Since their creations, societies all around the world have imposed major implications on the individuals that live within their realms. Whether it be social norms, written laws, or even civil expectations, the general consensus of a certain country or area has continuously shaped how any single person lives his or her life. In recent times, society has been known to cause more harm than good, or so we believe. Sebastian Junger, an American award-winning author, writes that "modern [proper] society-- despite its nearly miraculous advances in medicine, sciences, and technology-- is affiliated with some of the highest rates of depression, schizophrenia, poor health, anxiety, and chronic loneliness in human history" (Junger, 2017, p. 19).
This abstract was part of analyzation of modern culture that I constructed for a collegiate course this past spring. I wove in examples from literary works and even a few details from my personal life to complete this study; the final product earned me an A, and it was pretty damn cool if I do say so myself.
The aforementioned paper stuck with me, not because of the A or because of the hard work behind it. It wasn't the research, the conclusions or the response to my work that resonated so deeply, either; instead, it was the veracity, the versatility, and the very truth of the words I created out of a jumbled mess of thoughts that spun around in my mind. It was the fact that no matter the angle I tried to take to my proclamation, it was still true.
Today, we know more people affected by domestic violence than ever before.
Today, we know more people diagnosed with cancer than any century previously.
Today, we know more about racial inequality than all prior decades combined.
Today, we know more details and facts and constraints about environmental destruction than any scientist could ever dream of 100 years ago.
Today, we know more people combatting the very mental illnesses that Junger mentioned than we could have ever dreamed of 50 years ago.
But, most importantly, today, we have more tools than EVER before to combat the issues previously mentioned. We have resources provided by the state to help battered families. We have the miracle that is modern medicine. We have unions, organizations and laws-- real, actual, written rules-- to protect these citizens of the United States. We have solar panels, wind energy and the ability to recycle. We have therapists, medicines and the tedious ease of a stigma that plagued society for so long.
So then why, WHY, do we still have so much bad in the world? Why are there still horrific problems? Why has modern society progressed so much yet seemingly regressed as well?
Why isn't there an answer to these questions? And why, instead of an answer, do we have two extremes that both claim to be right and still no solution?
Be pissed at the President. Curse the universe. Mock whatever greater power you believe in. Blame it on the government, the monopolies or on North Korea. Say it's the result of WWII or say it's because Tupac went into hiding. You can be angry and you can find any scapegoat you want. You can fight with your neighbor in the supermarket or cuss a friend out on Twitter. You can focus on all the negatives to the point where it consumes your every fiber. Anger has fueled many fires- and it can ignite this one, too.
Or, let go of the rage. Be kind. Share some love. Spread a little peace. Donate, volunteer or run as an elected official. Get a degree and buy a one-way plane ticket. Battle the opioid crisis and knit blankets for kids in the foster system. Hell, bake a cake and tattoo a peace sign on your left eyeball if you want. Believe in miracles and the goodness of human nature. Make your life full of pixie dust. You can focus only on the positives, and hope everyone else will follow your steps. Fight the battle without raging a war.
We have the tools it takes to help. We can make some of the suffering stop. But we can't do it if we're too damn mad that we can only lash out or if we're too damn bubbly that our message isn't taken seriously.
Compromise. Understand. Listen. Be angry, but show compassion. Lead with love but back with braun. We're humans and we can't get anything exactly right, but we can do what we can to help who we can. It's in our nature to be entirely different from one and other, and accepting this might just be the greatest thing one can do.
Recognize this. Work with one and other. Find the balance. And that might just fix whatever problem that needs to be tackled.
