TO BE IS NOT TO BE

The world we are inhabiting is increasingly reflecting what I imagine the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would have resembled.

If one views television; any/most programs really, but of special fascination are the morally free-falling 'reality' shows...or take the time to peruse the headlines of supermarket magazines, or listen to a popular music programme on the radio and reflect on the lyrics. If you pay attention to politics and the increasingly narrow, niche policies of activist minorities which are occupying centre stage, or go to a movie or attend the theatre or a concert of some form, you might have noticed how these once ordinary activities have morphed into an open portal offering a world of vacant 'celebrity' sleaze, superficiality, degradation, lies, desperation and a suicidal meaninglessness.

Evidently 1 in 6 Americans consumes anti-depressants (possibly under-reported) and the opioid crisis (people self-medicating for health or escape purposes) is completely out of hand. The statistics in our 'lucky country' are not too different unfortunately.

The Western worldview has been so hollowed out by unceasing attacks on its Judeo-Christian foundations that most citizens now appear to sleep walk through a life that lacks any reason for existence. This is then exacerbated by the relentless assertion that humans are nothing more than an accidental collision of atomic emissions emerging from the primordial swamp.

Who can blame the average person for feeling a little depressed?

The net result is a culture where people become obsessed with money/power/fame (Nietzsche) or radical hedonists (Epicureanism*) or they become existential nihilists# or they just give up; hence the shocking statistics regarding suicides, especially amongst young people.

All of these fixations increase the likelihood that people are going to grasp onto some weird and fantastical beliefs in order to give their lives meaning, to fill what the 16th Century philosopher Blaise Pascal termed the 'God shaped vacuum'.

Take for example the climate change cult and its underlying ideology; the many times tried and failed Marxist philosophy which is taking root in far too many Western societies.

What is that cliche about the definition of madness being doing the same thing time and again and expecting a different result each time?
How many times must Marxism be tried and fail with its concomitant devastating consequences before people believe?

The new star of the (increasingly radical) Democratic Party, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left) attends a symposium on 21 January where she is asked if it is moral to have “a world that allows for billionaires.” She replies it is not, adding that “a system that allows billionaires to exist when there are parts of Alabama where people are still getting ringworm because they don’t have access to public health is wrong.” By the way, before I look at the morality of having billionaires, ringworm is a common fungal infection that can strike anyone and is easily treated with antifungal creams obtainable inexpensively from any local pharmacy. The clunky machinery of public health is not required.
In the blink of an eye Ms Ocasio-Cortez has become sufficiently celebrated to be referred to as “AOC”; like, say, FDR, LBJ or JFK. Fortunately for America she is only twenty-nine years old and therefore can’t run for the presidency. A recent poll found that 74% of Democrats would consider voting for her were she to run. The rational mind boggles. [Peter Smith]

Truly Democratic societies often achieve the sum total of what its citizens say they want...the problem is that when, like these days, their desires are not deeply considered or reasoned through it ends up with them(the people) not wanting what they get, and in the case of Marxist ideology it will be too late because revolutionary theory is summed up thus; one vote once!

* Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus, founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to a general attack on divine intervention and led to a lifestyle wedded to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures.
# Nihilism is the philosophical viewpoint that suggests the denial or lack of belief towards the reputedly meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.