Karl Frederick
06-08-2012, 10:24 AM
I post the following essay with misgivings. The author is not hopeful. He attempts to answer the title question by making a case that we are (in my own words) on a plunge into darkness. Click through to the original source and take a close look at the drawing accompanying the essay: It's the old 48-state version of the US flag from the 1950's, virtually obliterated by dark lines, as if to say "It's over, folks. The promise of the '50's is dead."
I ask myself, and you, are we in the years of (inevitable?) empire decline? Is the upheaval towards which we seem to slouch the only possible future? Must we have a bonfire before the Phoenix of a kinder civilization can take wing? Can we hope to change the course of our world? Our own community? Ourselves? Towards what must we turn, and how shall we lay the foundation for a community and culture of "We first" rather than "Me first?" I would be happy to see thoughtful contrasting opinions from others.
Karl
How Bad Is It?
by George Scialabba at www.thenewinquiry.com (https://www.thenewinquiry.com)
Pretty bad. Here is a sample of factlets from surveys and studies conducted in the past twenty years. Seventy percent of Americans believe in the existence of angels. Fifty percent believe that the earth has been visited by UFOs; in another poll, 70 percent believed that the U.S. government is covering up the presence of space aliens on earth. Forty percent did not know whom the U.S. fought in World War II. Forty percent could not locate Japan on a world map. Fifteen percent could not locate the United States on a world map. Sixty percent of Americans have not read a book since leaving school. Only 6 percent now read even one book a year. According to a very familiar statistic that nonetheless cannot be repeated too often, the average American’s day includes six minutes playing sports, five minutes reading books, one minute making music, 30 seconds attending a play or concert, 25 seconds making or viewing art, and four hours watching television.
Continue here: https://thenewinquiry.com/essays/how-bad-is-it/
I ask myself, and you, are we in the years of (inevitable?) empire decline? Is the upheaval towards which we seem to slouch the only possible future? Must we have a bonfire before the Phoenix of a kinder civilization can take wing? Can we hope to change the course of our world? Our own community? Ourselves? Towards what must we turn, and how shall we lay the foundation for a community and culture of "We first" rather than "Me first?" I would be happy to see thoughtful contrasting opinions from others.
Karl
How Bad Is It?
by George Scialabba at www.thenewinquiry.com (https://www.thenewinquiry.com)
Pretty bad. Here is a sample of factlets from surveys and studies conducted in the past twenty years. Seventy percent of Americans believe in the existence of angels. Fifty percent believe that the earth has been visited by UFOs; in another poll, 70 percent believed that the U.S. government is covering up the presence of space aliens on earth. Forty percent did not know whom the U.S. fought in World War II. Forty percent could not locate Japan on a world map. Fifteen percent could not locate the United States on a world map. Sixty percent of Americans have not read a book since leaving school. Only 6 percent now read even one book a year. According to a very familiar statistic that nonetheless cannot be repeated too often, the average American’s day includes six minutes playing sports, five minutes reading books, one minute making music, 30 seconds attending a play or concert, 25 seconds making or viewing art, and four hours watching television.
Continue here: https://thenewinquiry.com/essays/how-bad-is-it/