I kind of thought that other thread was going to cover this topic, but it's something crazy that I don't understand at all.
Anyway, in so many ways, we who are alive today are living in the best age this world has ever seen. The majority of us live longer and better lives than anyone else in history has, with less work to be done, and more and more luxuries at our disposal. I'm not a rich man, but I am only a generation or two away from peasants who lived in dirt huts and were virtual slaves, and whose own previous generation would have viewed my car, accommodations, and electronics as insane luxury, if not witchcraft.
How are some ways our world today is a vast improvement on all the previous ages? Or even a few years ago?
For one thing, the global mortality rate for children under 5 has declined from 93.4 per 1,000 in 1990 to 40.8 in 2016. In America, the violent crime rate has dropped by roughly 75% since the early 1990's. Extreme poverty has fallen from 85% of the world's population 200 years ago, to about 12% today, and if that trend continues, extreme poverty will be virtually nonexistent in ten years. These are all good things, aren't they? Why don't we talk about them?
Here, here, Thunderian! I agree that Life in the 21st Century is full of good things and opprtunities to make life even better, for every human being on the planet.
Being as enthralled with history as I am, I can appreciate the differences that we modern guys and gals often take for granted, compared to those living even a couple of hundred years ago. Often times, when I am driving, I revel a ittle in the complexity and efficiency of our roadways, especially the flyovers that are three and four levels high. And skyscrapers and greenbelts and airports and giant hospitals and libraries and schools--they all make me feel like I'm living in the future. Because we kind of are. We are in the future our ancestors imagined for us. And people today are already working on the next steps in our collective evolution. And surprise, to all you negative nellies out there in VCland, it's not all bad!
There are young scientists and inventors coming up with new ways to make our habitats and metropolises more sustainable, with less ecological impact. Solar roads, buildings with enough plants in them to clean their own air, gadgets to filter the trash out of seawater, houses that can be unfolded, hand-held water purifiers, a laser that reduces a ton of garbage to a few ounces of ash. All of those things are a reality, and soon will be ubiquitous.
The internet, despite the PTB trying to clamp down on it and use it for their own ends, is still a powerful tool of the masses, for communication and educating themselves, exposing the wrongdoers, and fighting tyranny on every level. Those protests you are so quick to deem as a sign of things being worse now than in the past are, in fact, a sign that things are better. No longer can governments inflict their will upon a defenseless population, and not have eveyone else in the world know about it. From the Uighers and HK rebels in China, to the constant parade of African leaders willing to victimize their own peoples, awareness brings action, and sooner or later, these oppressors will fall. It is just a matter of time, and of we, the observers taking a stand against those doing the oppressing and saying, whether in economic or military terms, stop it or you will be punished.
It's true that the advent of digital tools and weapons being used by govts is a scary prospect. There are countless distopian imaginings, in book and tv and movie form, of what happens and how the people ensnared in it try to overcome. Some win (Terminator series), some lose (1984), some end up at an impasse (Matrix series). It's up to us to choose the battles we will fight, the strategies we use and the timing. If we actually ever get up out of our nice, comfortable bubbles, replete with delivered food, entertainment and trinkets.
Those of you who bemoan the current plight of the world are going to have to do more than type onto a forum if you want to create the changes you long to see. For example, did you know that if you type the word "volunteer" into your search engine, your marvelous computer will show you a list of hundreds of ways you can go out into the world and do something good for someone else. That's where we, all of us, need to start. Go clean a park or a beach, drop off those old clothes, buy a homeless person a cup of coffee, teach a kid to read, or do math, or tie their shoe. Every time you do something like that, you will get a little "high," and you won't so easily become overwhelmed by all of the Bad Stuff presented to us on the smorgasbord of our digital table.
Never forget, the evil ones in power WANT you to feel depressed, hopeless, defeated, and powerless to interfere with their nefarious aims. Why make it easy for them? Start small, such as with the suggestions I made above, or something similar that suits your own interests. Hug a freaking tree if you need to (sounds silly but I've done it and it works), feel the grass or sand or snow under your feet and reconnect with good old Mother Nature. With the various Winter Holidays upon us, take a shot at truly reconnecting with a person that you love. That's a great gift to give yourself. Just don't hide in your room/apartment and continue to let the bluelight and sadness fill your mind and soul.