Armageddon? Apocalypse?

Morbyd

Morbyd

Moderator
I just went out to lunch on my own and printed out some stories from the Moscow Times and the Washington Post to read, as I was dining alone. The stories were mostly about the one-year anniversary of the Beslan massacre and the situation in New Orleans post-Katrina. I was nearly in tears on my way back to the office.

Is it me, or is the world just going to hell in a handbasket?

Devastating terrorist attacks in New York & Washington, London, Moscow, Beslan. Wars in Iraq, Africa, Afganistan. Natural disasters on a massive scale - the tsunami, Katrina, last year's hurricanes in Florida. Earthquakes. Bird flu, foot & mouth, mad cow, SARS. Global warming, melting ice caps, hole in the ozone layer.

Is this it? Are we barrelling towards the end of it all? Part man-made, part natural, it just looks like its all coming in one big wave.

I realize that there were wars and disasters in the first 3 decades of my life... I began watching and paying attention to world news as a small child so I'm aware of much of it. Still, it seems like the 2000s have brought increasing frequency of disasters and violence, evil and death.

Is it just that we got lucky and spent the 1970s-90s living in a relatively peaceful time when compared to the previous few millenia, or are we hurtling full-speed towards the end of it all?
 
No...but I do think we're moving towards an age of self responsibility.

If anything's going to bring the world to a halt then apathy will.
 
There have always been disasters. Think of the pest in the middle ages. Wiped out like half of Europe's population. Think of all the wars that have killed millions. Earth quakes, vulcano eruptions, tsunamis etc etc.

I think what's at the cause of your agony is the media. We are so overwhelmed with information, every little accident or minor disaster is in the news, and they surround us everywhere. It's a global village now.
 
That's true... the media age has brought us instant access to the sadness all around the world. Before, we didn't know. If we did, we found out much later.

That access to information has helped us in so many ways. In the end, however, it might drive us all insane. Or at the least, instill a sense of hopelessness (for those with the instinct to help) and/or apathy.
 
Me and Mr PL were having a "grown up" conversation about this last night. This lasted for about 30 mins (which is good going in the Pups Kennel).

Anyhow we decided the "non-grown up" and most "non-sensible" thing to do is get smashed this weekend - lets face we could be going to Hell in a Handbasket by Monday......(or at the very latest the end of 2005)
 
We're all gonna die, we're all gonna die!!! **Runs around waving hands/arms in air**
 
N8 said:
We're all gonna die, we're all gonna die!!! **Runs around waving hands/arms in air**
Click to expand...

jones.JPG



dont panic!
 
I agree that this age's tragedies are not on a larger scale than previous ages...it is just that the media only reports on devastation and death. No one wants to report that a plane landed safely, or there was an earthquake in which no one was injured. The more the media preys on our humanly fears, the more we will buy the paper just to keep checking on whether or not a tragedy may be close to us. They rely on our fears and our sense of wanting to self-preserve...and they chuckle all the way to the bank.

Maybe I am just too cynical and that is not to say that these tragedies aren't horrific and worth talking about. But it is rare that there are reports about human triumph. When I was watching the reports on 9/11 the media repeatedly showed pictures of people diving to their death rather than waiting for the building to fall. They didn't have any appreciation or empathy for the real person. It was the concept. Horror, tragedy, terror...well, that makes people turn on that channel. It isn't because we like seeing people die, I think it is just that we fear it for ourselves.

But then again I had to spend my entire weekend indoors reading, "Horror and the Holy," for class on Wednesday...maybe I am jaded :?
 
Guatemala, Pakistan, the soooo miserable subsaharian ilegals that are abandoned in the middle of the desert
watching the news is nowadays the biggest depression ever :(
 
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