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I'm very grateful we live in safer times, in part because people like our fathers, grandfathers, and Joe Medicine Crow participated in wars so that we (hopefull
by _lh7z 11y ago
I'm very grateful we live in safer times, in part because people like our fathers, grandfathers, and Joe Medicine Crow participated in wars so that we (hopefully) never again have to. I think the twinges of existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code, many of which will not benefit the world in any great way.
Of course, it's stories like this one and others that serve to remind me that maybe I could, or should, contribute to something more positive and beneficial.
And I fully agree with your last point too.
- anexprogrammer 11y ago> existential crisis mostly come from the idea that I'm mostly just sitting and fiddling with bits of code I can relate to that so much. It's the main reason I did a career change after many successful years in IT. I'm now in conservation, where I hope at least a few of the things I do outlast me. I keep half an eye out looking for a worthwhile OS project I can use some of my coding smarts on before I forget it all. Nothing yet has really enthused me. Something that makes a difference to some lives perhaps. All I can really say is I'll know it when I see it.
- hyperliner 11y agoWe don't live in safer times. Times are as dangerous as before. The difference is that there are a group of volunteers who fight the wars so that the rest can pretend the world is safer. The world would appear less safe to you if you, or someone close to you, were required to serve and fight the wars.
- protomyth 11y agoReflected in: handwritten sign in a US military facility in Ramadi, Iraq. The sign read, "America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall." from a Boston Globe article in their paid archive.