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Regardless of the politics, it is frustrating to see people cheat the system and get away with it, that is universal. I have this vague notion that this was le
by CosmicShadow 5y ago
Regardless of the politics, it is frustrating to see people cheat the system and get away with it, that is universal.
I have this vague notion that this was less of a problem 30-50 years ago and people would be punished or more against doing this kind of thing just by way of culture and ethics, but I can't verify if that's true or not, or just the sense you get from movies and tv. I feel like every time people got away with things, the entire society slipped a bit and little by little it eventually eroded to where we are today, where it feels like we are hitting that exponential growth on the curve for societal shittiness.
There always seemed to be a notion of "that person can't do that and get away with it, it'll be all over the news" and that would ruin them or get them punished, but it feels like the last few years people have just called the bluff on that and taken it to it's extreme conclusion and can get away with saying or doing anything and it doesn't matter if it's reported on, people will just go "I can't believe they said or did that" and nothing happens or changes (It just got normalized). The smart cheaters took this as an invitation to get away with things more frequently and openly now realizing there are very few repercussions. The only punishment seems to be for a small scale person or business that's really only serving a local community. I guess there is no larger sense of community anymore?
Do role models exist or have any power to inspire or do they have to become something they aren't just so they can be big enough to be seen for their message? Perhaps in a world where there were only like 30-100 tv channels and no YouTube and shitty internet it was easier because there was really only so few options of who you get to see and they were more curated, but now anyone can be seen and the algorithms will just optimize you into something you maybe curiously or accidentally clicked on and take you into (and trap you in) your own tribe, healthy or not. It just feels like there is no way to dig society out of it's direction as all the holdouts will eventually give in or their children will. Why is every future sci-fi dystopian pretty much? You take today to it's logical conclusion.
- JKCalhoun 5y agoHmmm.... maybe. Or maybe 30-50 years ago gentlemen didn't get caught. What you see as "slipping" in society over the past decades has actually been increased public exposure of what has always happened? Just an alternative theory.
- JackFr 5y agoI don’t think you’re wrong, but is society better off when wrong-doing is exposed and not condemned or when it is hidden but broadly condemned?
- wallacoloo 5y ago> I don’t think you’re wrong, but is society better off when wrong-doing is exposed and not condemned or when it is hidden but broadly condemned? the third option: broadly exposed, and also condemned. there’s no reason that increased exposure has to decrease condemnation. in many cases, it transforms condemnation into a more insightful view: as society has had increasingly honest views into addiction, we understand it better and are able to replace the “addicts are bad people” myth with a proper understanding of behavior and human psychology. every person knows that they’re taking a risk when using oxycontin for an extended period of time and can take the necessary precautions as a result. this wasn’t true when we covered the whole complex truth with a blanket. the blanket only ever slowed us down in our effort to understand and address the real problems.
- CosmicShadow 5y agoYeah I did think about that after, it may have been just as bad or even worse before, considering social progress today, but the exposure was just missing or even the exposure and log of the reaction.