Our World, Our Decision.

I'm starting to think the human race is mentally deficient, especially after the recent gun violence and listening to both extremes prattle on about how the Gun Control issue needs to be either all or nothing. I responded to comments last night, regarding an earlier article I wrote titled, Gun Control Issue for the Masses, where I broke the issue down, addressed issues on both sides of the debate, and offered common sense, middle ground solutions to some of the problems. The responses I got, were completely off the wall, rants about; how I wanted to ban guns, assault weapons are merely cosmetic, people shouldn't need to be licensed to carry, people should be allowed to have the same level of weaponry as our military, and on, and on.... It was absolutely knee jerk, emotional, irrational, insanity.


This is a problem people, we've all let the extreme, fringe elements on both sides of the ideological divide gain to loud of a voice in the public sphere. We don't do enough to shame the craziest of the fringe back under their little rocks, instead giving them cameras or microphones and we parade them in public for "entertainment". Unfortunately, our society is also made up of sheep, who are very content to be led around without having to use a whole lot of brain power. This makes for a very dangerous combination. 


I think people who say we should ban all guns, are just as crazy as people who say we shouldn't ban anything. The fact our society condones this type of extremist behavior and entertains it, makes me question the mental health of our society in general. How can our species possibly survive, and thrive going forward, if we allow every single issue to devolve into a comparison of extremes, without any hope of rational, common sense compromises to fix problems? I lay the blame directly at the feet of each one of us, myself included, for not doing enough to put people in their place when they sound like crazy bastards. We don't hold people accountable for the things they say, we don't hold politicians accountable for the things they do, and we don't hold the entertainment industry accountable for their shameless promotion of garbage, which contributes to the divides in our society. 


There is a reason I named this Blog, Misanthropic Dissonance, because I love the human race and want so much to see it progress, succeed and grow, but at the same time I absolutely loath our society and what are have steadily become: A civilization of mindless, blind, sheep, following authority, following ideology, with a complete lack of critical thinking ability or common sense. It's disgusting to see people blindly follow, based on knee jerk, emotional reactivity, when people are capable of so much more. It makes me worry for the future of the human race, when our society immediately goes to the extremes of an issue, as important as gun violence, ensuring the problem will go on unfixed. I worry about whether my own children will have a viable future to live and prosper in, whether their children will have a future. We have become such a selfish society, with various demographics in our culture wanting more, or are not willing to compromise or coexist peacefully. 


This type of extremist behavior only serves to push our entire society to the brink of collapse. Do you really think if that happened, the common, everyday people would benefit? Of course not. The wealthy elite would be fine in their swanky mansions, or fortified compounds, while the rest of society would turn cut-throat just to survive. There is no downside to societal collapse for people who have everything, they would simply have more to rule over, while the rest of us were busy fighting to get by. Why is it, do you think our politicians refuse to solve issues, which could be resolved through compromising and common sense solutions? People need to wake up and break from this constant conditioning, the media and our society overall imposes on us, to submit to authority, to conform, to obey. Start questioning things; Why is bullying allowed, why do we condone hazing, why do look the other way when things are happening we know are wrong, why don't we stand up and demand for things to change, why do we assume we have no power, why do we let others tell us what to think, how to look, what to feel, how to behave, why don't we take personal control over our own lives? 


I am continually amazed at how few people in our society actually break from the pack and do stand up as a unique individuals to affect change. It is an encouraging thing to see, but also depressing to notice how the vast majority of people are completely blind to what is going on around them. I wouldn't even know where to begin when it comes to solving this particular problem. I would love to offer solutions, but this is one of those times when you can't help others, they need to help themselves. People have to be willing to open their own eyes and look around, question reality and decide to walk their own path, rather than follow the herd. People have to be willing to open their ears and their minds to the world, and accept the uncomfortable truths about life, existence, nature, and about themselves. Eventually all of us will die, and the only thing that will be remembered of us, is the impact we've had on those around us. Eventually they will die, and after enough time, we will be forgotten from history entirely. Knowing this fact, is it then worth holding on to an extremist position, and slowing the growth and progress of the human race in the process? What good could it possibly accomplish? What kind of legacy will such extremist thinking leave on future generations who will look back and wonder how we were able to even function as a society?



We have one shot to get it right in this life. We could continue condoning selfish, greedy behavior in our fellow human beings, who are only concerned with themselves, or we could strive to make the world different. Our legacy, though one day forgotten, has the potential to contribute to the progress and growth of the human race into something much better. It is up to each one of us to decide how that legacy will affect the course of our species. Will it enable growth and progress toward something better, or restrict our progress and hold us back from becoming what we can imagine of ourselves.