We Can't Fix the World, So Now What?

[Wandering Monk]

It covers 2018-2019

Source.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Global poverty will keep increasing as the population rises, not to mention the top percent want more for themselves and don't really care for the bottom percent.

And remember this economic bubble isn't going to last forever.

 

[Wandering Monk]

And remember this economic bubble isn't going to last forever.

They never do, yet progress continues. Has for centuries.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Source.

Look at these numbers.
Figures at a Glance
37,000 a day are displaced.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

They never do, yet progress continues. Has for centuries.

And when they do what happens who people who are struggling to get by?

 

[Wandering Monk]

I concede the displaced persons problem is a problem.

But, I never proclaimed a perfect world, only that in the aggregate, most categories measuring human well being have improved in recent decades, in fact for a couple of centuries.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

I concede the displaced persons problem is a problem.

What are the reason for this increase?

 

[Wandering Monk]

What are the reason for this increase?

War no doubt, as is usually the case. Is the the point where you go into a rant against the United States and take your own thread off-topic?

 

[The Reverend Bob]

War no doubt, as is usually the case. Is the the point where you go into a rant against the United States and take your own thread off-topic?

No, rant against the US forthcoming. You see while the number of conflicts have decreased as people have pointed out, the intensity of these conflicts have markedly increased. As of now 1 out of every 5 children living in this world are now living in a war zone. That is 420 million children affected by armed conflict.

 

[Wandering Monk]

No, rant against the US forthcoming. You see while the number of conflicts have decreased as people have pointed out, the intensity of these conflicts have markedly increased. As of now 1 out of every 5 children living in this world are now living in a war zone. That is 420 million children affected by armed conflict.

Yeah, emphasis on the word 'living.' Do you think they would rather be dead? One thing that is missed in this talk is the fact that there are more and better organizations to deal with this crisis, yet another improvement in the human story.

Now, back to the other statistics.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Yeah, emphasis on the word 'living.' Do you think they would rather be dead? One thing that is missed in this talk is the fact that there are more and better organizations to deal with this crisis, yet another improvement in the human story.

Now, back to the other statistics.

The emphasis is that there are 420 million children living in a combat zone. That's a problem, don't you say? We will get back to other statistics such poverty and food shortages but let's address the increase of populations living in war zones and the nature of these conflicts. Why are these wars becoming more intense and why are the populations affected by war increasing?

 

[Wandering Monk]

The emphasis is that there are 420 million children living in a combat zone. That's a problem, don't you say? We will get back to other statistics such poverty and food shortages but let's address the increase of populations living in war zones and the nature of these conflicts. Why are these wars becoming more intense and why are the populations affected by war increasing?

I am done on this specific topic (refugees, displaced persons.)

 

[The Reverend Bob]

I am done on this specific topic (refugees, displaced persons.)

So despite what your stats and charts tell you, war is still an increasing problem. Want to move on to food?

 

[Wandering Monk]

So despite what your stats and charts tell you, war is still an increasing problem. Want to move on to food?

War is increasing? What metrics are you using?

 

[The Reverend Bob]

War is increasing? What metrics are you using?

I didn't say that the number of conflicts is increasing (yet), I am saying war due to the fact that the intensity of the conflicts is increasing makes war an increasing problem. We have less wars but the volume of the wars we have have been pumped up to 11. They are so intense that 1 in 5 children are affected by them.

 

[Wandering Monk]

They are so intense that 1 in 5 children are affected by them.

Meaning what exactly? Lot's of children were affected by WWII in some way or other. Need a little more precision here.

 

[The Reverend Bob]

Meaning what exactly? Lot's of children were affected by WWII in some way or other. Need a little more precision here.

Why is that number so high in today's world?

 

[Wandering Monk]

Why is that number so high in today's world?

What number? Children affected by war? What constitutes 'affected?' Define it.

 

[charlie sc]

So now what do we do? Is there anything we can fix? I can assure you there is somethings can do, particularly we should firstly follow Socrates dictum "Know thyself" and believe one the reason we love to look at the world's problems and center ourselves on fixing them instead of examining our own lives and fixing what is going on inside of us as individuals is because the darkness outside of us seems more easy to deal with, because we have all these messiahs, politicians and others saying they have solution and we are in great company with the other legion of followers.

But to "know thyself" is to go on a lonely journey into the dark recesses of the self and lay our eyes bare on our own human nature and acknowledge that we are all evil, all egotistical and we are all disgusting. It is a frightening journey.

Interesting. Yet, you cannot answer one simple question when confronted about yourself. Know thyself indeed.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

You must acknowledge the problem before you can solve it.

Yeah, first step is to acknowledge there is a problem.

That being said, I'm not for saying no one is righteous and everyone is a sinner either. We are generally neutral, just impulsive. Those impulses can go either way.

Things will only get worse. There is no salvation for the world. Only individuals.

The world will exist long after we are gone. Our problem is not that life will end. Our problem is that we are ruining life for US.

So let's say a whole nation is doing something you do not consider virtuous, what would you have us to do with them?

It would depend on the situation. We keep trying to be heroes but we end up making all of our monsters. The bait for evil governments is to have us come in and screw things up so that we can be blamed for that country's problems. And we take that bait with gusto and tears of joy.

And that's why you are able to justify its use against others that you have had the audacity to judge as evil because they don't fit your definition of what is good. Now, who are you to judge what is good and what is evil?

That which causes an increased lack of rights and safety and health is evil. The scientific method can be used to study the effects of policies on society from many directions. The Golden Rule must be followed up with Judge the Tree by its Fruit: it is not enough to consider oneself benevolent because we must assess and verify that we are actually being so.