Are we getting better, worse, or better and worse?

[TissueBox]

Alien here, was wondering about the current prospects of global subjugation and figured y'all would know whether it's a good time to "strike while the iron is hot", to put it in certain western continental lingo, or perhaps wait for --oh, sorry, what was that? We don't say that first part? Oh. Okay. Can we redo?

*retake*

Well well well. If it isn't my people! Was wondering whatchyu awesome dudes and dudettes think! Are we getting better, worse, or both better AND worse at this whole civilization thing? Feel free to say your peace below..!! ✌️

 

[Mortemis]

come get us before we destroy ourselves

 

[echoshifting]

I always knew you were an ET tissuebox

 

[WizdogC]

The way the world is going, I willingly submit myself to our Alien Overlords.

Please save us from ourselves.

 

[TissueBox]

I always knew you were an ET tissuebox

Click to shrink...

 

[mightyrat]

Just make it quick.

 

[nilbog]

As technology gets better, humans get worse.

 

[hurroocane]

It's an endless cycle of getting better, worse, better, worse.

 

[Kiyamet]

Were in the best place weve ever been

But we are far from perfect and we must fight for every step forward we take

 

[Freezasaurus]

We are getting better at being worse.

 

[Hellwarden]

I think that as rough as things are right now, it's important to keep in mind that we just exited a deadly pandemic that killed millions of people.

In terms of people dying pointless deaths, what's happening right now is small in comparison. Obviously that doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything we can to stop the violence when we can, or what's happening now isn't important.

 

[Gavalanche]

We aren't great, but I don't think we are getting worst? Compare to periods where women couldn't vote, people of colour basically had no rights, disease was rampant, infant death was high, there were constant wars etc etc.

 

[SinnyIndonesian]

As the "best" of us gets better and keeps pushing forward, the "worst" of us gets worse in trying to push back and eradicate the rest.

 

[JustTeaThankYou]

The floor is still rising, in terms of health, poverty, and even still I'd argue progressiveness. The chaos at the top end is increasing as well though, and has accelerated in the past decade.

If I were an alien I'd still wait maybe 10 more years. The iron will get hotter.

 

[Gr8one]

Worse worse but better too.

Politics is horrific, climate change seems to be getting worse (Humboldt Glacier just disappeared in Venezuela, last glacier there), income inequality is getting worse, Israel, Russia, Sudan, wild fires all summer where you feel like you live on Mars, UK Gender war.

But it seems like a lot of young people, maybe due to all this shit seem to care more about each other and looking out for each other. Maybe i just have rose tinted glasses on. I don't know if we/they will be able to fix everything but I have faith in the youth.

 

[Log!]

If you guys don't hurry it the fuck up we're going to trash this planet and any resources you guys hope to extrct.

 

[Tomasoares]

We're getting better, because the bar is already low as fuck

 

[GoodGrief]

Are the aliens hot

Asking for myself

 

[Praetorpwj]

Yes

 

[Dead Man Typing]

I have to believe we're getting better.
There's a lot of good things in the world that we just don't hear about. Right?

 

[Sacrilicious]

Better and worse.

Because the more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[julia crawford]

it seems impossible to say as a puny thing that will be gone in sixty years, but i have to imagine things will only get truly better when we truly leave empire and capitalism behind, but that is a life that is hard to imagine, yet we must

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

I'm very disappointed that we're still committing and making excuses for genocide.

 

[Fallout-NL]

Were in the best place weve ever been

Click to shrink...

Sincerely doubt it. Capital has a lot more power than it did 40 years ago. Also, climate change. Also genocide in Gaza. Violent repression of people protesting that genocide in countries I would have previously considered progressive, i.e. my own. Trans rights. Obscene wealth inequality. Housing markets in complete and utter shambles.

I don't know man….

 

[Mivey]

we get better at getting worse, but generally getting worse at getting better.

 

[mentok15]

Better, but it's easier to see all the worse things we do.

 

[Kiyamet]

Sincerely doubt it. Capital has a lot more power than it did 40 years ago. Also, climate change. Also genocide in Gaza. Violent repression of people protesting that genocide in countries I would have previously considered progressive, i.e. my own. Trans rights. Obscene wealth inequality. Housing markets in complete and utter shambles.

I don't know man….

Click to shrink...

You would be the first person Ive ever heard to say 1984 was better

Well

Except Reaganites and the state department

 

[Fallout-NL]

You would be the first person Ive ever heard to say 1984 was better

Well

Except Reaganites and the state department

Click to shrink...

Okay, so think about what you just said. You're implying that I'm a fan of Reagan, which is patently ridiculous since I'm specifically calling out capital and wealth inequality here. The exact things that motherfucker set in motion. And yes, after 40 years of damage those policies have done, you're damn right that things were at least somewhat better in '84 in the sense that there still was such a thing as a middle class or at least the chance of upward social/financial mobility. /edit: the disappearance of which exacerbates all other issues mentioned because an increasingly desperate population is susceptible to all sorts of populism, disinformation and incitement to violence against minorities.

Anyway, sure, yeah, we're doing just fine.

 

[Kemono]

On a factual list of things that got better or worse on a global scale we're doing far better than any time before.

But a huge pile of bad stuff is still there and some people are doing their best to add to it.

I think we tend to look at the bad side far too often and take the good stuff for granted. Negativity is king and getting real time new/opinions/etc. 24/7 from around the globe isn't something we as humans should have unlimited access too (imo). It makes us sick and we know it makes us sick, but we're not dealing with it in any way or form.

 

[Fallout-NL]

global scale we're doing far better than any time before

Click to shrink...

I'm still not convinced this isn't billionaire philanthropist propaganda that's correct only by focusing on a very narrow range of indicators in order to keep them from having to pay their damn taxes.

 

[Kemono]

I'm still not convinced this isn't billionaire philanthropist propaganda that's correct only by focusing on a very narrow range of indicators in order to keep them from having to pay their damn taxes.

Click to shrink...

It's absolutely in favor of the top 1% and despite of it getting better overall they should pay their damn taxes.

I think the depressing answer to Ops question would be: "yes, it's better overall but it could be so much more."

Everyone doing their best is too much to ask but if even 50% would try to make this world a better place we would be far ahead already.

 

[Kiyamet]

Anyway, sure, yeah, we're doing just fine.

Click to shrink...

Life expectancy increased about 10 years globally in 40 years - thats pretty good

Also I didnt meant to come off as accusing you of being a reaganite, only that you didnt think things through if you literally thought 84 was better

Are things worse in the US? Yes - economically 80s-90s was on a constant upturn and things are much more unstable now

But when I say things are better I mean globally, not just in the imperial core

 

[Fallout-NL]

Yes, that is fair enough.

 

[ConflictResolver]

My ancestors including my grandparents and above were all born in remote rural Anatolian villages with no electricity, no infrastructure, nothing, most of their food was farmed and produced themselves. My paternal grandparents' village is in a valley surrounded by forests. Those ancestral records show that all my ancestors from my 4 grandparents up all lived in the same villages (3 different parts of Turkey). So that's all the life they saw, those 3 villages. I bet my grandparents' childhood life in the 1940s-1950s wasn't much different from those of my ancestors at the start of the Turkish government records in the 1820s.

Today the villages have modern infrastructure and nearby towns are now developed to modern levels with shopping centres and such.

So for me personally, being born and living in the UK and having been priviledged to travel to USA and across Europe (but even being born in modern Turkey even those same ancestral villages wouldn't have been bad compared to what came before), things are 10000000% things are better.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

These results are a perfect example of people seriously needing to get out of their internet bubbles and educate themselves not only on other places in the world that continue to pull themselves out of poverty and gain access to food, clean water, energy, medicine, education, and internet but also on even just fairly recent history where life expectancy was half and social issues were orders of magnitude worse.

It's insulting to the people that dedicated their lives to making the world a better place, go touch grass.

 

[mentok15]

These results are a perfect example of people seriously needing to get out of their internet bubbles and educate themselves not only on other places in the world that continue to pull themselves out of poverty and gain access to food, clean water, energy, medicine, education, and internet but also on even just fairly recent history where life expectancy was half and social issues were orders of magnitude worse.

It's insulting to the people that dedicated their lives to making the world a better place, go touch grass.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I'd like to know what period in world history people think was better overall than now

 

[Fallout-NL]

These results are a perfect example of people seriously needing to get out of their internet bubbles and educate themselves not only on other places in the world that continue to pull themselves out of poverty and gain access to food, clean water, energy, medicine, education, and internet but also on even just fairly recent history where life expectancy was half and social issues were orders of magnitude worse.

It's insulting to the people that dedicated their lives to making the world a better place, go touch grass.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I'd like to know what period in world history people think was better overall than now

Click to shrink...

Acknowledging this reality does nothing to take away from the valuable gains that have been made in other areas. It does confront us with the very real possibility those gains might be very short lived - and sh/could have been even better if not for the systemic issues pointed out. Feels strange being painted as some kind of bigot for wanting things to be better than they are.

Anyway, done derailing this thread which was made with a more lighthearted intention probably, haha.

 

[TaySan]

Quality of life is probably better now than ever before but it doesn't feel that way. I say a mix of both

 

[Gunny T Highway]

Overall even with all that is going on in the world currently we are in a better position as a society than any other time in history. The problem for some who feel it is worse are glued to the internet/social media and they need to step back a bit.

 

[Launch]

I've given up on humanity. Vulcans were right in babysitting us.