What do you believe is wrong with society today?

I've seen many many threads on all sorts of problems that plague people, but are these issues that are possibly the downfall of society? Do you believe that society really is going downhill? And what do you believe the result of the downfall of society will be? (Like the end of the world, nuclear winter etc..)

Honestly I don't have a clue, and I would like to discuss it a bit to see what some people think.

 

Our environment is being destroyed. The air quality is lousy all over the country. Mexico City is a toxic dump that's even worse than L.A. The oceans are dying. We (the U.S.) are gluttons who consume and waste more than we could possibly need while millions around the world are literally starving to death. The ozone layer is destroyed. AIDS is running rampant through the African continent and little is being done by the international community to help. We are about to likely kill thousands of Iraqi civilians in an attempt to "help" Iraqi have an more "stable" non-threatening government that will sell us oil at a cheap price. Fossil fuels like oil will likely run out forever within the next 50 years. Almost every country in the world despises the U.S. for our international policies. Terrorists can still waltz right through our borders, with immigration doing very little to catch these people. There are dozen of terrorist sleeper-cells still active WITHIN our borders. Hundereds of smallpox cultures are missing from former U.S.S.R. labs and many of the scientists are out of work and need quick cash. I got a corkscrew and a pocket knife through airport security the other day. Priests can't stop abusing little boys and the Catholic church is in shambles. Iran will probably have a nuke by 2005. India and Pakistan could go to war any second. China could invade Taiwan at any second. An asteroid is likely to hit earth and end all life as we know it. Oh yeah, and every empire has rotted from within. We're next.

Yeah, I guess you could say I'm an optimist.

 

Society's worst problem is falacious pessimism disguised as realism.

[sarcasm]
Hehe, just kidding...
Actually, the worst part of society is that we haven't even started to make a dent in the death rate. With all of our marvelous technology, the world death rate is still 100%. That really stinks.

By the way, I totally agree that it is terrible that I eat as much as I want to everyday. That needs to stop soon. I also plan to stop expelling CO2 from my lungs when I exhale. I think if everyone agreed to hold their breath for two minutes a day, that would be a good step toward relieving the greenhouse effect.

And I will definitely call up Sadam tomorrow and see if he would still hate America so much if he was the leader here, instead. The way I see it, most people hate america because they don't live here. No, wait. Actually, they probably choose to live in abject poverty. I mean, at least that would be better than having to live with the waste and slovenliness of a full stomach.
[/sarcasm]

 

There ya go! At least you're doing your part!

 

Everything is easily corruptable and of course we destroy too much trees.

Then there is the world politics situations.

But I won't say anything about that...

 

Too many people care what other people think of them.

 

It's the media!

They usually blow things way out of proportion, and it is usually the bad things in our society.

I know we live in an evil world with evil people doing evil things everyday.

But as someone on the JC pointed out to me awhile back, there are many good things in our society and world.

We just don't see it everyday because it is not "news worthy."

I think we are doing the same as we have always done throughout history, we are always changing.

Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad, but in the end, we just keep on going, and usually repeat the same things we did in the past, only in a new way.

So, in a way, we change, but we also don't change. Humans are complex beings, and the societies we create are just as complex if not more.

Latre!

 

What do I believe is wrong with society today?

Two words: Religious zealotry.

People don't mind enough of their own business to keep their lives in order... they're always too busy telling everyone else how they ought to live.

If everyone watches what everyone else is doing, when exactly do they find time to watch what they're doing?

In the age of unaccountability, it's the perfect scheme... Spend all your time telling everyone else how they ought to live, and neither you nor anyone else will have the time, in between your "morality" lectures, to realize you're not accepting responsibility for your own actions.

It's either "God told me to" or "the devil made me do it."

It's just a matter of time before CEOs start pleading insanity on account of demonic possession...

 

Cowerdice-Fear has gotten its hand into the UN.Almost every single country in the world is now fearful to stand up for freedom and fight someone who could cause mass destruction(Saddam).

 

People are greedy. People are self-centered. It's a cancer in today's society.

 

Well I honestly think that people are too materialistic. It has been this way for thousands of years. This is what has caused wars, destruction of individuals, and causing everyone to be miserable. Things have made it worse, TV (because it sells you products you wouldn't otherwise know about), radio, generally mass communication devices. Now I suppose I am a hypocrite, I love to shop and acculmulate stuff I don't need, I can also be a very miserable person at times.

 

Too many people care what other people think of them.

I'm going to add to that Tupolov. It's what Doobie-Wan said as well.

Too many people care what other people think of them .... rather than thinking of other people.


What do you believe is wrong with society today?

I would like to take out the word "today". There are many problems that society faces that it has been facing for a long time. They're not necessarily modern problems.
Nor do I think the world is worse now than a 100, 500, or 1000 years ago.

For instance, Darth_SnowDog mentioned religious zealotry. I think it's not as bad now as it used to be - the religious part anyway. We're more free to do what we want with religion than before.

However, the part about zealotry is true. People are constantly minding other people's business and not with the intention to help the other person but because it feels good to meddle. I think the world needs more kindness, caring, and understanding. We're supposed to be there for each other; not to meddle and not for the other to admire us.

 

"What do you believe is wrong with society today?"

People. Humans in general.

 

I agree with Saint. People are ruining this planet. Like Tommy Lee Jones said in MIB...

"You and I are smart...PEOPLE are stupid and panicky"

Corporations, Churches, Military, governments, etc.

NAACP, NRA, KKK, etc.

MADNESS....simply madness.

Not to sound defeatist, or morbid...but maybe a couple of nukes is just what this planet needs. That...or the human race as a whole should pull its collective head out of its collective a** and get with the program.

But sadly...the bank accounts of a select few, outweigh the common good of the entire planet.

Humanity...phhfft. Hopefully the next species to inhabit this world will be a little more evolved.

 

First off humans

The rest are causes of Humans stupidity.

Religion

Greed

Environmental decay

Lack knowing what is morally right things to do.

Trying to make everyone happy, when it simply isn't in the cards.

Creating divisions of people based on race and religion.

Hate groups being protected under the first ammendment.

Lack of gun control

The joking around and lack of serious thought about drugs and drug abuse, and thinking people have the right to run amuck, when it actually hurts those around them directly and indirectly.

This is just naming a few but we as Humans are really stupid and are just killing ourselves because we don't think about what is best for everyone, but instead go with what makes each individual happy.

 

Not to sound defeatist, or morbid...but maybe a couple of nukes is just what this planet needs.

No maybe's about it. Its Murphy's Law. It'll happen sooner or later sadly. Nation vs. Nation. Just look at India & Pakistan as an example. They were ready to nuke it out. Very dangerous being a human on earth it is.

 

What's wrong with religion? So long as it's not telling you to go kill people or something, I think it's fine.

I also think that morals have dived down the toilet...

 

Our schools no longer teach students to think for themselves, but rather indoctrinate them into a system where they are pliant, passive consumers. Curriculums are passed down from a centralised authority that takes away teachers autonomy by rewarding them for preparing their students for standardized testing that serves the practical needs of the corporate world.

 

I think it's people not being considerate of their fellow human beings. You know,things like driving out in front of someone without looking,people being in your way in the store without making the effort to move,me standing in a long line at Wal-Mart when I only have two or three items and going to pay cash for them and I just wanna get the heck out of there. That's stuff that gets me,and makes me wonder why people don't go the extra mile to make life better for everyone around them.

 

People dont think ahead. This ranges from small things like a person believing it would be funny to mention some dumb little comment then wanting to take it back to cutting down forrests to things more subtal and dangerous.

In short, people do not think. If everyone would take a moment, calm down, and think about an action logically, then either do it or not baised on what they thought, the world would probably be such a better place.

One thing that I dont know if it is good or not is that humans are very seperated from nature. I dont know if that means eventually we will destroy nature and survive, or if we will become almost compleatly independant of nature.

Also, to those people who think we will kill ourselves. WE HAVE NOT YET. That above all else gives me hope that we may yet survive into the future.

 

Homosexuals.


Just kidding! All the reasons put forward so far are great reasons. I think alot of people are incapable of thinking for themselves. They follow the groupd or herd mentallity. They pick up their bible to make moral decisions for them. They look to their group for approval. I think that is whats wrong with society.

 

Ignorance.


There are too many people with too little intellect or understanding of the issues for which they profess. The end result is an embarrassment to themselves that they are too clueless to ascertain. They are so enraptured with their own illusion of intellect that they preclude themselves for seeing the true problems in society.


People who do not understand an issue are likely to make fun of it.

 

The problem with society is that it's too easy, especially for Westerners. Think about it, 100 years ago, life was much different in this country and in the world. It wasn't so easy to travel, people didn't nearly live as long, and people appreciated more the time that they had. I think that's the problem: We've lost sight of what life's really about - and it's not money. That's something that 9/11 really showed us - nothing separated the people on the planes or in the buildings from anyone else. It could have been me or you or anyone on a leisurely flight to visit friends, family, business trip, vacation, whatever. Money, power, greed, corruption - they can't save you, turn back the clock, or give you eternal life. Maybe when we all start really understanding that and living a different way, the world may be different. But sadly, everything's almost back to "normal" in this country.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Murphy's Law.

GO 'CLONES!

 

Another thing that is wrong with society today is that actual content is less important than appearance. In my English Class for example, I could make up facts for whatever, and make it look like a good argument, and it would get a better grade if I try to make reasonable assumptions and logical conclusions about real facts.

It can sort of be seen here too. How many arguments are mostly semantics? The abortion thread is a good example. They are going on and on with the same side arguments instead of debating the real problem (does human life begin at conception?). They would rather nit pick an argument instead of trying to understand the argument (not all the time) and make an intelligent response. And that is just for one thread. I have not read other threads, but pretty much any thread that gets real long becomes just a recycling of old info, and it is really sad when it is the same ppl recycling the same stuff.

Not everyone is like that obviously, but IMHO too many people are.

(I probably should not have spell checked it just to prove that I care more about the message than the appearance, but hey, I did anyway.)