Word of the Week #331:
After the past few years, I have heard some people say, “This is the worst time to be a human on earth.”
And at the same time, countless others say, “This is the best time to be a human on earth.”
And as baffling and contradictory as the two may seem, I actually agree with both the notions.
Let’s think about it. If we look at the world as it is today, at this moment, we can say that more people right now have more of what they want or need across all humanity as compared to any other time in human history.
Okay, maybe that was more true before the pandemic than it has been since, and our collective economic well-being has just been faltering ever since. However, if we take a broader look of, say, the past 5–10 years or so, the quality of human life has been at its peak.
Whether we talk about the intangible necessities of life, like health and safety and rights and freedoms, we have never had it much better than this. And our material wealth has been relatively good.
The problem, however, appears when we stop looking at the world “right now” and think about “what’s next.”
What is next? The answer is worrisome.
By most estimates, the future of human civilisation is extremely likely to be extremely bleak.
That is why it is a bad time to be alive. As humans, we need to have a view of the question, “What’s next?” We need to have a light at the end of the tunnel. Even if we can’t see it, we have to know that it is there.
And therein lies the problem.
Most of our global and local leaders fall into two broad categories regarding the major issues we face today: and fearmongers and the deniers.
It’s always either “If all of you don’t do exactly what I say, we’re all—and our children, and their children, if we even manage to make it that far—going to die in a fiery pit! If it’s not too late already!” or it’s “Aye, there’s nothing to worry about whatsoever. Everything is just as it should be.”
And both seem unreliable, right?
Not equally unreliable, of course. Saying that would be a fallacy. Still, unreliable nonetheless. And extremely uninspiring.
Why can’t we have more leaders who can come up the people and say, “Hey! So it looks like we have a few problems facing us. Do you wanna sit and talk about how we could address them?”
Okay… Why does it sound exactly like the tone I’d use with a girl I’m dating?
You know, if I were dating…
It almost looks like the world needs a good boyfriend. Too bad there’s only one of me, right?
