One of the greatest threats to the sanity of humanity- HISTORICAL MYOPIA

by nvrgnbk 24 Replies latest jw friends

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  nvrgnbk

  The world is a huge and somewhat baffling place. Human nature tends to cause us to attach greater significance to the events of our lifetime than reality would dictate. Couple these two facts together and we end up with- Historical Myopia.

  Example: About a century and a half ago, there was little or no concern about declining oil reserves. In fact, up until that point, whale oil was king. The expansion of the petroleum industry actually saved the whales! Now oil reserves appear to decline and many are shouting that so too humanity shall decline. History tells us otherwise.

  Example: About a century and a half ago, there was little concern, in a general sense( I know of and applaud the tireless work of the Abolitionist movement) for the human rights of slaves. Now we lament the racial disparities that are still sometimes evident in society. Slavery, as accepted by governments, has been abolished. Millions of descendants of slaves now enjoy material prosperity and freedom. Things, of course, that they are as entitled to as anyone else. History tells us that though the abuses of the past are branded into our collective consciousness- both that of victims and perpetrators- humanity is moving forward.

  Example: About a century and a half ago, the infant mortality rate was higher. More mothers died in childbirth. The general population died younger. The health concerns of our day are important and the dedicated professionals that address them are true heroes. It cannot be denied, however, that humanity in general is healthier than it has ever been and enjoying longer life as well. History tells us so.

  Sensational reporting of world conditions is good for the media and for high-control groups(cults) like Jehovah's Witnesses.

  Our best line of defense against their disheartening propaganda is to study history and to study it carefully. In so doing, we put on our glasses and correct that which plagues our society in general- HISTORICAL MYOPIA.

  Nvr
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  Terry

  Society constantly improves despite what sensationalists would have you believe.

  The worst problems in the world are caused by a very small per centage of total humanity.

  Yet, there is a tendency to not stop and create a perspective for yourself.

  When I was just a kid here were a few of the largest societal problems:

  1.Black people had no equality. Water fountains were marked "white" and "colored". Separate facilities for everything were common. Black people were not allowed to look white people in the eye on the street! Hotels, swimming pools, buses---you name it---had "off limits" restrictions that were deadly serious!

  2.Everybody smoked everywhere! My parents smoked in the car and I had asthma!! Department stores, restaurants, even schools and movie theatres had smoking.

  3.Cold War. The threat of nuclear annhilation was hanging over our head as we practices "duck and cover" drills. People were digging bomb shelters.

  I can't believe how things have improved in just 50 years!

  If this can happen in my lifetime anything is possible.

  Jehovah's Witnesses and other evangelical groups who promote DOOMSDAY thinking destroy the messege that things are constantly getting better and that anybody can make a difference if they try.
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  Amazing

  Amen Terry ... you and I had very similar experiences ... yes, ducking under desks to stay safe from the Russians (Soviet Union) from bombing us.

  nvrgnbk,

  Enjoyed your post and the good points you made. I would like to add some clarification. Slavery was done because it was believed that the time that Africans (blacks) were less than fully human. However, others disagreed, and argued against slaves from the founding of the United States (the UK and other Euro nations had slaves too for a while, and the UK sold slaves to the USA). Even African blacks helped white slave traders from the UK, Europe, and the USA to chase down and capture fellow blacks. This was done by competing tribes as a way to rid themselves of opposing tribes ... and sometimes by just plain greedy blacks who sold out their brothers and sisters.

  The founding fathers argued over this issue when drafting the constitution. Thomas Jefferson himself also argued for women's rights. But, compromise was necessary at the time - or thought to be so. The Constitution mentioned 'negros' as 3/5ths persons (less than fully human) and thus needing owners.

  However, the issue never really rested, but only grew until the civil war finally settled the issue. Oddly enough, right after the war, blacks won elective office in the south, notably in South Carolina. But the KKK put an end to that, and also killed white supporters of black advancement. However, racism and forms of slavery continued until the 1950s, when black and white activists finally took a stand and African Americans were finally on the road to full liberty and human rights.

  Today, things are much better, and many young blacks do not understand the level of improvement since the 1950s.

  However, we also have a major problem left with human rights of the American Indians. We have treaties that are legal and binding on our nation today that our government has not been honoring for many decades ... treaty lands belonging to the Cherokee in Georgia and Alabama is but one of several examples ... and as long as we do not speak out and force our government to obey the legitimate treaties signed with the American Indians, we become complicite with those who took their lands.

  Jim Whitney
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  nvrgnbk

  Thanks to both Terry and Amazing.

  I am so appreciative of your replies.

  Nvr
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  Navigator

  nvrgnbk

  Very good post! The rate of change in our society has greatly accelerated in the past few decades. Even so, most folks find change uncomfortable. When we look back at "the good ol days" we tend to forget the hardships and remember the good times. My father, born in 1900 was a boy when Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first airplane flight. He lived to see man walk on the moon. He never quite got over the economic depression in the late 1920s and 1930s, however. Good point about the whale oil. I suspect folks in that day believed sincerely that they couldn't live without it.

  Amazing

  I agree that the country has made amazing progress in racial equality. It was a long time coming and has a way to go yet, in part because of the way that "Reconstruction" was handled after the civil war. South Carolina was not the only state where blacks won elective office after the Civil War. In Louisiana, the Govenor and the entire legislature were black, largely because all white voters had been disenfranchised. They were mostly manipulated by "white carpet baggers" out to enrich themselves. It engendered a backlash that made organizations like the KKK possible. Things would have been vastly different and better if Abraham Lincoln has not been asassinated. Our treatment of the American Indians was nothing less than genocide on a grand scale. Hopefully we have learned better now. At least we seem to be more sensitive to it.
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  nvrgnbk

  Thanks Navigator! I appreciate your thoughts. Even the Bible warns about the fallacy of pining for the old days.

  Nvr
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  Brother Apostate

  This will probably go over like a lead balloon, but here's my take:

  I think that, on balance, things remain relatively the same.

  Less pollution vs more pollution, past vs present

  More stress vs less free time, present vs past

  Longer lives, less real living, present vs past

  More affordable vs less affordable, past vs present

  Less close-knit families, more individual acheivement, past vs present

  cure diseases, more medical problems and diseases fill the void

  Any given decade or century, one can find great aspects of a society, and terrible aspects.

  On net, it all adds up to roughly the same.

  Quantity vs quality, folks.

  One evil vs another.

  The devil you know or the devil you don't.

  The grass is always greener.

  Different, but, on the whole, not better or worse.

  BA- My two cents.

  PS- History is important, however, lest we not learn from past mistakes.
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  Hortensia

  Well, some things are better. I tell my students, who are really into "natural" health treatments, that the only reason people in past times used natural methods for healing is because that's all they had. And two of the greatest advances in health care are simple things - antibiotics and the public health system. More sanitation equals healthier people. Antibiotics were a real breakthrough and contributed a great deal to longer lifespan. In fact, without antibiotics I probably would not have survived childhood because I was sick so often with strep throat, bronchitis and tonsillitis.
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  nvrgnbk

  I get what you're saying Bro A.

  Just saying that issues we debate now, we debate because we are taking care of our basic needs more easily than ever before in history.

  Nvr
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  Brother Apostate

  Nvr,

  I do understand your viewpoint.

  However, I think the definition of "basic needs" is always being redefined.

  For every step forward in one aspect of life, I believe we've taken a step backward in some other aspect.

  Ah, the 1970's!!- and what we've lost (and gained) as a country since then.

  BA