Fundamentalism, Global Pandemic getting worse, Global Warming impossible to reverse....AIBU to wonder if there is actually any point to humanity any more

[DownToTheSeaAgain]

The traditional model has us humans getting bigger, better, healthier, fitter, cleverer, more advanced in every way.

I'm not saying I buy into this but WTAF? Is there any point carrying on at all?

I'm generally an upbeat and positive person but these days even a parking thread doesn't get me excited about the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity.

As someone who is almost in their 50th decade I can't see any of this getting much better in my lifetime.

Time to throw in the towel?

Yabu . The big picture might not look good but life is not just politics etc. Find the joy in simple moments and don't consume so much news. Most of it is scare mongering and negative.

@Spinakker

Yabu . The big picture might not look good but life is not just politics etc. Find the joy in simple moments and don't consume so much news. Most of it is scare mongering and negative.

It may be negative but it is what the news is at the moment. I am not sure about the scare mongering. This stuff is actually happening and me not listening to the news will not change that.

I don't think there's any point to humanity. Unless it's to consume the earth's resources until they're all gone.

It's up to the individual to give their life meaning. Some manage to do this in much worse circumstances than what we're going through now.

Others just mark time till they die, having led a "pointless" existence.

The ‘traditional model’ needs to reflect on cyclical history, and why our civilisations keep failing. There is more to existence than technological achievement. As we become more and more specialised communication breaks down between groups easily: if groups become fixed by heredity and mobility fails, as is happening in Britain, people ask themselves why they should work for no gain to themselves and systems collapse.

I would have liked to see space colonisation continue, but at this point if it does it’ll be in the hands of the Asians.

The traditional model has us humans getting bigger, better, healthier, fitter, cleverer, more advanced in every way

And we are. I’m not sure what you think is ‘worse’ about life now as compared to in the past. I suggest you give your head a wobble ...

@spinakker do you genuinely believe that not being able to stop or reverse global warming is just politics/scaremongering?

@MangoFeverDream

The traditional model has us humans getting bigger, better, healthier, fitter, cleverer, more advanced in every way

And we are. I’m not sure what you think is ‘worse’ about life now as compared to in the past. I suggest you give your head a wobble ...

Good point @MangoFeverDream. I suppose I meant that we seem to be sliding into an abyss as a species and are apparently unable to stop it. So if you take global warming if we, as a species, had actually agreed to stop polluting then we could have reversed it. Same with COVID 19. If we actually stuck to the rules as written then this thing would have a much greater chance of dying out. We're getting fatter and less healthy. All these things are reversible. But we haven't reversed them with the net result that our future seems pretty bleak.

So if you take global warming if we, as a species, had actually agreed to stop polluting then we could have reversed it

We can’t just ‘stop polluting’ as fossil fuels are needed to just have a basic standard of living (unless you are okay with freezing homes and cooking over a fireplace ...)

We’ll be fine.

Same with COVID 19. If we actually stuck to the rules as written then this thing would have a much greater chance of dying out

Only isolated islands can do that. The U.K. is not an isolated island (even if it feels that way sometimes). Everyone has to muddle through until we accept that the virus is here to stay or we get an effective vaccine.

We're getting fatter and less healthy

Life expectancy hasn’t dramatically dropped afaik. You can probably expect to live longer than your parents, right? And your children will live longer than you.

It will be fine.

No, that’s too much complacency. “We”, whoever is meant by that, will not “be fine”. Global warming is happening and is already helping to cause a migration crisis (although there’s many causes involved). Our economy is finally crashing too, after years of brushing that under the carpet.

Life expectancy in the UK is dropping, particularly among poorer groups. Inequality has its impact also, which leads me nearly into my next question of who considers what is a basic living? Living standards in Britain are hugely disparate thanks to the inequality. We could afford to keep many more on lower standards. None of this has ever really been faced in the era of ‘greed is good’ and massive consumption. Something Americans would do well to keep in mind. We all could not have had a worse gathering of cultural trends in one place at one time imo. The future does not look bright to me.

We all could not have had a worse gathering of cultural trends in one place at one time imo. The future does not look bright to me.

This.

Global warming is happening and is already helping to cause a migration crisis (although there’s many causes involved)

No proof it’s causing a migration crises. Sectarian violence and repressive government are direct causes.

Our economy is finally crashing too, after years of brushing that under the carpet

The economy is doing poorly due to COVID. What would you expect with lockdown?

Life expectancy in the UK is dropping, particularly among poorer groups

Proof? The overall average is pretty flat afaik

Inequality has its impact also, which leads me nearly into my next question of who considers what is a basic living? Living standards in Britain are hugely disparate thanks to the inequality

When you think about the 80s and 90s, nearly everyone is better off now. Inequality has risen, but I don’t see it as a problem as long as standards across the board have risen.

We could afford to keep many more on lower standards

Oh god, no

There is no ‘point’. Humanity is a happy little accident (as Bob Ross would say)

The UK economy has not been working for years. The IFS is growing concerned about the growth in heredity and lack of ability to earn wealth. Still those of us locked out of that are of no consequence and can just be swept under the carpet and ignored like so many other unpleasant truths. www.ifs.org.uk/publications/8831

No everyone is not better off than in the 80s and 90s!

Migration is complex. I have definitely seen some stories about how its already impacting, causing former farmlands to be taken by the sea and their people set to wander. I could google it if you like, or you could.

Similarly if you google ‘ life expectancy dropping among poorer groups uk’ you’ll find a few sources.

Life expectancy hasn’t dramatically dropped afaik. You can probably expect to live longer than your parents, right? And your children will live longer than you.

The jury is still out on this, although projections seem to show that life expectancy is dropping.
BBC article

Even if life expectancy we're going up (and I don't believe it is) the world we've created to live in for that little bit longer is pretty screwed.

I think it's an interesting time. We are at the end of our world as we know it (as in what is known as western culture.) Its the beginning of something different, it it's better/ worse who knows?

I can’t immediately find the stories I was half-remembering re migration and climate change, but googling for ‘ migration impacts of climate change Africa‘
Brought up these links among others.

ecfr.eu/article/commentary_climate_driven_migration_in_africa/

reliefweb.int/report/world/climate-change-impacts-trends-and-vulnerabilities-children-sub-saharan-africa

www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2019/09/20/africas-climate-crisis-conflict-and-migration-challenges/
Not sure who brookings are. Someone remind Trump and his ilk next time they want to burn more fossil fuels and build walls. Although I don’t believe the whole world can be housed in Europe either.

@DownToTheSeaAgain what do you mean by 'time to throw in the towel??'
Do you think you are actually depressed?
I mean this kindly as i know how easy it is to get depressed.

Should you be visiting your gp maybe, because If you feel down & negative all the time that's not pleasant for you.

Thank you @Terralee I do think I am a bit depressed. Not majorly so though. I can't think that many are happy at the moment. GP has enough on his plate without middle aged woman in mid pandemic mid life crisis.

Just having a 'what's it all about?' moment. The news is unremittingly grim and have really lost faith in mankind. We've totally screwed it up.

Well keep an eye on things @DownToTheSeaAgain, don't let things these days get to you too much.

I belong to a Holocaust Remembrance group in Facebook & when they share stories of that time I think well, at least I'm not around in Eastern Europe during WW2 (for example)...

Or I remember my Grandads tales of growing up in the Salford slums in early 1920s, it was dire (1 meal a day, 11 kids to a room, 1 toilet to a block of houses, no shoes, his siblings dying because they couldn't afford the doctor)...

So when I think things are bad now I just look back in time & think, no they were worse then generally.

I was getting depressed by current events & I stopped watching the news in depth I only briefly look at the headlines & I'm very careful which news sources I follow as many are sensational & biased anyway..
I feel so much better for it!

I agree with not watching the news! It serves no purpose beyond passing the time. Fine if you enjoy it, but it makes me upset or frustrated most of the time. It doesn’t make you informed in any way, there is very little substance to it, not to mention the bias involved. And it serves no real purpose because we don’t do anything differently after watching it. Better to invest your time and efforts in getting involved in things that matter to you, learning something or making a difference in the world.

I totally understand the 'life isn't as bad as X theory' but I am not sure it helps. There is always someone worse off than you. Always. That doesn't stop you feeling miserable about life as it is for you.

I am very lucky. I have a house, a family (loads of teenagers but you can't have everything) and I'm well. However all of that doesn't stop the feeling of desperation about what humanity is doing to themselves at the moment.

@DownToTheSeaAgain Then it does sound as if you are depressed- I think your GP would rather see you now while it's not too bad than if it gets worse if you see what I mean?
I've got major depressive disorder which is medicated & from looking on the bleak side of life I feel quite content now, & my life isn't great at the moment.

I think you should pay less attention to the news.
You're one of those people who are simply susceptible to influence and negativity sells.
Humanity has been in worse situations.
After all, we didn't start with indoor plumbing.
People are adaptable, we can get used to almost anything.

Stop paying attention to the news and start reading about positive things.
Go look up infant mortality rate over the last 100 years.