Oh man, things sure seem bad.
Right? Or am I crazy?
I mean, we’ve got:
Wars
Violence at home
“AI” killing critical thinking
Electricity costs going nuts
Terrible leadership (politics and business)
A completely screwed up healthcare system
Massive inflation
And that’s just a few items off the top of my head. Aside from the big ticket issues, it seems like people everywhere are just a lot more mean and selfish these days as well. And I don’t think is just all in my head because a poll by Pew Research found that America is the only county where people think more than half of the people in our country are morally BAD PEOPLE. Polls have shown that we’ve had low views of our politicians for quite a while…but now we think EVERYBODY kind of sucks.
Yikes.
I’ve read a number of books trying to identify how we can correct important issues in our society, including:
The Violence Project (how we can reduce mass shootings)
Abundance which (why is scientific discovery slowing down)
The Anxious Generation (how unlimited access to the internet deeply harmed Gen Z’s development)
Empire of Pain (how genuinely awful big pharma and healthcare are in the US)
Waste Wars (our consumerism has created an environmental nightmare which is harming people in poor nations in incredible ways)
Careless People (however dysfunctional you think people are in corporate America, they’re worse)
I’ll stop there, because I could keep going. It’s all part of a list of books I call “understanding why our world kinda sucks” and it’s a tragically long list. But the point of this article isn’t to make the case things are bad. If you don’t think they are, then ignore me! Keep doing whatever you’re doing :)
But if you
See that things are bad and getting worse
Want to be part of the solution and not the problem
Well then maybe you’ll be interested in some of the ideas I want to throw out there.
One thing I DON’T like about the books I listed above is that most of them, when they try to give steps to fix the problems they outline, give impractical advice or advice which is hilariously misguided.
The reason is simple: most believe that systems are the problem, or lack of resources are the problem, or the problems are structural at the societal or structural level. This is simply wrong.
Perhaps the authors are influenced by the same idea W. Edwards Demming had, “A bad system will beat a good person every time.” If that’s the case, we simply need better systems so that the good of people will no longer be hindered. I think of this as the Star Trek Fallacy. Star Trek functions in the future where there is no longer any currency or starvation or wars within the human race because we solved all those problems. At times, they will refer to our current time period as a type of dark ages before humanity moved beyond all such shortcomings. It’s lovely. And it’s laughably outrageous.
The problem is not with systems, and the problem isn’t a lack of technology, or a need to adjust our society. The problem is us.
No system, no structure, no resources will create a better world if they are run by people who are greedy, or people who are mean, or people who are biased, or people who only care about their own comfort and convenience and amusement and entertainment.
We know about Epstein. We know about Diddy. Do we think they are the only ones? Do we think they were wealthy because they couldn’t find others who were delighted to oppress others for their own pleasure?
Will a new app stop people from doing horrible things if they think they can keep it secret? Will a new politician change the hearts of men and women? Will different laws cause people to care about others?
No.
And we all know that if you are sick you must treat the cause and not just the symptoms. if you want to get rid of a weed, you must pull out the root.
But we pretend that we can fix our society and nobody has to do the hard work of rooting out greed and lust and malice and hate and laziness from our own hearts.
As a professor of philosophy and religion, I believe my work in exploring and examining the heart (starting with my own) is essential to answering why we have failed to make sufficient progress in a just world and society - and indeed seem to be regressing - despite the advantage of incredible technology.
To paraphrase Dr. King’s observation in the middle of the 20th century, we developed guided missles to be used by misguided men. And to update that, we’ve developed smart devices, only to see them used for foolish purposes.
In the book Winners Take All, author Anand Giridharadas explores how tech companies claim to be creating technology and platforms and apps which will fix problems in our society, but that they are only willing to do this if they get paid.
Positive change cannot occur without sacrifice.
I cannot lose weight if I don’t experience hunger.
Relationships cannot grow deep if I am unwilling to apologize when I am wrong.
Gaining skill at something requires time and energy set aside for that activity.
Let's expand beyond the individual:
Oppression cannot be solved without oppressors losing power.
Poverty cannot be fixed without some sort of sacrifice on the part of the wealthy.
Political discord cannot be fixed unless people stop needing to defeat the other side and instead look for ways to collaborate in respect.
In other words, battles don’t end until one side lays down their weapons and they other side follows suit so that conflict gives way to collaboration.
Doing this takes emotional maturity, relational intelligence and personal humility.
I see no evidence of this occurring, or even evidence most people would want to put in the work even if they did recognize the need. I see people becoming more and more entrenched in their own interests and narratives. I see angrier and angrier words leading to more and more violence.
Is it possible that we can fix the problems we’ve created? Sure. But is it possible we will? I see it as being highly unlikely.
I come from a tradition which says we will all be evaluated on our own actions. So my only advice to anyone who cares enough to try is to try even though you may not see a huge impact. People buy lottery tickets because there is a minute chance they will win. People vote even though a single vote is almost meaningless. Surely, we can make sacrifices in the hopes they will have some impact. And at the very least, we make sure we are not contributing to the toxicity in our world.
While you and I may not make a worldwide change, if we make the sacrifice to value others as much as (or even more than) ourselves, to grow in emotional health, and to maintain a stance of honest humility, we will certainly make an impact on those closest to us: family, friends, co-workers, etc. If we have the opportunity to impact beyond that, wonderful. But that’s not our responsibility. And if we DON’T put in the work, to be a source of good on a small scale, we will only be part of problem no matter how much influence we gain.
Examine yourself constantly.
Work on your emotional health.
Grow in your generosity (not just money — money is the easiest thing to be generous with)
Maintain humility.
Look for opportunities to make meaningful sacrifices.
If you do these things, you’ll start to see how we’re in such a bad spot. Just like many years ago, when the first time I undertook a long fast I came to see how everything in our society revolves around food, you’ll see how greed and selfishness are at the root of everything happening in our world.
We can make the world better, but it will come with a cost. And you have to be willing to pay the cost, not to push it on someone else.