We are at the end of one era and the beginning of the next. One era does not simply end. It gives way to another. For a time both eras exist simultaneously. This is the reason for the deep polarization of our current world. Half of us are racing into the new era and the other half are clinging to the old one.
A version of this has happened in some degree to every generation in history. However, the recent advancements in technology have connected us like never before. A hundred years ago we barely had global communication and now it is instantaneous. A hundred years is not very long. This much change doesn’t usually happens this quickly.
This present shifting of eras could last quite a long time. Each major issue that ignites the ire or praise of our polarized camps is a step towards working out our history. History is not a smooth linear climb. It is filled with atrocity, and our future will be as well. There were times where we made great leaps and times where we’ve stumbled. We are experiencing in real time the ebb and flow of change.
We also don’t have much control over our collective or personal futures. Accepting that is a helpful. We had no say in where we were born, to whom we were born, what socioeconomic class our family belongs to, the color of our skin, or our family’s religion or spiritual traditions. And as an individual we have the minimalist amount of impact on the future of society.
So while to a degree we can choose where to shop, what to buy, and where to work and live, we do not have total control or absolute freedom. We certainly do not have the control and freedom of choice that popular culture wants to make us believe we do. Our ability to make any choice at all makes it seems as though our freedom of choice is unlimited.
That is a reason to let go a bit. A reason to not hold so rigidly to your beliefs – or better yet, not hold others so rigidly to your beliefs. This shifting of eras creates uncertainty. Uncertainty leads to anxiety and that anxiety diminishes rationality in favor of survival. When we start to favor survival over rationality we also start to lose some of our most basic human virtues like empathy and compassion.
Survival isn’t always based on logic. Our collective anxiety has made us skeptical of our fellow humans. We want to believe a story that gives us the answers. Whether that answer is based in logic or reason matters little. In these times of change, uncertainty, and anxiety we have a tendency to cling to stories of absolutes. These stories are a means to comfort not to truth. They afford us the opportunity to not be overwhelmed by the world and to operate in it.
How could one not be overwhelmed by our current state? It is a complex and interweaving system that is impossible to fully understand. Even if someone, or something, did know everything it wouldn’t be accepted by everyone. Half of us would listen and the other half wouldn’t merely out of spite.
History is not a steady linear incline. There are times of great turmoil and times of prosperity. No one can say with certainty what the future will look like. A safe bet would be the abandonment of old institutions and the formation of new ones. A total shift in the way society operates. A future that, if we could see it, would confuse us. The same way that a smartphone would baffle a Civil War soldier.
There are no absolutes. No one has the perfect answer. I believe it wise to avoid ideologies of absolutism and the people peddling them. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t search for meaning and purpose. What it does mean is that we shouldn’t be so hard on each other. Most of us are doing our best and want a future that is prosperous and filled with opportunity.
This rapid shifting from one era to the next has amplified division. The uncertainty created by this rapid shift has catalyzed a type of dread in some people. This dread has resulted in division, violence, and a general sense of anxiety that seems to permeate the society at large. If a specific issue hasn’t already pulled one to a side then the polarization of society itself is cause for general anxiety.
This will all be worked out. That is the great lesson of history. However, we may not live long enough to see that future. We’ve become familiar with living in an immediate world. Whatever we want is likely at our fingertips. If it isn’t today then it is likely that someone is working on it and that it will be tomorrow. It is no wonder that we believe we are living at the end of history and that we are directly responsible for saving it.
In reality we are just shifting from one major era to the next, and as individuals we have little control over what that future will be. Recognize that the cultural norms are shifting. This shift has always been imminent. Just as the shift before it was and the shift after this one will be. Accept that there will be pains with this growth.
Also accept that you alone cannot do much. Select for yourself compassion and empathy if you want to better understand your place in the world and the direction that it is heading. There is no other way forward. I believe the future will be a place of enlightenment. The question is how much violence, anxiety, and ultimately time we need to go through to get there.
I appreciate your attention and hope you found value in this.
Thanks for reading.
Billy's Briefs 