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Faith in Humanity

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Argentwing, Aug 14, 2013.

  1. Argentwing

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    This post of Murikan's on the optimism/pessimism thread:

    made me consider my faith in humanity. I was going to respond that my faith in us is beaten to hell and hanging by a thread, yet not quite dead.

    It isn't only grand atrocities like war crimes or senseless depravity that reduce my faith in humanity. It's little things. People trying to rise up from poverty are dragged down by a million little details necessary for a stable, middle-class lifestyle, each one with a fee attached. Kids can make it all the way through school without knowing basic facts essential to any base of education, asking questions like "Why don't the people in Australia fall off the earth?" and such that go beyond a simple facepalm. (This was asked at least once.) Not only that, but people are still divided deeply enough to blow each other up, and over what? Every offensive cause, when balanced with killing to achieve it, is stupid stuff. You'd think that with such advanced communication, we could fix issues without breaking each other's bodies.

    Yet for all that, we somehow progress. There is some backwards movement, but overall, tech and society get better. Parts that used to be rock-solid are now flimsy as balls and made in China, but we have cell phones that are orders of magnitude more potent than yesteryear's supercomputers. Gays are still being arrested and killed in some regions, but we're very close to widespread acceptance. For every bit of cruelty in the world, you can find an equal bit of kindness and then some.

    Humans may be dirtbags, but a lot of what we do is still worthy of awe. :grin:
     
  2. Hexagon

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    I lost mine. It kept coming back. But it died a couple of months ago, for good. Its a bit of a shame really, because I didn't have any other kind of faith to begin with. Now I don't have any.
     
  3. AwesomGaytheist

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    I honestly think it's all a cultural thing. Where some people hear some stupid story on the news and think about their faith in humanity, I sit there and think, "Only in America."
     
  4. ScatteredEarth

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    I still haven't lost my faith in humanity. I have plenty I'm thankful for and people who I care deeply about. I'd say my faith is reinforced with a diamond tether :3
     
  5. Hexagon

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    Meh. Diamonds are worthless, really. They sparkle, sure, but what else do they do?
     
  6. BMC77

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    There are practical uses. Diamond is the most commonly used material for a stylus (or "needle" as some might call it) on a turntable, for example.
     
  7. Jinkies

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    I've still got some faith in humanity. If you look at the progress we made last century, it's much more than what we made in any other century. We'd gotten rid of slavery, we made civil rights a priority, and radical religion went down a significant amount. Ruling Monarchy is not a thing anymore. We're a much more progressive and liberal people than we were before. If you look at the 60's, there were many, many people who just wanted peace when it was a time of war. Those same people still ask for peace, and so do many more. LGBT rights have increased vastly over the past couple decades throughout the world, and we'll probably have it worldwide in the next 50 years. Each generation looks at the previous ones, sees the flaws, and tries to correct them. We've become more and more of a liberal race by each generation. The next coming generations will do the same as we're doing. They'll fight even harder than us for equal rights. Humanity won't stop until that happens.
     
  8. LinkLarkin

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    My current mental illnesses allowing me to see all the negativity in the word greatly reduced my faith. The situation arising in Russia has proved to be the crushing blow.

    Suffice to say that my faith in humanity is at the very least lying dormant in a hidden part of me that I don't know about.
     
  9. Owen

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    My opinion is that humanity would not have lasted as long as it has it if weren't capable. We'll be alright.
     
  10. BryanM

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    I have faith in humanity, but some people make me wonder...
     
  11. Wells

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    No matter what we do there will never be a perfect humanity. People argue. People blow each other up, but really, we are improving as a global communities. I read something a while back now that claimed (exuse the language): women are no longer a man's s***, blacks are no longer the white's n*****s, and homosexuals are no longer the world's f*****s, but we still have the idiots who are the world's b******s. Maybe in some millennia, we will be rid of them.

    And I hope so too. That' why, when I see how far humanity has come, I still hope.
     
  12. gravechild

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    I'm a triple minority (or quadruple, if you separate gender from sexuality), so yes, I've come close many, many times. I still envision a future when everyone is able to be themselves without having to worry over being discriminated against, assaulted, rejected, or murdered. We're not asking for "special rights". We're just asking to be seen and treated like human beings, instead of freaks and savages.

    I choose life, even if mine is starting to look more and more like a war zone with each passing moment. It's not for the squeamish, that's for sure, and not until now am I starting to see just how sheltered a life I've lived for the last twenty something years.
     
  13. kem

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    I'll quote myself from the aforementioned thread:
    "I am very pessimistic when it comes to the environment and humans. We're shit and we're ruining the environment and I think severe problems will rise already in our lifetime."

    7 billion people and still multiplying.
     
  14. Jay1983

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    No offense but I think it's silly. Speaking of this topic, I also dislike the 'Humanity Has Been Restored' meme.

    Yes, crimes exist. Bad things exist everywhere. But goodness and positiveness in people are still scattered everywhere. But some people focus too much on the negativeness that they push the positive things in life aside.

    My brothers haven't spoken to me for years (17 years and 10 years) because I'm gay. I had a rough life coming out that I almost committed suicide. Twice. I was bullied, mocked and insulted on daily basis for years because I used to be extremely overweight (363 lbs).

    But it never crossed my mind to say, "Hmm. I have lost faith in humanity."

    You know why? Because I am a good guy and I have faith in myself. I will use whatever goodness in me to make my life and other people's lives better. I told myself that I will spread positiveness to people around me.

    If you feel that goodness in humanity has disappeared then why don't you begin one yourself? Is that simple really. You don't need to wait for others to create it. Start by donating a nickle. Help your mom wash the dishes. Make breakfast for your parents. Volunteer yourself in a youth organization. Give your seat in a train to an elderly or a pregnant lady. There are lots of ways.
     
    #14 Jay1983, Aug 18, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 18, 2013
  15. ScatteredEarth

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    They are still some of the strongest materials on earth aside from nano-metals and stuff. So, that's something :3
     
  16. Abbra

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    If you lost your faith in humanity, then you didn't have it in the first place.

    I don't like the "lost/restored faith in humanity" because it implies such single-mindedness. So because there was a shooting, now every single person is bad? Really? Or because somebody was a good parent, now everyone in the world is good? Either way, you are judging everyone by the actions of a few. Anybody who does that is part of the problem.

    Second of all, we say the world is slowly decaying. You know when else the world has been decaying? Always. Remember every war we've ever had? Remember when slavery was normal, and no one questioned it? Remember when life spans were at 40 years? Remember when it was okay to sell your wife? Notice how none of that is true anymore. We are heading in the right direction. Just give it time and effort.

    If you think it's hard being LGBT+ now, try it even 30 years ago. I'm not saying it isn't difficult, I'm saying that society may not be decaying, but growing and getting better. Instead of dreading the future, we should be happy with the fact that some day, kids are going to have it better than we did. I could go on a whole other rant about "this next generation is ruined" but that's for another day.
     
  17. Argentwing

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    I don't think either of these were ever true in some parts of the world. Regarding the life expectancy part, I think it was reduced to around there because they factored in infant mortality, which totally wrecked the average of around 60-70 much like it is today.

    But about the question asked in the thread: I didn't intend for it to be a simple answer of "Yes" or "No" because obviously humans are a nebulous bunch, and even one saintly individual among billions of demons means goodness still exists. It was more about our progress on a species-wide scale, whether people think we're headed towards a greater society, or fall prey to baser instincts and go back to a sort of barbaric state.
     
  18. Formality

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    Just thinking about humanity makes me wanna throw a pizza on the floor. Some days it's different but I always end up with the same conclusion... humans < shit. Even myself, to an extent, but that's mostly got to do with my "hatred" for others.
     
  19. Aussie792

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    There are so many people, so many events, so many different situations, that to say that my "faith in humanity" is strong or weak, is stupid. I have faith in some, have mistrust or contempt for others, and give the rest the benefit of the doubt.

    What I don't like is people saying they've lost their faith in humanity because of "declining moral values" in "this day and age". The things they don't like generally prove to be basic human improvements such as hitting children being unacceptable and women having control over their own bodies.