My Final Restoration Blog Post: Did the Enlightenment Work?
In class, Dr. Harris posed the question of whether or not the Enlightenment, a movement that sought to pull humanity out of the dark, succeeded in doing so. I am to look at the world today and try my best to answer that question and for the most part I have it figured out. I think the Enlightenment was a breath of fresh air before the eventual pull-back into the water (the dark). This was a time in which things were questioned: religion and science were fluctuating dramatically, art flourished, and independent thought was overflowing.
These days, in 21st Century America, are dark. The President, whether or not you agree with me, has put people on edge. From talks of potentially using the nuclear arsenal to making sexist comments about grabbing women, the guy is a menace. Granted, he was supposedly elected "fairly" and this is what our country is stuck with for the next few years. There seem to be more public shootings reported; American citizens grabbing assault rifles and opening fire into a concert just for kicks.
Terrorists in the Middle East wanting to strap a bomb to their own chests and walk into a crowd because of social differences. Granted, these are men and women following an ideology that is not their own, but people have been easily manipulated by others for hundreds of years, so that much is not shocking.
"Free speech" exists but only really applies to the one side that screams over the other in an argument. Police officers are shooting minorities and thanks to cell phones, the few who commit these horrible injustices seem to be the majority.
People do petty crimes and expect the world to acknowledge them for more than what they are. I missed a concert because the night before, one guy shot another guy for "disrespecting him". Like he had accomplished anything worthy of admiration. Several kids who went to highschool with my friend stabbed another kid over his tennis shoes. They left him tied to a chair in his kitchen for his parents to find.
Kids send naked pictures of their classmates around the school just to ruin and laugh at each other. Suicide rates are higher, self-medication is no longer a rare thing. It's like everyone has a problem that requires a substance to treat it. Monogamy doesn't exist anymore: social media and dating apps let you change your identity and lie. Whatever happened to being content with one person? Why do we need four or five different social media accounts to validate ourselves? Girls complain about a guy that is "cute" who doesn't partake in social media, and this was a "red flag". If a girl I ask on a date can't stay off her phone longer than 5 minutes, then she isn't worth the check I have to pay or the gas I burned. I get the door for a woman to be polite, and suddenly I'm the enemy white male who represents all of the oppression in society. How's that for fucked up?
Everyone has their heads up their own asses and it doesn't seem to stop. The enlightenment challenged the concept of being oppressed, are we not oppressed? Are we really content with the government looking at people's porn history, their text messages and selfies, or my Amazon shopping cart?
I think the Enlightenment was a brief breath of fresh air that was spoiled by "smart people" finding new ways to take advantage of others. Nuclear weapons are now a thing, and are used to threaten other countries. Wars were waged over whether or not they were even in a country. People are being sold in Libya, for God's sake. Parents still get away with letting their sick kids go to the doctors. Are you serious? We live in a country where that can still happen?
We let politicians dictate what a woman can do with her fetus and body. We let them tax us and put our money towards things we don't even agree with, then let them tell us how we can maintain our second Amendment rights. I'm not a huge gun person, but that''s not what that Amendments there for.
I don't see very much enlightenment nowadays, and if there is any, it is lost to the overbearing roar of those choosing to not move forward.
These days, in 21st Century America, are dark. The President, whether or not you agree with me, has put people on edge. From talks of potentially using the nuclear arsenal to making sexist comments about grabbing women, the guy is a menace. Granted, he was supposedly elected "fairly" and this is what our country is stuck with for the next few years. There seem to be more public shootings reported; American citizens grabbing assault rifles and opening fire into a concert just for kicks.
Terrorists in the Middle East wanting to strap a bomb to their own chests and walk into a crowd because of social differences. Granted, these are men and women following an ideology that is not their own, but people have been easily manipulated by others for hundreds of years, so that much is not shocking.
"Free speech" exists but only really applies to the one side that screams over the other in an argument. Police officers are shooting minorities and thanks to cell phones, the few who commit these horrible injustices seem to be the majority.
People do petty crimes and expect the world to acknowledge them for more than what they are. I missed a concert because the night before, one guy shot another guy for "disrespecting him". Like he had accomplished anything worthy of admiration. Several kids who went to highschool with my friend stabbed another kid over his tennis shoes. They left him tied to a chair in his kitchen for his parents to find.
Kids send naked pictures of their classmates around the school just to ruin and laugh at each other. Suicide rates are higher, self-medication is no longer a rare thing. It's like everyone has a problem that requires a substance to treat it. Monogamy doesn't exist anymore: social media and dating apps let you change your identity and lie. Whatever happened to being content with one person? Why do we need four or five different social media accounts to validate ourselves? Girls complain about a guy that is "cute" who doesn't partake in social media, and this was a "red flag". If a girl I ask on a date can't stay off her phone longer than 5 minutes, then she isn't worth the check I have to pay or the gas I burned. I get the door for a woman to be polite, and suddenly I'm the enemy white male who represents all of the oppression in society. How's that for fucked up?
Everyone has their heads up their own asses and it doesn't seem to stop. The enlightenment challenged the concept of being oppressed, are we not oppressed? Are we really content with the government looking at people's porn history, their text messages and selfies, or my Amazon shopping cart?
I think the Enlightenment was a brief breath of fresh air that was spoiled by "smart people" finding new ways to take advantage of others. Nuclear weapons are now a thing, and are used to threaten other countries. Wars were waged over whether or not they were even in a country. People are being sold in Libya, for God's sake. Parents still get away with letting their sick kids go to the doctors. Are you serious? We live in a country where that can still happen?
We let politicians dictate what a woman can do with her fetus and body. We let them tax us and put our money towards things we don't even agree with, then let them tell us how we can maintain our second Amendment rights. I'm not a huge gun person, but that''s not what that Amendments there for.
I don't see very much enlightenment nowadays, and if there is any, it is lost to the overbearing roar of those choosing to not move forward.
I wasn't prepared for the depth of emotion you show, but in reading I have to agree with you. How are we really better if people are still being sold and bullies are trying to control our "freedoms". Good post, Jake.
ReplyDelete