For the Better?

[Imitation Saccharin]

Do you believe humanity is heading in the right direction?

Or if that's too vast, do you think your nation is heading in the right direction?

Me Response:
I think humanity has been steadily improving since the first civilization, and all steps along the way were essential in creating that condition. The Dark Ages were required to teach people how to doubt pure rationality and think based on evidence. The Great wars were required to instill a fear of total war in the modern civil population, aided by nuclear devices. It could be argued even the hundreds of years of war in Europe created in those populations a great impulse to become creative.
Finally modern culture, which some (myself included) might regard as dumbed-down and quotidian, is far better then the bear-baiting barbarity of ages past. Further it is sufficently fractured to allow any niche to be appeased, so even the most ardent cynic will find something to tickle his button?

 

[meatloaf231]

Humanity is going to be headed in the wrong direction for as long as we keep not trusting each other.

Problem is, more than half of us aren't to be trusted.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Deep.

Humanity must first climb out of the mire of instinct. I suggest we allow the Combine to suppress our natural reproductive urges to accomplish this.

 

[Jamanticus]

Humanity is going to be headed in the wrong direction for as long as we keep not trusting each other.

Problem is, more than half of us aren't to be trusted.

QFT, Meatloaf....
Yep- humanity has been improving in some ways and staying the same in others (getting better at medicine, but staying the same when it comes to whose piece of land is whose, that sort of thing)

 

[Wermut]

I don't believe that humanity has a right or wrong direction. To me it just seems that every generation makes it's own mistakes, and they constantly repeat. I don't think were making any headway on this subject on a large scale. Yes we improve here and there, but usually it is a compromise, and sometimes we have to give something else up entirely for it.

Since so many people have different opinions on what is the best way to go, and many of these people have power to try and change something, it is hard to get anywhere.

 

[Ares Tyr]

Oh, and Rap... We must do away with rap.

Because apparently rythmic, syllable-laden descriptive poetry spoken aloud over a steady beat is causing the intellectual down fall of the human race. How dare they use language to tell a story using metaphor and symbolism? Those blacks and their music, let me tell you....

In my opinion, the human race is headed in all sorts of directions. We are an individualistic species and we are always going different places at the same time. One person may be burning crosses on the front lawn of a man because he disagrees with the color of his skin. Another person may be helping in a third-world village, helping to build an irragation system for an impoverished people. Another is trying to build a better weapon to kill humans more effeciently. Another is trying to unlock the human genome and do away with developmental disorders.

We are pretty stagnate if you ask me. We take one step towards destruction and one step towards improvement. But apparently we've somehow managed to build upon our society despite (or maybe because of) our self-destructive tendencies. There is a fact that war stimulates technological growth. So maybe there is a justification for our evil doings. Because we want to stop conflict, we conflict with one another in order to rid ourselves of opposition.

But thus far, all we've done is build upon ourselves in hopes of ending conflict. Whether or not this will come by destruction or by a settling of our differences through the knowledge that we are all the same when it comes down it, is still to be seen.

Or maybe we'll just get wiped out by a meteor or a black hole we accidentally made.

 

[The Iron Ninja]

Apologies to Ares Tyr.
But I'll go with Khell Sennet on this one.
Rap needs to die.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Humanity is going to be headed in the wrong direction for as long as we keep not trusting each other.

Problem is, more than half of us aren't to be trusted.

Seconded. Very Seconded.

 

[merf1350]

Humanity is going to be headed in the wrong direction for as long as we keep not trusting each other.

Problem is, more than half of us aren't to be trusted.

Seconded. Very Seconded.

I'm not so sure I trust meatloaf's statistics...

 

[The Iron Ninja]

Humanity is going to be headed in the wrong direction for as long as we keep not trusting each other.

Problem is, more than half of us aren't to be trusted.

Seconded. Very Seconded.

I'm not so sure I trust meatloaf's statistics...

Meatloaf is making an rpg about crabs. I would trust him with anything.

 

[merf1350]

Meatloaf is making an rpg about crabs. I would trust him with anything.

Hmmm...I'm still on the fence concerning the trustworthyness of Metallic Ninja Crap People...hold on, gotta take that idea the the RPG thread...

 

[Ares Tyr]

"Apologies to Ares Tyr.
But I'll go with Khell Sennet on this one.
Rap needs to die."

... said the mentally retarded simpleton I'd come to know and love. Iron Ninja really had made an impact on all our lives. His cute obsession with crabs and debilitating Downes syndrome had turned him into a sort of mascot we at the Escapist could flaunt as a means to show our lighter-side. Indeed, it thus made it that much sader the day he was found dismembered in a parking garage shortly after crossing a more recent member known only as Ares Tyr...

 

[Copter400]

Quick check.

No smallpox. No parasites. No rats within vision. Can't smell faeces. Can smell a rich dinner cooking.

I think we're doing well.

 

[The Iron Ninja]

Only to be rebuilt by a secret government agency (consisting entirely of crabs) that not only brought him back to life, but made him (as the head crab scientist said) "better, stronger, faster" (although it was all said in crab, so it sounded like "Cryzk crzkyk clululu!")
*Cue my new theme music*
And now I'm out to get you Ares Tyr.
Watch your back my shirtless advisary.

 

[RetiarySword]

How isn't it. You do have all those people saying 'No we are a discrace', but their totaly wrong. We have devoloped technology, music, art, science, and all sorts of stuff in our generation. There have been enviromental protacalls put in place, even rules for what do use and not to use in war, to keep it a bit more humain! That my friends, is the right direction.

 

[Redlac]

The question posed is one of those 'half full or half empty' questions. It'll depend on your outlook.

For my 2p I think it's still too early to see if humans are heading in the 'right direction' in general, because sadly no one can agree on which way to go. Some say we should all become Islamic, some Christian, some of us here on the Escapist I'd wager would want us to head for a secular humanist future similar to that of Star Trek... but I can't see that the whole world will all agree as there's all sorts of petty gripes and grumbles and so on that keep bubbling their way to the surface. Same old, same old.

That said though, we're living in one of the better generations, and I for one am glad I was born in a country with all the mod cons with a bit of cash left over to buy a PS3. The 21st Century may not be as exiting as we all thought it might be, (Lack of flying cars powered by rubbish et al) but it's still pretty interesting.

 

[Fire Daemon]

The problem with the right direction is that it usually ends with a cliff no one could see coming.

Humanity may very well become a Utopia and then may accidentally unleash a deadly toxin (that only exists because of increases in scienctific technology) into the air and destroy 95% of it's population, destroying the Utopian society and turning everything into a Mad Max film.

Or we could keep on trucking as we are now and live for thousands of years.

You can't say if humanity is heading in the right direction because you have no idea what direction (in the long run) is the right direction.

 

[Nazulu]

Humanity has sure had an interesting history with all the battles and lives lost and we are still not at peace with the world! I mean bloody Russia and China are still ruled by communists and it seems people will always want to kill us for not believing in what they believe.

And for the games and movies I agree with Yahtzee, as soon as they find ways to all the 3D and Animations quicker they can work on making better story's for it too! However for music, I don't think that's going anywhere, especially when I saw Sweet Home Alabama cover by Kid Rock!

Basically we have gotten better at killing each other with advanced weapons and now have talentless hacks for our top musicians.

 

[Amnestic]

Because apparently rythmic, syllable-laden descriptive poetry spoken aloud over a steady beat is causing the intellectual down fall of the human race. How dare they use language to tell a story using metaphor and symbolism?

And if that was what the majority of Rap was I might agree with you. Sorry, listening to generic black rapper #3570824 talking about his drugs, his hoes, his guns and how he ran from the cops doesn't exactly speak to me on a deep metaphorical or symbolic level. If the genre of Rap purges itself of these simpletons then rap, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. The people representing it on the other hand...well, they're not doing it any justice of the way you described it.

 

[Danny Ocean]

And if that was what the majority of Rap was I might agree with you. Sorry, listening to generic black rapper #3570824 talking about his drugs, his hoes, his guns and how he ran from the cops doesn't exactly speak to me on a deep metaphorical or symbolic level. If the genre of Rap purges itself of these simpletons then rap, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. The people representing it on the other hand...well, they're not doing it any justice of the way you described it.

That I agree with. I think humanity is too busy revelling in the new age of prosperity, we need another war to hit my generation with a big perspective stick. We need to expand our tribal instincts to view Humanity as one big tribe, and the Earth as OUR land. Stop fighting over nothing.

Yes, I smell the hypocrisy too.