The Absence of Love in the Modern World
Here’s a gem that combines philosophy and psychology, while pointing to environmental sustainability.
It’s hard to read this and not be reminded of what a loveless society we live in. Most Americans live transactional lives, i.e., built around getting our share. Yes, we have loved ones, but love is anything but our predominant mode of making our way through each of our days on Earth.
Can this aspect of culture in the developed world change, or has that train left the station? We saw what happened in New York immediately after 9/11. In an instant, people realized how precious and fleeting life is. They were opening doors for one another, smiling radiantly.
Of course, a few months later, it was back to the hustling indifference that had previously defined The City, but perhaps it’s an indication that, when faced with collective tragedy, we naturally respond with mutual compassion and empathy.
Now, I’m not hoping for a “collective tragedy,” but we do seem to see them unfolding around us in the form of pandemic variants, environmental collapse and the trend toward fascism. Maybe we can find a way to be a more loving species before things get completely out of hand.
Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, we all want to believe that humankind has the intelligence to get through the times we’re all experiencing.
I had to laugh when I read this. As if anyone on this globe thinks of America as “the world’s leading champion of peace.”
What’s happening in Afghanistan is a grim reminder of the futility of war.
Occasionally we run into a remark made by one of the great philosophers that has applicability to modern day politics. Here’s Plato speaking on various kinds of knowledge, where he ranks compassion as #1, and provides his absolutely brilliant reasoning.
In the little “God and Country” town in which 2GreenEnergy’s “headquarters” makes its home, it’s not uncommon to see pro-beef bumper stickers, such as the one at left and those below. There is no doubt that cattle ranchers view themselves as manly, and look askance at vegans. Most would have a deep resentment towards the people in the story here, who broke a long-standing family tradition and 
Here’s another good example of how far to the right U.S. politics has shifted in the last half century. Walter Cronkite had no political bias, which was why he was known as the “most trusted man in America.” If these same words were uttered today, they would make a statement that is distinctly left wing, and probably be branded by Republicans as “the radical left.”
Wow. Has anyone every seen anything remotely like this sculpture? I certainly haven’t.
We’ve all heard people ask, “If there is a God, why is there so much evil in the world?”
This is funny, in a pathetic kind of way.
