pacified by the powerful by means of entertainment, narcotics, wealth, easy life, disinformation or superstition?

[E.A Rumfield]

To my understanding people have been happy and docile long before the 20th century consumerism. Maybe you can mention some examples of cultures and time periods where people weren't pacified by the powerful by means of entertainment, narcotics, wealth, easy life, disinformation or superstition?

You're right and we probably have to good back to pre civilization to find man in his natural and right place in nature. I don't believe human beings are meant to belong to a society. Instead of advancing the situation we have succumb to it. Instead of science working for us we work for science, we fight wars to "save civilization" like its something worth saving. What a system of streetlights and bananas in the winter time? I think we would be much happier living like animals, with no idea of God or happiness. Our intelligence has become a curse, we confuse ourselves with words and ideas. The world has become so elaborately ****ed if I may say so that like the a set of tangled Christmas lights I doubt the problem will be resolved. Yet we remain so self important talking about God and science. We have no idea the true meaning of either one. Do you think a dog believes in God? Why do we think some being in the sky handcrafted us? If there is a God he despises us. And it's time we woke up, to these unpleasant facts like we are all alone in this world and only have each other for warmth, and thought logically and rationally for once.

[Freudian Monkey]

You're right and we probably have to good back to pre civilization to find man in his natural and right place in nature. I don't believe human beings are meant to belong to a society. Instead of advancing the situation we have succumb to it. Instead of science working for us we work for science, we fight wars to "save civilization" like its something worth saving.

According to Uncle Siggy the primal function of culture is to prevent human beings from killing each other in a blind rampage. Would we be better off without culture?

[Darcy88]

You're right and we probably have to good back to pre civilization to find man in his natural and right place in nature. I don't believe human beings are meant to belong to a society. Instead of advancing the situation we have succumb to it. Instead of science working for us we work for science, we fight wars to "save civilization" like its something worth saving. What a system of streetlights and bananas in the winter time? I think we would be much happier living like animals, with no idea of God or happiness. Our intelligence has become a curse, we confuse ourselves with words and ideas. The world has become so elaborately ****ed if I may say so that like the a set of tangled Christmas lights I doubt the problem will be resolved. Yet we remain so self important talking about God and science. We have no idea the true meaning of either one. Do you think a dog believes in God? Why do we think some being in the sky handcrafted us? If there is a God he despises us. And it's time we woke up, to these unpleasant facts like we are all alone in this world and only have each other for warmth, and thought logically and rationally for once.

There are 7 billion people in this world. Its too late for the human race to go living like wild animals. And if civilization did crumble then you'd have roving gangs killing for resources. Women would become mere property again. You'd have chaos. You'd have barbarianism.

I would suggest you move someplace rural. The societal madness is much less apparent out in the countryside. Out in the countryside you can still feel like you're just an animal.

[Red Hot Soho]

Its always been cut-throat. I just live my life the way I like to live it and make sure my family does too and then I mostly only associate with people who have good values and are intelligent.

There are no people pulling the strings. There is no string. There is human nature, climate, geography, FATE, God, ect. Almost all of what you object to is the result of historical accident. Technology plays a huge role too in making us demented, but there was no conspiracy to make people demented. It just happened, like a storm. Its nature, simple nature. Plus I think people have in a way always been demented. I myself am somewhat demented, half a philistine to be sure. Before, in a bygone time, we were all less distracted assuredly, but I don't think the sum total of intelligence has gone down.

The present is not special. The world has always been a scene of immense turmoil and upheaval.

So with your logic we haven't moved on at all?

Frankly, what the world was or has been in your opinion is completely irrelevant, we live in a time where the amount of actual people on this planet is beginning to be a little unnerving. Please keep your comments about how everything is the same and doesn't change to yourself, it's untrue and rather frustrating. Yes, the total sum of intelligence probably hasn't gone down. But the problem is we're measuring work by the depth of the hardships and measuring intelligence by the university and who they studied under. That system is ancient, and it needs to go, right now.

Stephen Pinker wrote a magnificent piece of work on the decline of violence, it's true. Violence has declined. Do you want me to now start agreeing with the system and how every other aspect of things are run because we're finally slightly safer than before? I honestly believe whatever happened in whatever era you're talking about bears zero, nil, no relevance in this world we're in today.


There are people pulling strings, open your eyes. Do you really think these politicians that sound like they're talking in their sleep have anything to do with actually controlling the population? They're cat walk models, they do nothing more but walk around on a stage for 5 minutes and then get made to sign documents in front of cameras.

To my understanding people have been happy and docile long before the 20th century consumerism. Maybe you can mention some examples of cultures and time periods where people weren't pacified by the powerful by means of entertainment, narcotics, wealth, easy life, disinformation or superstition?

Yes?

So what? I'm simply saying this whole system is pants-on-head-retarded. And there isn't a noble cause anymore, just a wealthy one.

At one point it was a norm to rape children, so because we did it then surely it's fine to do it now right? When will you guys stop looking for context in the last hundreds of years of human civilization and live in the now?

[Freudian Monkey]

Yes?

So what? I'm simply saying this whole system is pants-on-head-retarded. And there isn't a noble cause anymore, just a wealthy one.

At one point it was a norm to rape children, so because we did it then surely it's fine to do it now right? When will you guys stop looking for context in the last hundreds of years of human civilization and live in the now?

I wasn't actually referring to your post but rather the post above my comment.

[cacian]

Let's see what rubicon means.
First it is a shallow river
then also means
''It is a point of no return'' or ''no man's land''

Have we crossed both of these?
Not really. We might stepped on the moon and indented with an industrialisation and left a mark of a very heavily polluted mind but we have not brought back happiness on a plate.
We have gone to where no man's has gone before and we have reached the skies and beyond.
Physically Humanity has transpired itself beyond capacity to a point of
However it is nowhere near reached its intellectual challenge the best one yet.
Intellectually humans have remained unchallenged and stands a backward awkward way.
That is one heck of a reality check that needs to be undone.

[Darcy88]

So with your logic we haven't moved on at all?

Frankly, what the world was or has been in your opinion is completely irrelevant, we live in a time where the amount of actual people on this planet is beginning to be a little unnerving. Please keep your comments about how everything is the same and doesn't change to yourself, it's untrue and rather frustrating. Yes, the total sum of intelligence probably hasn't gone down. But the problem is we're measuring work by the depth of the hardships and measuring intelligence by the university and who they studied under. That system is ancient, and it needs to go, right now.

Stephen Pinker wrote a magnificent piece of work on the decline of violence, it's true. Violence has declined. Do you want me to now start agreeing with the system and how every other aspect of things are run because we're finally slightly safer than before? I honestly believe whatever happened in whatever era you're talking about bears zero, nil, no relevance in this world we're in today.


There are people pulling strings, open your eyes. Do you really think these politicians that sound like they're talking in their sleep have anything to do with actually controlling the population? They're cat walk models, they do nothing more but walk around on a stage for 5 minutes and then get made to sign documents in front of cameras.





Yes?

So what? I'm simply saying this whole system is pants-on-head-retarded. And there isn't a noble cause anymore, just a wealthy one.

At one point it was a norm to rape children, so because we did it then surely it's fine to do it now right? When will you guys stop looking for context in the last hundreds of years of human civilization and live in the now?

Its hard for me to discuss this because I threw idealism out the door at age 13.

We are imperfectly evolved/created mammals and so the system we create is going to be in many respects harsh and stupid. To want something more is to want human nature and FATE ITSELF to suddenly alter.

If you actually study history, as I've spent years doing, you see that all these issues about inequality and lack of resources are simply par for the course. They've always been and always will be. Things like climate and geography and resource allocation and power dynamics are beyond the control of these people you believe control the strings.

If you really care then go become an activist. Otherwise get to work taking care of yourself and the ones you love because this world is a nasty place and fate favours the strong.

[E.A Rumfield]

There are 7 billion people in this world. Its too late for the human race to go living like wild animals. And if civilization did crumble then you'd have roving gangs killing for resources. Women would become mere property again. You'd have chaos. You'd have barbarianism.

I would suggest you move someplace rural. The societal madness is much less apparent out in the countryside. Out in the countryside you can still feel like you're just an animal.

Again you're right but like I said instead of advancing ourselves, becoming something good we've only become a curse. This has been a long time building but you have to wonder how much longer we can keep this game up. We're only fooling ourselves thinking we can keep this lifestyle up for another hundred years. We could certainly be living better than we are now.