Author: admin

Culture as what we relate to

In many ways, culture seems the place we go to find meaning for our lives, echoes of how we’re living and the choices we’re making. A sounding board, perhaps, for our own ideas, the ideas of others, and ideas that society itself is finding valuable.

So, of course, it makes a difference what we’re paying attention to, whether that’s Hollywood and mainstream culture, its alternative fringes, or something a shade more traditional. If these are the ideas we’re taking on board, making the reference points for our lives, trusting to guide us wisely through all we meet, then it must matter which influences we’re heeding (Notes One). It surely plays itself out?

As ever, it’s easy to get tied in knots trying to figure out which ideas or attitudes are concerning and which are nothing to worry about. Lost in that timeless conversation around what’s important, what’s impacting us, and who to trust with our inner lives or the collective life of society (Notes Two). How much do thoughts shape us? The subtle assumptions or examples nestling down into the fertile soil of existence.

It’s interesting how culture’s such a fundamental part of life, historically and currently, yet “how it works” is a bit of a mystery. It’s this broad range of ideas, images and activities that inform how we’re spending our time, the ways we’re seeing and relating to one another, the conversations we have and judgements we’re forming. It’s what we’re talking about, thinking over, making our own.

And that’s just fascinating: the stories and interests that people our minds, becoming what we seek to emulate and those we’re happy to vilify or make light of. This whole world of reference points and unspoken social assessments that effectively builds up our sense of what’s acceptable, admirable, and so on. Throughout our lives, becoming this place we look to understand our worth or meaning for others.

A strange mirror, of sorts, reflecting upon reality but adding to it with its own layer of themes, narratives, messages – spinning our world into something that resembles it, but not quite truly (Notes Three). Surely, we all want to know we’re valued? That we have our place within society and are being fairly or compassionately represented within that realm. It means a lot that we’re included, understood, appreciated.

Clearly, this is a convoluted, complex kind of subject. Does culture serve to define us, offering the palette of choices from which to choose, or is it the place our identity finds recognition? Is it this behavioural regulator, seeking to shame or coerce us toward meeting its ideals? Does it act truthfully, aspirationally, or to shock us into responding?

Looking at culture in terms of its pockets, rather than as a whole, it seems feasible we could all find the reflection, belonging and validation we’re after: a subculture, somewhere, will accommodate us. Whether, beyond that, there’s a more universal, inclusive attempt at human meaning seems an elusive goal that, perhaps, is well worth investing in.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Meaning in culture
Note 1: Reference points for how we’re living
Note 1: It resonates, but should it be amplified
Note 1: Culture as reflection
Note 1: Do we know what we’re doing?
Note 2: Caught in these thoughts
Note 2: Ways thought adds spin to life
Note 2: Who should we trust?
Note 3: Mirrors we offer one another
Note 3: What’s neutral?

Ways to share this:

Trust within modern society

It’s intriguing to think how much society is based upon trust: the need for it, the presumption it’s there, the way it’s this extremely fundamental glue that’s effectively been holding things together. Yet, it’s perhaps never been more lacking or overlooked as an essential quality within our lives. What does that mean?

To backtrack, it’s presumably the very foundation of any society that’s attempting to structure itself around the principles of law? If we’re viewing society as a contract – however much we might be unaware of all its terms – then the idea of all parties being trustworthy seems the basic starting point.

Entering into contracts, both sides being viewed as understanding and committed to their part of the bargain, was surely a significant step forward historically? This sense in which we stepped out of inherited, community-based relationships and were able to freely enter into such arrangements based purely on an idea of agreement between independent parties (Notes One). It seems a big move in terms of freedom.

Honouring the terms we’ve agreed to, upholding our side of things, operating with respect for the value of what’s offered can all seem like these archaic notions of character, reputation, authority, and abiding by “the rules”, but where are we without them?

Often though, it doesn’t appear to be something taken all that seriously. Society seems to have stumbled somewhat blindly, innocently, into all that’s been offered by technology; forgetting, or taking for granted, how much trust underpins all we do. Handing over our identities, our information, our relationships, our infrastructure to technology companies surely presupposed they deserved such trust? (Notes Two)

It seems to be coming to the fore again now – unfortunately, due to breaches or abuses of that trust. Maybe we thought that if things were happening, they must be operating within the protective framework of law so we “could” trust them? Yet it seems many such things were running out ahead of regulation as our limited national systems struggled to find ways of reining them in. All of this was, perhaps, in a legal wilderness.

It also seems that the very idea of trust has become so abstract, so almost unspoken within this fast-moving modern world. We’ve conceivably agreed to countless terms of service almost without noticing, perhaps assuming it doesn’t matter as nobody truly reads them. Companies might’ve been operating safe in the knowledge they’ve placed much of the burden on us, despite the fact that few are fully aware of all we’ve agreed to.

The slippery slope of life within technology has surely taken us all on a strange journey? Instead of the meaningful constraint of physical locations and entities we now seem to be operating in this strangely careless, invisible universe (Notes Three). Where trust, honesty, kindness, consistency and other qualities like them once shaped our lives, guiding us toward respectful social relationships, the opposite now almost seems the case.

But, can a world built upon the kind of freedom contracts offer us ever exist without trust?

Notes and References:

Note 1: Invisible ties
Note 1: What holds it all together
Note 1: If society’s straining apart, what do we do?
Note 2: Who should we trust?
Note 2: What would life be if we could trust?
Note 3: Freedom, what to lean on & who to believe
Note 3: All that’s going on around us

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What are our moral judgements?

What exactly are moral judgements? All the criticisms, labelling, condemnation, placement of blame or responsibility? It honestly amazes me how quick we are to make these pronouncements, how clear we seem to think some lines are, and how vehemently we seek to hold others to account within that.

It’s something I’ve grappled with a few times here, genuinely trying to figure out what it is we’re saying and where all these convictions are coming from (Notes One). And, of course, I don’t have the answers. Morality’s clearly a contentious issue, pretty much as old as human existence: this idea of a “right” way to live, plus all the systems that’ve attempted to regulate or guide us over the centuries.

Ultimately, I suppose morality defines the contours of our lives? Giving this sense of what’s acceptable alongside reasons “why” someone should limit their words, thoughts or actions in certain ways for their own good or that of others. This picture of individuals, their environments, and the accepted sense of what’s expected, admirable or unforgivable.

And maybe that’s the thing? The extent to which moral ideals are commonly held. Perhaps also, the extent to which we’re aware of where these viewpoints arise from?

Moral injunctions seem to be these things that get wielded very forcefully in youth, as people – sensibly – seek to impart a sense of how to keep safe, act wisely and respect others. All these “you mustn’t”, “you must”, “that’s wrong” statements delivered, perhaps, out of fear, insight or an attempt to control behaviour. Effectively, an almost endless string of moral boundary posts.

We must all have so many of these ideas firmly imprinted in our psyche from times before our conscious awareness. And it often seems they’re passed on before being reconsidered much in adulthood – as if “all this” were a clear cut, collectively agreed upon set of timeless rules for how we should be living.

Does common agreement exist though? Within a given community, especially one with strong traditions, maybe it does. But these days, especially when it comes to the internet, our conversations clearly cut across such lines. We might act like there’s a single set of standards, vocally casting judgement as if all the rules we feel to be true are absolute, but are they?

When you factor in globalisation and technology, we’re suddenly facing a world of vastly different perspectives all having this completely open conversation (Notes Two). The idea of communities and cultures having developed quite separately, with different social codes and experiences, now all sharing their thoughts and activities is incredibly beautiful, but far from a simple task (Notes Three).

Because, when we judge others, what are we really saying? When we shame people, perhaps justifying it as a form of social education, what are we doing? In any given situation, are we sure we’re taking the “right” stand? Sometimes it seems morality might be getting distorted as we stick with a crowd instead of seeing where important lines are truly being crossed.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Human nature and community life
Note 1: Empathy in a world that happily destroys
Note 1: What is acceptable?
Note 1: The way to be
Note 2: Can we manage all-inclusive honesty?
Note 2: Individual responsibility, collective standards
Note 2: Zimbardo & the problem of evil
Note 3: The dignity & power of a human life
Note 3: Is anything obvious to someone who doesn’t know?
Note 3: What makes a good life

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Old meets new, sharing insight

Thoughts around age are something I’ve left on the back burner for a while now, mulling over my own reactions to what I see in the world around me (Notes One). It’s also a complex, contentious topic within Western society – strangely, to my mind, given the relationship between generations must be as old as humanity itself.

Can’t we move past preconceived notions of who is wise, responsible, or “able” to understand? Could we meet respectfully, accepting the realities into which we’re each born, rather than facing one another with this fiery indignation of judgement, blame, feeling misunderstood or underappreciated? Can this be more than token interest, and actually become a source of strength for us all?

I suppose what I’m talking about is relationship? This sense of all being born into society: into all its pre-existing and evolving relationships (Notes Two). We’re placed into situations with benefits and challenges, and, generally speaking, it’s considered “natural” for people to make the best of their lot in life – that seems the arc we have in mind.

That being the case, it seems natural that people in the past – those now older – would’ve accepted their social world as it was presented to them, engaging with its realities and setting themselves on the paths society then offered. We surely only think with the ideas, the values, the assumptions and expectations we’re given? (Notes Three)

Knowledge and opportunity having only billowed out in recent decades, we surely can’t expect people in the past to have thought with the modern mindset? But, of course, that’s not to say that paths taken weren’t mistaken, short-sighted, or in need of correction. What I’m trying to grasp, though, is the fact that we can’t expect greater understanding or forethought from the past than it, in reality, had.

“If” the West’s been mistaken in how it carved up local and global assets, placing great power in certain hands while leaving others relatively powerless, then those who trusted that narrative and took their place within it were, perhaps, as blind to it as everyone else. Either way, their psychological and social identity and expectations would’ve been very firmly shaped by the story they were sold.

And “this” is why talking of age is daunting. Personal lives are woven into political, social, economic history. We live within the flows of time, our places within them shaping who we are and the ways we’re then valued by society itself. It’s this folding together of individuals within society. And the question of what’s “fair” or “right” in that picture has perhaps never been solved.

Is it possible to move beyond that? To embrace a deeper sense of all being the same, even though we experience life at different times and places? Beyond superficial attempts at bridging divides, could we understand youth and age as being part of the one reality? Can we appreciate the insights we all carry out of our challenges? Presumably, solutions will lie in coming together to value one another better.

Notes and References:

Note 1: “Wisdom” by Andrew Zuckerman
Note 1: Attitudes to elder members of society
Note 1: Antisocial behaviour & the young
Note 1: We’re all vulnerable
Note 2: Invisible ties
Note 2: Does anything exist in isolation?
Note 2: Working through mind & society
Note 2: “The Measure of a Man”
Note 3: Respect, rebellion & renovation
Note 3: What would life be if we could trust?

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The beauty in home economics

Taking care of a home, a space, may not be this dramatic, glorious task. In reality, it’s more often thankless, never-ending, and essentially invisible. As with many “jobs” historically or culturally assigned to women, these are ongoing tasks that might easily become unnoticeable or appear effortless. Office administration being another example: done well, things happen “as they should”.

If those around aren’t aware or someone doesn’t draw attention to what’s been done to keep things ticking over, it might simply pass unnoticed or unappreciated. Which may lead to a spectrum of sentiment anywhere between militancy, resignation, simmering resentment or self-sacrifice – do we insist upon these things being seen for what they truly are or tend toward giving up the battle for recognition?

Surely these are activities society is effectively built upon? From the home all the way up to any collective or commercial enterprise, without some kind of consistent, nurturing provision, forethought and perpetuation it’s easy to wonder where we might’ve ended up. It’s the stuff of life, the details that go into providing for and clearing up after human activity – this cycle of creation, destruction, and starting over.

Not to wander too far down the byways of gender, what’s been seen as “women’s work” is often this very creative, empathetic, selfless effort at building up relationships, individuals and collective endeavours. In a way, it’s a task of love – for people, resources, places, experiences, potential, life itself. This understanding of all that has to go into making things happen that might, perhaps, be characterised as a “feminine perspective”.

Among many other things, this seems an area where society will really benefit from hearing and heeding the voices of those who’ve been sustaining it this way (Notes One). The wisdom of maintaining assets rather than discarding or letting them drift into disrepair. The consideration for others and what’s possible together that can make places welcoming, empowering, strengthening.

While feminism might be fraught with voices pulling in countless directions, the underlying spirit of what’s rising to the surface seems incredibly valuable. This sense for the bigger picture: seeing the webs of relationship and meaning, and where that’s leading; understanding all that goes on behind the scenes. This whole “what we’re doing and why” conversation around personal contributions to shared realities.

Why must one approach be seen as “best”? Life seems to thrive on diversity, on both/and rather than either/or. We all bring something to existence: historically as well as individually we’ve been through different experiences, been guided toward different skills, and have different things to offer. Why set one contribution – one way of seeing or being – against another?

It just seems we’re not quite valuing the less glamorous, more nurturing side of how we might go about things. Not seeing the very real strength and wisdom there. Not listening to the insights, intentions and concerns driving many people. Overlooking what goes into making things work and what those people have to say doesn’t really seem like a long-term solution on any level.

Notes and References:

Note 1: “Women who run with the wolves”
Note 1: Making adjustments
Note 1: How things change
Note 1: Intrinsic value of nature
Note 1: Obligations and contributions
Note 1: What are the true costs?
Note 1: Seeing, knowing and loving

Ways to share this:

Do we know what stands before us?

Sometimes I wonder what’s going on with humanity. I know I’m not alone in that thought, but somehow that doesn’t really help much. I mean, what is it we’re all a part of? And why are we treating each other this way?

This sense of human life having intrinsic worth and dignity, each person being valuable and deserving of respect, seems to have truly flown right out the window at some elusive point in the past. I’m pretty sure I’m not wrong in thinking it’s a principle that used to be there? A fundamental part of life that carried more weight than simply being a legal premise everyone’s intent on testing at every turn.

Looking back, it does seem there was some degree of basic respect for human existence. Obviously, between different communities, respect for “others” was perhaps as lacking as today, but within those communities it seems people had value or that there was at least some attempt at civility or recognition for what each person brought to society.

Western as much as ancient thinkers were always grappling with the worth of life, the responsibility of being human, the “right” way to integrate people into social structures so individuals might find fulfilment and collective needs be met. There was this “weight” to the task of humanity; the challenges we faced; the moral or spiritual significance of different arrangements; and how well essential values found their home (Notes One).

But, somewhere along the line, we’ve become so incredibly quick to judge and dismiss one another. All this talk at the level of society where we’re blaming, belittling, mocking others within our community. All the ways people are goaded or cast aside for lapses in judgement, innocent mistakes or situations beyond their control. People being hounded or deconstructed seemingly as sport or a display of mental prowess. (Notes Two)

Writing this, I’m also wondering if I’m somehow missing the point or being “precious” about our worth? Is it simply the “modern way” to be slightly callous and dismissive, to view things with a cold intellectual gaze that’ll happily deconstruct another human existence then discard it under some withering psychological assessment? Is that almost a by-product of critical thinking and freedom of speech?

Surely it can’t be “right” from a human perspective that anyone’s life be picked over as if by vultures: exposing their vulnerabilities, pouncing on inevitable weaknesses or imperfections, turning them inside out and declaring their life “not worth living”? Isn’t every life something of a mystery, a miracle, an amazing phenomenon of consciousness, experience, identity, thought and purpose? (Notes Three)

Sometimes my writing takes me by surprise, as if I’m not sure what indignation is bubbling up deep within my soul. Here, I think it’s simply that – philosophically – human life, any human life, is an incredible gift that’s worthy of respect, courtesy, dignity, love. Of course, societies have their challenges to be worked out, but I don’t think I’m missing the point in placing humanity above many other concerns.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Plato & “The Republic”
Note 1: “The Measure of a Man”
Note 1: If society’s straining apart, what do we do?
Note 1: Working through mind & society
Note 2: The dignity & power of a human life
Note 2: Empathy in a world that happily destroys
Note 2: Is anything obvious to someone who doesn’t know?
Note 2: Living as an open wound
Note 3: Beauty in unexpected places
Note 3: The difference humanity makes
Note 3: Absolute or relative value

Parallel to these thoughts, Finding flaws was looking at what we make of our individual or collective potential.

Ways to share this:

Ways thought adds spin to life

The way we think arguably informs the ways we’re living, those higher-level thoughts trickling down into our ideas and attitudes in life. At times, we might view the mind as this faithful mirror, reflecting life so we’re able to understand and rise above it; but, more often than not, it seems to distort and thereby alter the nature of our understanding.

It’s something I struggle with here, as generally I’m trying to find a constructive perspective in my writing. Around this time last year, I reached a point of feeling things were becoming restrictive, sucking the vitality out of ideas and pulling them along another path than I’d hoped. Experiencing something similar lately, I’m wondering if it’s not simply a part of thought itself?

The mind seemingly has this tendency to plan, to identify and follow threads to create systems that must be followed. Equally, a tendency to form grooves – patterns of thinking that can overwhelm ideas themselves with a tone, mood or weight that’s hard to shake off. As if thought wants to make everything fit some overarching narrative we’ve constructed, creating habits of thinking we risk being stuck with (Notes One).

Is this part of thought? This desire to “match” life, to condense our observations of it down into something manageable and, hopefully, meaningful. What is this process of attempting to wrap our heads round reality and draw conclusions that might somehow be true, coherent, worthwhile, helpful?

Why is it we look at life and want it to make sense? Of course, I am the kind of person who does seek that: wanting to dive deep, unearth the concepts, see the paths taken and grasp where we stand within human history (Notes Two). As thinking beings, it seems natural to me that we would both seek meaning and seek to have it woven through the systems we’re creating out in the world between people and within nature.

But, how “should” we feel about life? What should we make of “all this” given we’re capable of thought? How do our choices or tendencies with regard to thinking affect the ways we’re approaching existence? (Notes Three)

If we tend toward thinking we’re powerless, human nature is inherently flawed, and there’s nothing we can do to change these things then that surely influences our attitudes in life and the kinds of activities we might engage in. Alternatively, thinking life’s a battle where we must fight others for an advantage or to win them over to our ideas must also impact all our actions.

As ever, there simply aren’t easy answers. With this writing, my inclination is to seek meaning; much as that might run risks. Finding the right balance between seriousness and escapism is intriguing: that elusive line somewhere between depression, anger, laughter and endless distraction.

If thought sets us apart though, don’t we have a responsibility to use it wisely? Finding balanced, reasonable, realistic perspectives within a world of serious concerns certainly isn’t easy, but what choice do we have.

Notes and References:

Note 1: The need for discernment
Note 1: The sense of having a worldview
Note 1: Working through mind & society
Note 2: The value of a questioning attitude?
Note 2: What if it all means something?
Note 2: The power of understanding
Note 2: Respect, rebellion & renovation
Note 2: Do we need meaning?
Note 3: Matt Haig’s “Notes on a Nervous Planet”
Note 3: David Bohm, thoughts on life
Note 3: “Spiritual Emergency”
Note 3: Culture as reflection

Looking at this question of balanced responses, there’s either Anger as a voice or True words spoken in jest.

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Definition, expression & interpretation

It can be said that culture serves to define us, let us express ourselves, and help us interpret the meaning of others and the society we’re living within. Among other things, I’d imagine, but nonetheless those seem some of its main purposes and functions.

Like a code, a common language of accepted patterns of behaviour and thinking to help in making sense of life, finding our place, figuring out where we stand, what our options are, how to read the world, and ways things might play out. This idea, perhaps, of being actors, adopting parts, playing our cards right to get what we’re after. Be that company, power, acceptance, praise, or whatever else.

Through this lens, culture’s then that which gives us the terms for defining who we are, allowing us to express that self in recognised forms, and deciphering what we encounter. It’s this sense of meaning – the overlay society places on complex realities so we can interpret things in similar ways then play into that world of meaning with our own choices and behaviours (Notes One).

It seems a fascinating process: flowing fairly freely in a number of directions, a powerful reflexive ever-changing set of pictures, actions and reactions that play upon society itself and each of our lives. It must shape people, after all, to see how clearly or respectfully their lives are reflected there. What is it that’s being said? Where are we assigning value or refusing to acknowledge any?

In the past, such collective conversations were guided with quite a firm hand: interpretations, conclusions and labels clearly indicated and upheld by society’s various power-holders (Notes Two). Looking back, there were clear voices saying “this is the way to be” which people generally seemed to heed.

More recently, that tradition of authority has waned while the diversity of society has flourished. Perhaps “because” that authority has loosened we are now free to follow our own paths and express who we truly feel ourselves to be? Maybe people have always been multifaceted creatures, completely unique in their combination of experiences and traits, but we’d been forced into these strict simplifications.

It raises so many questions. Are we the way we are because we see it affirmed and accept it as a viable option? Or, regardless of options, do we simply need the freedom to express our true being? What is it we’re all part of here, and how well does it serve individuals or community? Does this meld well with everyday social realities? Is it potentially hindering more than it helps? (Notes Three)

Lately, it seems we’re, again, approaching life with these preconceived notions of what looks, wealth or demeanour “say” about people. Can culture encourage us toward anything other than superficial evaluations, given its symbolic nature? Can it push beneath that surface to awaken greater awareness of what’s there?

If we’re multifaceted, jewel-like, could culture become like that? What would it look like if culture embraced everyone with recognition, celebration and acceptance instead of all this?

Notes and References:

Note 1: Living your life through a song
Note 1: Reference points for how we’re living
Note 1: Absolute or relative value
Note 1: Culture as reflection
Note 2: What is acceptable?
Note 2: Ideas that tie things together
Note 2: Meaning in culture
Note 3: It resonates, but should it be amplified
Note 3: Does anything exist in isolation?
Note 3: Love of self

Ways to share this:

Imagining another way?

While there may not be much agreement on the details, one thing we might all have in common is the desire for things to be better: for things that matter to be better respected and the things that threaten them to be better restrained. It’s a statement that might be interpreted within various contexts, but here I’m thinking of our relationship with nature.

So often, the value of the natural world seems secondary to other, commercial concerns. How many areas of wild beauty are going to be encroached upon or paved over for the sake of “expansion”? How much waste is going to be generated, then pumped “somewhere else” within our atmosphere? What will it take to see that balance and self-restraint might be a better way? (Notes One)

It’s astounding really, the attitude humanity has had toward its environment over the years. You’d think, logically, that “the world that sustains us and makes life possible” might be higher on the list of priorities, but apparently not.

Could it not be that we might apply human ingenuity to being more fully aware of our surroundings then finding imaginative ways to protect, maintain or, even, enrich them? Could academic understanding not be brought to life through creative challenges to industries, individuals and communities to simply do things better? Could our values in respect of the natural world not shift to another level?

Rather than ploughing on as we have been, might we think deeper about what’s happening? Can we really replace “a tree with a tree” and call that even, despite the fact hundred-year-old trees within established ecosystems are incredibly different from vulnerable saplings? Often, we seem to casually destroy things we cannot truly replace.

Could we not come to live in greater awareness of both local and global environments? Forcing ourselves to see and feel all the ways our consumer or lifestyle choices impact these places, now and into the future. Might we not value nature’s realities, relationships and resources differently, given that their as much as our lives essentially depend on them?

What if we invested more into gardens and other landscapes so they truly became places for nature to thrive and people to witness its delights and forethought? What if, instead of being increasingly grey and urban, our streets were genuinely filled with the buzz of insects, the beauty of seasons, and the joys of engagement with nature? (Notes Two)

Of course, pulling together on behalf of something that can’t defend itself is perhaps idealistic. It’s usually easier to continue as we are than insist on finding room for ethics within established systems. But, while it may be inconvenient or “uncommercial”, should profit and power really outweigh other concerns to “win” these conversations by default?

It’s certainly not simple finding common vision for how things might be instead, and cooperation between humans has pretty much never been easy (Notes Three); but hopefully we might choose to follow nature’s example of living more harmoniously in balance with our environment.

Notes and References:

Note 1: Limits having a purpose
Note 1: Nature speaks in many ways, do we listen?
Note 1: “Ecological Intelligence”
Note 1: “Small is Beautiful”
Note 2: Tuning out from environment
Note 2: Gardening as therapy, the light
Note 2: Gardening & local environment
Note 2: Intrinsic value of nature
Note 3: Can we reinvigorate how we’re living?
Note 3: How do we find a collective vision?
Note 3: Values on which we stand firm?
Note 3: Some thoughts about ‘life’

Ways to share this:

Information as a thing, endlessly growing

At this point in time, the volume of information being churned out in the world is presumably staggering? On top of “what already exists” in terms of facts, ideas, stories and perspectives – the ready availability of all that’s been saved from humanity’s past – the amount being added to that each year, day or moment might be quite interesting to know.

As opposed to the limited scope of libraries or bookshops even a hundred years ago, the sense of what we now have at our fingertips is amazing to contemplate. Surely humans have, on the whole, never been so well-informed? We’ve never been able to answer questions so quickly or indulge our interests this readily.

It’s something fought long and hard for: quests for understanding and exploration, then for the freedom to interpret the outcomes for ourselves, stand as this pinnacle of human endeavour in many respects. In various ways, people literally sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of knowledge. Understanding of the world around us wasn’t something simply placed in human hands (Notes One).

But then, it just keeps growing. Compared with the volume of information that exists for each year of the more distant past, we’re adding so much more for recent years. Every day so many people add to the mass of “information” existing in the world, which we’re all then having to wade through, navigate and, most often, tune out in order to operate sensibly.

Are our personal thoughts, feelings and experiences “now” that much more valuable than information we hold on life in ancient times? What value are we adding to the conversation of humanity through all of the contributions we’re now making? It’s surely disproportionate, the volume and significance of what we can know of the past in comparison to the present.

Of course, that’s not entirely fair, as much of what I’m talking about is personal and social communications pushed into the public sphere. It’s so much easier now to express our views and we’re also actively being encouraged to share them this way, to weigh in on topics and events as part of the global conversation technology’s facilitating.

It’s just that “all this” must risk drowning out the past? Compared with the nature of present-day interests and revelations, the past might seem a dry, dreary, alien place we struggle to relate to. Does the tone of modern content and its historical reinterpretations risk overwhelming the subtle voices of the past with their powerful messages and convictions?

Not just the past, either – anything important yet understated. In a world where everyone’s demanding attention through images, shock-value, novelty, strategy or persistence, what if the truth is being spoken quietly? (Notes Two)

What if we’re churning out more and more emotive content, filling everyone’s hearts and minds to capacity, desensitising humanity to the value of information and the sense of what matters? And what if, behind the blaring horn of all these “because we can” contributions, we’re actually drowning out messages we really should be heeding?

Notes and References:

Note 1: Ideas that tie things together
Note 1: Freedom, what to lean on & who to believe
Note 1: Meaning within it all
Note 1: Writings on Education
Note 1: Caught in these thoughts
Note 2: Desensitised to all we’re told?
Note 2: Will novelty every wear off?
Note 2: Value in being informed
Note 2: How important is real life?
Note 2: Do we know what we’re doing?

Ways to share this: