18 trends I find disturbing

Focussing on specific issues in depth, is, by and large, a good thing. However, noticing the long term patterns repeat themselves time and again in many spheres is critical to seeing the bigger picture.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, we must examine each piece of news and reality to see how it fits with other bits: but, unless we stand back and see the emerging picture of ALL the interlocked clues, we will be lost in minuitae and miss the direction in which we are travelling en masse.

I am not going to bother to 'prove' any of these trends; they are just my observations. If readers of this blog are interested in one or more of the trends below, leave a comment and I will do my best to address questions raised in a future blog with examples.

1. The increasing number of 'law and order' television shows over the last 20 years has desensitised people to the abuse of civil rights, justified by 'getting the bad guys'.
2. The television shows which exalt technology which invades our privacy, has created a culture where nothing is sacred or private if it can be used by government agencies to 'get the bad guy' (they will tell you who that is through media).
3. Destruction of free media has allowed those in power to construct a false universe which serves their purposes of controlling the masses.
4. Terrifying people with bogeymen keeps them from finding the curiosity and confidence to seek balanced information.
5. Democracy has become an inoperable ideal, used to provide people with the illusion that they are in control of their destiny.
6. Technology is enabling a new world order, in which every moment of our existences is monitored and controlled by government.
7. Labels which divide people, keep them busy fighing each other while others control world events behind the scenes.
8. Food and water, housing and healthcare are going to be the scarce resources of the future.
9. Corporations are morphing into global institutions which are not accountable to any government or people whose lives they control.
10. The 'rational' systemic paradigm of socio-economic progress trumps 'compassion and integrity' everywhere.
11. The people of the West are terrified by the specter of 'relative deprivation'; and willing to do almost anything to continue indulging in lifestyles the resources of the planet cannot sustain.
12. Overpopulation is upon us: there will be a cull - whether natural or manmade.
13. Most people would rather be right, than learn something which challenges their security.
14. Those in the most dire poverty and areas of imperial violence, are alone.
15. Banal discussions of irrelevant issues presented to us by the media occupy the majority of our time.
16. Our mileau rests on arrogance, as though tradegy could not affect such an advanced civilisation as ours. (No historical context)
17. The laws enacted by politicians which erode human rights are ignored by a panicked populace (see # 15).
18. The ignorant have become arrogant: everyone thinks they are right from their own point of view.

My conclusion is that we are doomed if we do not begin to figure out the context in which our lives are occurring. Divided we fall.