I still hear this crop up every once in a while, so I figured that i'd open it up to a wide audience.
Things are looking pretty good to me.
Does anyone here believe that things are worse than they were in the past?
by Trismegistus 45 Replies latest jw friends
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cofty
Hi Trismegistus - I am certain we are living in the best time in all of human history.
I am in the midst of reading "The Better Angels of our Nature" by Steven Pinker. He makes a very compelling case.
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snare&racket
I have asked current JW's to come back to me with a year they would rather live in, in history.... Its a great question.
The ones that shoot back answers, usually do so without much thought, the industrial revolution was hell on earth, our early century was world wars and poverty. It gets worse and worse the further back one goes.
It is a great tactic when talking to JW's. The watchtower leaders are in their later years of life, of course they think the world stinks, of course they are afraid of everything new and of course they wish everything was the way it was 50 years ago when they were 21 and single. Once you realise this, much of WT doctrine and outlook makes sense.
Any history book, stats of infant mortality, quality of life quality of health, life expectatncy, crime rates etc, depending where,you live... But largely NOW is the best time to be alive!
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Trismegistus
I would have thought that people would say the 1950s... Or has Mad Men negated the glamor of that time?
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cofty
1950s - Racism, mysogyny, homophobia, meagre wages, dreadful working conditions, high infant mortality, epidemics of diptheria, TB, rickets and other crippling illnesses.
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Trismegistus
Well, yeah. That doesn't stop people from thinking that it was an idyllic time. Personally, I look forward to the future.
But I know that there are people who gripe about how things are worse. I just want to know WHY.
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snare&racket
Many JW's have the 1950's in mind because of what I wrote above. In reality it is perspective, the 50's brough the Korean war, hurrendous racism in America and South Africa. The theft of a nation in Palestine. The Vietnam war....
So it depends on where you were and who you were, what colour your skin was etc. this is a VERY important point.
Look now, ignorant JW's look at the economic climate of thw west and say 'see the prophecies are coming true' whilst in China, they are coming out of poverty weekly in the hundreds of thousands. China, the worlds largest population is becoming wealthy, it is seeing a release from hurrendous poverty right before our eyes, but because we have to pay more for some fruit and it is a bit harder to buy an iphone, they believe the world is ending. How small minded, ignorant and offensive can they be!
It is small minded, close minded thinking that makes people look only at the life they live and think THAT is representative of life in year 'x'
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designs
Our biggest problems are pollution and its effects on the earth and all forms of life, corruption both political and corporate, international drug cartels, and religious sectarian fighting/wars.
There is no magic pill to solve these tomorrow but we can individually and collectively address these issues and continue to progress as a civilization.
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snare&racket
Pollution is a huge problem, 200 years old now, we are getting getter but need to do a lot more.
Corrupt politicians are as natural and innevitable as alpha males in the jungle.
Drugs are a clinical issue not criminal and it is about time we recognised it. We all consume drugs, we need to grow up a bit and take it out the hands of the criminals. Of course drugs have been around thousands of years and are not new, at least now drugs are used to significantly prolong life and quality of life.
Religious and sectarian wars are as old as religions and sects, the day we recognise we are all equal, all the same, the planet will be more mature and have less blood in the soil. Again, we are nowhere near in a goodplace, but getting better.
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