Stupid westerners, all of us | smebro's Blog

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I've had a crisis of conscience that has overshadowed my last week. Educated myself on how bad it is for billions of people on this little planet of ours...I'm almost nauseous because of our western ideals... I sit here at my desk and make money for a company that exists purely to make money… I go home and watch TV shows with fancy sets where hosts give middle-class Americans gifts like new houses and supplies to last them a year…and all I can think about is how easy it is for us to not care. We live out our self-obsessed existences without a second thought for the billions that would appreciate our place so much more; we complain and bitch about our problems that are so trivial compared to the struggle for food and water, or the struggle against oppressive forces. We have no clue how bad the human experience can be… Or how easy it would be to initiate great changes.

The western ideals are right and wrong. Right because they provide the systems that can structure a decent society…and wrong because we still hold onto our silly concepts of nationalism which seems to be the ticket to ignoring the true troubles in humanity.

So while I dwell on my issues, I can’t help but feel like an idiot for complaining about my station…I have it better then Billions, how can I help billions have it as good as I do? I can’t.

This kind of thinking, while positive in theory...is making western life seem very trivial... Is this why we find it so easy to ignore the poor and hungry? Because they make us unhappy or because we find it easy to pretend they aren't real people?

I’m lost in my mind at the moment, miserable but in perspective. What a crappy year this has been for this stupid westerner

Posted by smebro at 17:17 on December 3rd, 2007 at 5:17PM (updated Dec 3rd, 2007)

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smebro	Posted on 05:30PM on Dec 3rd, 2007 It's true. things suck...inevitably? I hope not.
smebro	Posted on 08:14PM on Dec 3rd, 2007 One major problem I think should be overcome is the concept of nations. I think if we all looked towards a single governing league of some sort then we might all hold them responsible for the appalling low living standards across the globe. The democratic process can still continue, but they would have to campaign on the basis of what they would contribute to this international league...not what they will do for the nation and its people. Pool all the worlds’ taxes and first lift the poor regions out of debt, next attempt to raise the standard of living to an equal global level. For those concerned about Global Warming this should be an appealing idea, one governing league would have to think in the best interests of the whole world, not just rich industrial nations. But that’s huge thinking, not vert constructive. I think the charities could be better presented to encourage more people to donate on a large scale. They’re obviously doing something wrong, we have too much here in the west.
BowsAndBones	Posted on 06:20AM on Dec 5th, 2007 Interesting that you mentioned those solutions. Reminds me of the Millenium Development Goals. I was told recently by a respected teacher that what researchers are finding out is that in order for the MDGs to be possible, women need to develop better self-esteem. Apparently this is at the root of every problem. I'm not sure how, for the poverty issue, but in areas like education, health, domestic violence, etc, all the funding in the world won't help until women feel good about themselves.
TheTardyDodo	Posted on 06:23AM on Dec 5th, 2007 I think the reasons for the current state of affairs are desperately complicated and interwoven, as well as existing through out the range of scales that societies exist on, in a way that is self reflective. By this, I mean that the people who make decisions are that, just people, and yet at the same time they are strongly influence by the dominant cultural, ethical and conceptual paradigms of their time. And the converse applies as well, the theoretical constructs, institutions and paradigms are created by humans with their particular blend of rationality and emotional needs. You might feel this explains little, but when you take a wider view of human history, there is little that is particularly remarkable about this phase of civilisation beyond the fact that its environmental impact is no longer locally systemic, but now on a level to subtly influence global planetary systems. (Subtly for the planet, not terribly tolerably for sensitive humans).
smebro	Posted on 02:07PM on Dec 5th, 2007 Interesting idea Musichead, although I wouldn’t have the faintest idea how to inject self-esteem into any population… Yes Tardy, it is a complicated. Things aren’t running completely smoothly, but we have no tried alternatives to suggest. I think the opposite; this is a very remarkable period of Human History. We have the amazing technologies that work because we finally have the sciences almost right; we have the ability to be fully informed if we should so choose, we have over six billion people. Granted all these things are parts of this environmental impact… But I would say that the climate changes, should anything happen, will be tolerable for Humanity, and some countries might actually benefit (New Zealand could use a banana industry). The negatives, such as the spread of malaria or other tropical diseases, and weather effects that might catch us unaware, can all be handled with help from modern technology. We’re tolerable creatures because we’re smart creatures; we make shelters and medicines and share information across the world. People will look back at these years and say ‘That’s when they started to get it right’, and then they’ll fly off to their new planet. New proposition to solve world hunger; persuade billionaire to purchase every patch of presently meat-producing land in the western world, or at least one third of it, and use that land to grow the crops to feed the poor. On the other hand, if John Titor time traveller was right; America should be dealing with a mad-cow epidemic sometime soon, at which time perhaps they will convert the land to crops.
nourradiance	Posted on 07:11AM on Jul 7th, 2008 Smeb, 8 billion people, hi technology and lots of money - but barely 1/4 of them think like you do. Ask not what others will do for (the poor) but ask what you will do. When we feel our conscience tugging at our hearts, we should try to emulate Mother Theresa in whatever small capacity we can. (I better go write my blog about this now...thanks for the idea!) NR
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