Is our world becoming more cruel?
- Thread starter les24preludes
- Start date
Darren L
Egalitarian
I guess it depends on what you mean by the olden days, what era's you've lived through, in what area you've lived and in what economic circumstances.
I was born in '72 so I was a school boy up until '88, given that I think my awareness and real life experience started in the late 80's.
Being brought up in NI there was most certainly a good progression of attitudes during the 90's.
Paisley wouldn't let ELO play in the Ballymena Showgrounds stating that it would be 'Devilworshipping, drinking and debauchery ', with this a large percentage of the younger generations realised he was really out of touch and a relic of bygone beliefs and his popularity plummeted.
E had become very popular with my generation in the 'Rave' dance music scene and being what it was everyone was 'loved up' and certainly from my neck of the woods there was now friendships formed by young Protestants and Catholics that had previously been 'enemies' . Instead of going to the local Prod or Catholic pub and meeting up to fight at the Chinese on a Saturday night they were now sharing cars to Kelly's at the Port, dropping E and dancing until the wee small hours.
In general there was a feeling of people of all generations being fed up with the Troubles and the trouble it brought in our ordinary lives on a daily basis.
Cease-fires were announced and the atmosphere totally changed. There was still some atrocities committed but these were mostly by hard line breakaway groups.
Eventually in 98 the Good Friday agreement was voted on by the public and a total ceasefire and decommissioning of weapons was announced by the paramilitary organisations on both 'sides'.
Things were looking up.
As we progress in general as a society there seems to be a revolt against progression with hate rearing it's ugly head again, we now have an issue with Racism in certain areas.
Unionism and Loyalist ideals are mostly growing more unpopular across the country in general but in certain socially deprived areas opposition is growing in popularity with a younger generation that never experienced the troubles first hand.
I've no doubt that ignorance, a lack of education and economic inequality are factors, these people have nothing else but a tribe to cling to.
paulfromcamden
Baffled
herb
brain's right hemisphere
in the 1960s Arthur Koestler thought that the human brain was faulty and was it possible go invent a pill to cure it? This was a time when the theory of left and right hemispheres was popular. The theory was that the two hemispheres did not communicate properly. The pill would make communication more efficient by altering the bridge of cells linking the hemispheres. Would you take the pill imposing it on others to make you more peaceful?
Meditation was thought to have the same effect though back then.
Meditation was thought to have the same effect though back then.
Rockmeister
pfm Member
and LSD
apparently.
apparently.
gez
pfm Member
Must have been unique to the era then, because by the time the early 70's had arrived they were apalling. I was barely able to eat half the meals they offered when I was in infants/primary school. It was so bad that when I got to secondary school my mum started making me a packed lunch rather than try and force me to eat the school meals. Now I'm no nutritionist, so it may well have been the case that the food provided was "nutritionally perfect", but it tasted rank. e.g what passed for "beef stew" was minced slop out of a tin* (very likely wan't even pure beef).
*It may well have not been out of a tin, I have no evidence it was obviously, but it might as well have been. It was essentially identical to the filling in a beef mince pie from a chippy (a cheap one).
Edited - just seen your second post on the topic. Good to know I wasn't imagining it
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
The Wife and I were reminiscing about school dinners recently. The 1970’s being our period, about aged 6 to16 covering the decade.
Despite the socio-economic differences betwixt us, we both had good memories about our junior and secondary school lunchtime food.
I had free school meals for most/all of my time at school, out of interest.
Despite the socio-economic differences betwixt us, we both had good memories about our junior and secondary school lunchtime food.
I had free school meals for most/all of my time at school, out of interest.
Beobloke
pfm Member
I truly believe this has a great deal to do with it.
I experienced my first ever true road rage incident last week thanks to a young lad driving like an absolute lunatic. However, I'm guessing that driving like he did woudl bring him glory and points on the likes of Grand Theft Auto
les24preludes
pfm Member
In my initial post I postulated that climate change is a factor in a more violent world. This seems to be confirmed in this documentary
(from 14.30m.) "increased heat will cook our brain capacity and increase our propensity for violence. Today the pressures of a warmer planet have already exacerbated tensions like in the case of the Syrian Civil War, the Arab Spring conflict, as tensions were fuelled by drought and instability. Wallace-Wells estimate that for every half degree of warming societies will see a 10% to 20% increase in the likelihood of armed conflict. A planet 5° warmer would see half as many wars again. Hurricanes, wildfires and droughts will displace millions driving a vicious feedback loop of migration and conflict. By 2050, 216 million people would be forced to move in their own countries at our present trajectory, and these are conservative numbers. The numbers facing life threatening heat stress will at least double. All of this is a result of capitalism's penchant for protecting profits, not people...... (and so on)"
(from 14.30m.) "increased heat will cook our brain capacity and increase our propensity for violence. Today the pressures of a warmer planet have already exacerbated tensions like in the case of the Syrian Civil War, the Arab Spring conflict, as tensions were fuelled by drought and instability. Wallace-Wells estimate that for every half degree of warming societies will see a 10% to 20% increase in the likelihood of armed conflict. A planet 5° warmer would see half as many wars again. Hurricanes, wildfires and droughts will displace millions driving a vicious feedback loop of migration and conflict. By 2050, 216 million people would be forced to move in their own countries at our present trajectory, and these are conservative numbers. The numbers facing life threatening heat stress will at least double. All of this is a result of capitalism's penchant for protecting profits, not people...... (and so on)"
paulfromcamden
Baffled
I do worry about the desensitisation of people, especially children, to extreme images and opinions on the interweb.
I'm really glad I didn't grow up in an environment where my peers were all watching hardcore porn on their phone - it makes my furtive glances at a friend's well-thumbed copy of Mayfair seem innocence itself.
I'm pretty sure boy racers predate GTA though : )
ks.234
Half way to Infinity
And we’ve had the twizzlers in power ever since
tones
Tones deaf
I remember school dinners in those days, Mick (admittedly in Belfast), and I shudder at the concept that they could have become worse!
Hazelberry
sister
Things have certainly become crueller in AO/NZ as a self-interested, corrupt, uber-neoliberal right wing govt enacts a scorched earth policy on the environment & vulnerable & otherwise little people, or “bottom feeders” as as our entitled arsehole PM has called them.
Darren L
Egalitarian
You have to remember that the bible is not a factual document. The old testament was passed down orally, ever heard of Chinese whispers? The New testament took about a hundred years to complete after the death of Jesus, the first printed edition was about 1500 years after, or thereabouts, for all we know it could be the writings of madmen or at least much was lost in translation.
Whilst there's many a good story and lessons to be learnt from the scriptures there has been more atrocities committed in the name of a God or entity than any other reason.
Whilst there's many a good story and lessons to be learnt from the scriptures there has been more atrocities committed in the name of a God or entity than any other reason.
paulfromcamden
Baffled
You mean Moses didn't have horns?
hifinutt
hifinutt
ah thats a different thread , the jewish scholars painstakenly copied manuscripts !! it wasnt like chinese whispers !
It is easy to forget that the earliest Christians did not yet have the New Testament. They had the Scriptures of Judaism – what is now called the Old Testament – but they had no writings of their own until Paul started to write to the churches he had founded, some time in the 50s AD, a couple of decades after the crucifixion of Jesus. The gospels were not written till later still, probably in the 70s-90s AD. Until then, the stories about Jesus and his sayings must have circulated orally. A generation or two of Christians thus managed without a written record of Jesus. In ‘New Testament times’, there was no New Testament.
How the New Testament was created
Professor John Barton FBA explores the four stages in the formation of the New Testament.
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
The Cult of Moloch
Encyclopedia of Jewish and Israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from anti-Semitism to Zionism.
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
Much of the Old Testament was borrowed from other regional traditions, and compiled while the Hebrews were in exile in Babylon.
You've got it in one! The Bible is a work of fiction produced by learned scholars that believed the earth was flat and the centre of the Universe!. Many a war has been fought in the name of religion; although if there was no religion human beings would find other things to fight over.
Mind you .......... as a keen Bellringer, I am grateful for the existence of churches and their bells. Gets me out of the house.
hifinutt
hifinutt
radio 4 nearly every day focussing on the use of mobiles by children and their potential harm
Government launches crackdown on mobile phones in schools
Schools will receive new guidance on prohibiting mobile phone use during the school day.
Campaign to control children's use of smart phones | Mumsnet
Really interesting conversations happening around the idea of campaigns to ban smart phones for children or much heavier controls on what they can acc...
www.mumsnet.com