Do you like the society we live in?

[rosequartz8]

If not, what are the things that you would like to change If you were given the power and opportunity to change things?

I hate it. It feels shallow and uncaring. People seem to care more about how they look and what they own rather than how they behave.

Lots of aspects I like.

• Access to education and healthcare even though they aren't perfect.

• Greater backlash against racism. I'm in an interracial relationship where we likely wouldn't have been allowed to be together 50 years ago or so.

• I love small business and entrepreneurship - such an exciting time for business.

I don't like

• The excessive use of plastic
• Cheap calorific food and expensive healthy food
• The price of childcare

No. There is too much prejudice in society. Generally speaking the world is a pretty terrible place if you aren't wealthy.

I can't say I do a lot of the time. There was never a period in history when things were perfect but I think there is a big lack of empathy in our world now and it's sad

No.

I hate the fact that you're not allowed to check out. You can't change anything. Very little freedom to live alternatively.

I would rather live a very simple life in a very small, tightly knit, like minded community. As self sufficiently as possible with a focus on conservation.

This pandemic has brought about massive arguments from the "individualists" vs the "collectivists" and it's bullshit imho. How the fuck can you be collective when "the community" is 64 million people who you have little in common with? I think we need a massive shift back to localism, decentralised power, community alliances etc. I think we're on a path to our own destruction.

No, I don't. I think our values are totally upside down.

no. definitely not. I am so so sad at the state of things in this country currently. I am sad for my children's futures.
I work in mental health services and the things I have seen over the past 10 years are really, really sad. Constant cuts, constant withdrawal of services/support etc. And over the past 2 years the total loss of compassion and empathy from vast swathes of society. The total profit driven selfishness . the total disconnect from reality of the politicians and leaders.
Right now life feels like a never ending struggle. And what my children face will be worse. I would dearly love to leave this country if I could, but sadly cant.

No.

But as long as there are other people in it, the world will be shit for me.

You only have to spend a day reading mumsnet to realise that there are some massive arseholes among us.

No.
As illustrated recently the people in power ( eg the present government and met police, massive corporations, the elite wealthy) are self serving.
I would like to see a distribution of power and wealth to the grass roots.

No. The way in which the vulnerable including people with Disabilities, the elderly etc are treated is disgusting. The number of children developing severe anxiety because of their school experiences is alarming. There is a whole underbelly of MH issues that isn't being addressed. It's very scary.

The grass isn’t greener elsewhere. Have family living in Spain Italy Ireland and they say exactly the same. Hearing their stories about unemployment, bureaucracy, individualist behaviour and costs of basics I have to say I think they have it worse. Just as an example the cost of generic ibuprofen is ten times what we pay. Electricity is relied on in Spain and incredibly expensive- especially compared to wages. Professionals can struggle to get jobs because labour doesn’t move very freely. I’m sure they all do many things better than us, but we’re not alone in thinking our society is broken....

Apparently it’s common around the world, save for Sweden, Germany...

www.ipsos.com/en-uk/global-study-nativist-populist-broken-society-britain

There are many things I dislike the split in society over politics and now Covid lax the underhand prejudice that is just ignored, the class structure and the growing divide between rich and poor and services being cut

But I have family and friends abroad similar complaints and have lived abroad there are many areas of life that are better and easier but we can improve and should be be doing better for many in this country

As others have said, we have forgotten what a struggle life was like for most people, for most of history. We have a welfare state (even if its not what people would like it to be), employment programmes that support people into work, charities that provide a huge range of support. There is a whole raft of free emotional, mental, physical and practical support out there. I also remember speaking to a delighted Romanian women who had been on an employment support programme that paid for her training, and the equipment she needed to do the work she wanted to, she was like, ' Its amazing! There is nothing like this in Romania!'
Medical care and vaccinations are brilliant and have freed people from the terrible suffering and early deaths that were commonplace for nearly all of human history.

However, I do worry about how intolerant society is getting, with those priding themselves on tolerance being anything but. Tolerance is tolerating the people you don't like and the views you don't want to here. Tolerance is allowing disparate voices to speak and debate with each other. I think a civilised society is founded on this and I worry it is being lost.
Recent years have also shown me that there is a huge underpinning of misogyny across the world that I really didn't realise was there. Basic safeguarding for women has basically been considered disposable, and arguing for it has been stigmatised.

Yeah, I think it's pretty good. Of course there are the limitations of human nature but unless we are comparing to some impossible utopia, we do pretty well.

I pretty much wouldn't have got out of the starting blocks if I had been born at any other point in history or in any other country that didn't have access to the medical resources we did here 40 years ago, so there's that.

No. People have become selfish and angry. The anger is misdirected thanks to the media manipulating us.
Mainstream media is horrible, dividing and segregating us. Government are doing the same. They’re making us hate each other while they change laws so they can have more and more control on us on an individual level.
I’m worried about where we’re heading.

No, I don't like the society we live in.....not just in the UK either.

Too many human beings for the planet to cope with, too much pollution, too much deforestation. The earth is being plundered for resources, even far away places like the Arctic which is being dug up for rare earth metals and minerals.

In the UK I think we have become a constantly "moaning" society. Nothing is ever right, whether it's the government, the council, the local supermarket, the weather..... Whingeing is a UK national pastime. No-one has any sense of personal responsibility anymore and the idea of communal responsibility is very rare in my experience.

I don't like the cruelty I see or read about around me....cruelty to animals, the dreadful amount of domestic violence which goes on, terrible tragedies involving children, bullying in schools, knife crimes. Far too much social deprivation, young people with a lack of direction or suitable work opportunities, I hate the fact we have too many drug problems in both towns and countryside.

It is utterly sad and depressing to see the state of our education, the lack of respect for the elderly and the postcode lottery which is elderly care. Ditto for the amount of homelessness and people on the streets with no-where to go to....and society's attitude to these people. We still haven't stamped out misogyny, racism and negative perceptions of those who are different, whether it's to so with someone's sexuality, disability, mental health issues or whatever.

In fact, writing it down, the list is endless. Truly, truly depressing. Across the world there are wars, arguments, repression of whole peoples, genocide, dictatorships, oppression. I have come to the conclusion that, given the pandemic, the biggest virus on this earth is humankind....perhaps the planet would be better off without us.

I think it’s way better than Victorian times or most times before that, but not as good as 20 years ago.

I don’t like the sexualisation of children. Babies wearing leggings that say things like ‘cute ass’ or ‘hot girl’; schools teaching preteens about anal sex; widespread exposure of teens to violent porn.

I don’t like the attacks on women’s right to have safe spaces, or teaching girls that if they like sport / short hair then they are not really girls and should consider drugs and surgery.

I am repulsed by how common cosmetic surgery is, particularly that thing with the puffy lips which looks freakish.

I don’t like how everyone (inc me!) is addicted to phones / internet instead of going out and making real connections.

I hate how schools prioritise targets over students mental health.

I miss having a health system that worked.

I miss John Major and Tony Blair and an era when politicians resigned if caught out in a lie or shown to be incompetent.

I hate the pandemic and what it’s done to our ability to enjoy mixing.

I am sad about global warming and the huge waves of migration that will come from countries whose ability to grow crops have been destroyed by European/American/Chinese pollution.

I do love Amazon and Ocado 🤔 I really do.