this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024
21 points (61.5% liked)

Showerthoughts

29827 readers
970 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. Avoid politics
    • 3.1) NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
    • 3.2) Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
    • 3.3) Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

The world has always been going the shit and will continue to go to shit until the end of time. It takes mountains to influence the tides of nations. You should take the responsibilities you can bear, but no more.

top 31 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 32 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Enjoy your life and vote for the future you want. Can't ask for much more from the average citizen.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I live by the boyscouts rule. Leave this place a little cleaner than when you came here.

[–] AA5B 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Seriously. Some of the things that philosophy does is get you to focus on things that are local so you can see the change, and things you can do something about. Now the world is a better place because you looked at the places you were and did something that is possible for you to do. We should all do this

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

It’s also a matter of making the right choices. At a small local level it’s easier to know what is right and what is wrong.

[–] DrownedRats 3 points 9 months ago

Excellent rule to live by! Lots of people doing little things makes big changes. It's always worth doing the little things!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

The average citizen can do their best to be the best person they can be, to have clean healthy relationships with those around them.

[–] lordnikon 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I will say that even with all we see the world. It is not going to shit it's very much improving better than the world my parents lived in. On a long enough timeline we win, When it comes to social political change. So the world is great in all but one aspect and that's the climate and with that I can't do shit about it.

So I may not be able to save the world but I can be one of the helpers that make someone life just a little bit better.

it could be helping out at a shelter. paying for someones meal at a restaurant. telling someone you like the thing they created. all of it helps while we brace for the hardships of crisis created by men long dead and their undead, unfeeling Corps still impacting our world.

[–] Rhynoplaz -2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I like this comment you created!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

I agree, in part.

The reason why we‘re winning is because people literally changed the course of history.

It is a spectrum imo, not black and white and the closer you are to the issue, the easier it is to solve.

Thats why many books propose the „circles of influence“ that split your world into things you control, things you influence and the weather (which you neither control nor really influence).

The first you should take the most serious, the second you should participate in, not loose sleep over (voting, lobbying, speaking up about problems), the last you should leave be since you cant change it.

The hard part is deciding which is which. Participating in political discourse definitely is important imo.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

When you can't do nothing, but there's nothing you can do, do what you can.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

This is my philosophy too. I'm not going to waste my life worrying about what happens to humanity. I will enjoy it while I can.

[–] Palewon 3 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Every generation says the world is going to shit. Sure aspects suck but generally we live in the best times humanity has ever seen.

[–] DrCake 31 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Sees climate change waving in the distance

[–] Floufym 7 points 9 months ago

In the distance? Glaciers are now only the shadow of what they were. 80% of insects are gone. Bees are lost. Etc.

[–] Palewon 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Agreed it's a big problem but there are a lot of people and countries actively trying to fix things. I definitely feel like we are living in the Twilight Zone in more recent years but still overall the average person is living a better life now than any other time in human history.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

oh boy we got iPhones and lost everything else!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Not every generation has scientific proof of the world going to shit

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Scientific consensus is that climate change is going to fuck us hard and that we’re not doing enough to slow it down

[–] AbouBenAdhem 4 points 9 months ago

We can’t necessarily judge the stability of the underlying system by the material conditions it produces at any given moment.

[–] PP_BOY_ 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] psycho_driver 9 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Yes and no. I mean most of us enjoy a climate controlled living situation. Four walls and a roof that doesn't leak on us. Indoor plumbing. Multiple ways to travel long distances in short lengths of time. We have these things better than royalty of 125 years ago did.

On the other hand there's probably never been this much collective anxiety among humanity at any point in history. We have a very small group of very wealthy individuals working very hard to ensure only them and their chosen enjoy the fruits of mass labor when we're at a point where everyone's quality of lives could be improving at a much faster rate if everyone was on the same page.

[–] Palewon 11 points 9 months ago

The only difference is social media let's us see the anxiety. I'm sure during the bubonic plague, the stock market crash, and the world wars plenty of people had high anxiety.

Globally, crime is at all time lows, extreme poverty is at all time lows, in most countries people can say they are gay without being killed.

Yes we have major problems but I stand by my statement that the average human is better off today than any other time in history.

[–] PP_BOY_ 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

Bread and circus. There are some fundamentally broken aspects of society that can't be glossed over with a Mitsubishi SVZ-KP12NA 1 Ton 18 SEER Ducted Central Air Inverter Heat Pump Split System.

At no other point has the population been forced to labor as much as it does today, and yet we're still being asked to work more. We are enjoying none of the fruits of our labor aside from minor conveniences that we still have to pay for. Income inequality is worse than ever in modern history.. Year-to-year fluctuations don't counter the fact that we are on a centuries-running downturn that shows no sign of turning course anytime soon.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

People had to routinely work 12 hour days up to the 1930s. Labor conditions are bad now, but it's wrong to say they were never worse.

[–] PP_BOY_ 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Do you think there aren't billions of people in the world still working 12+ hour days today? Hyundai cars and Tyson foods are employing actual children in their factories and slaughterhouses in America and getting a slap on the wrist. We just wrote a few laws to make it so that white men didn't have to work that much as often and said we fixed it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Is that true? Hyundai and Tyson using child labor?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

At no other point has the population been forced to labor as much as it does today

Are you not considering the time before the 40 hour work week was implemented?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Income inequality is the one statistic you can point to when all the other economic stats show things getting better.