Re: doing our bit

Kennita Watson (kwatson@netcom.com)
Fri, 25 Jul 1997 11:48:30 -0400 (EDT)


>On Thu, 24 Jul 1997, Hagbard Celine wrote:
>> P.S. What do other list members think characterizes the current human
>> condition?
>
Anders Sandberg replied:
>Confusion?
>
>Most humans doesn't seem to have any real grasp of what is going on,
>or feel they can't effect it.

Pre-rant: Of course humans can't "effect" "what is going on" -- there's
too much of it, and it's already going on! Maybe when we can make our
own pocket universes, or live in virtual realities, we can "effect" what
goes on in them. However, we _can_ "affect" what is going on now, or
"have an effect on" it. Look them up. (Grammatical/semantic pre-rant
complete -- we now return you to our regularly scheduled discussion.)

Fear.

Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure and fear of success (both are forms
of fear of not living up to expectations, the first now and the second in
the future). Fear of rejection. Fear of ridicule. Fear of pain. Fear
of loss. Fear of abandonment. Fear of attack. Fear of change.

I think fear helped keep our ancestors alive thousands and millions of
years ago, but I think that its survival value has diminished greatly given
how small the chances are that any given thing will kill us. As a matter
of fact, when I feel a twinge of fear at (say) talking to a crowd, I say to
myself "You know, all they can do is hiss and boo -- they're not allowed to
gun me down.". That helps me -- your mileage may vary.

Hopelessness.

A feeling that there's nothing they can do about all the wrongs that are
going on in the world (death, taxes, hunger, violence, corruption, etc.).
This is often compounded with guilt -- a sense that they _should_ do
something.

I may think more about this today, but I have to go to work. Ciao.

Join the fight against death and taxes!,
Kennita

Kennita Watson | The bond that links your true family is not one of blood,
kwatson@netcom.com| but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do
| members of the same family grow up under the same roof.
| -- Richard Bach, _Illusions_