Notice the zeitgeist: People deal with complex reality by looking at it from all sides – at least from more sides than they used to in the past, no matter how ignorant our fellow humans still seem to those of us, who can look at compex issues from even more sides. And look where it led us: We are paralyzed. For every action there is a debate, and since all non-trivial issues are complex, and we have started to appreciate this complexity, our decision making fails. Young people (at least not many) have dreams of reshaping society, voters have no confidence in their politicians, and we practically never change our life in any significant ways, unless we found a family. This is one thing: We are paralyzed by complexity and unable to make decisions. The other is this: We deride all those too stupid to see through things as we do. We have become a cynical society, where making the right joke about Bush or Afghanistan is worth more than the a strong opinion on the issue. Whenever there is somebody with an opinion, it is ridiculously easy to dismantle its arguments, to pick it appart, and have some fun while doing it. We have become cynics, because we have no values. They just don’t mean anything to us, because the future is uncertain, the villains are getting richer and more powerful, the NGOs are complaining, and the media is not telling us that life is getting better, it is telling us that life is getting worse. We are to smart for ourselves. We lost all values because we are paralyzed by complexity, and without values we have become cynics. And we can watch ourselves at it in the media! My girlfriend tells me (since my TV is only for video, DVD, and the consoles) that there is a show on German TV called “TV Total” where a very funny and clever moderator picks appart all the garbage that other people broadcast on TV, making fun of them and being incredibly funny. A true impersonation of the zeitgeist: He lives off media garbage, employs a host of clever people to rip it appart, and we think it is the funnies show on earth. Because we *know* that there is only garbage on TV. Because we know that nothing is going to change it. Because we can see through it all. Because we know no alternative, because we cannot imagine an alternative. And I am part of it, too. Because I cannot imagine an alternative.
*alternative: accept that we are too stupid to make sense of things all of the time and that even our most carefully reasoned opinions will often be wrong. It is still better to try and work with those views than to do nothing at all. Don’t punish people (by making fun of them) for being pathetically shortsighted because we all are. Laugh when someone else’s (or your own) political argument is picked appart, but realize that said person might still be a smart guy and don’t shame them for having what seems in retrospect to be a dumb argument. Be skeptical but not cynical.*
*Also, re:* the villains are getting richer and more powerful_, it seems that in the last century at least, the world has been getting nicer and more just, rather than the opposite. At least now concepts like peace and international human rights get profound lip service. It seems like in the past they were dismissed out of hand, at least by political leaders and commentators. – MeatBall:BayleShanks// _