The Reason this World is going to Hell in a Hand Basket

For years people have been trying to figure out what is with this world and why it seems to be getting worse than getting better.  There are those who actually get paid to figure out this and other deep, philosophical circumstances and offer their hypothesis as to why it is happening.  I am not one of those but I do have a thought about why this world is going to hell in a hand basket and here is mine.

While I do agree with some who say that this world is going to hell due to the tremendous influence of a discarded angel called Satan, I also think that another major reason is that not only is this world hell but it’s getting worse because we have simply began to disregard and dismiss individualism.

That’s right, individualism.  It was once a good thing to be different with a different prospective on things, a different outlook on life, a different path chosen to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, a different career path or a different lifestyle.  That was before someone tried to make the world into their own image instead of accepting the image God had chosen.  We decided to alter the world as we found it and shape it into the world we wanted.  The only problem is no one knew what kind of world we wanted so some were chosen to choose for all of us and it turned out that the benefits provided by this new direction was only beneficial to a few of us.

This began, I think, with the discovery of this new world supposedly by Christopher Columbus who is even honored today as a national holiday.  My question is then why are we not called the United States of Columbus.  Here is how I think it happened.  Christopher Columbus was sanctioned by the King and Queen of Spain to scout for a new world.  He was a map maker and earlier was given nautical directions to a new world by an unknown explorer called Amerigo Vespucci, who had actually stepped foot on this new world before Columbus but did not have the skills to make maps which is where Columbus got his brilliant idea and Columbus was who he was, was given the blessings to explore.  This is why we are called The United States of America.  Now explorers that came after Columbus was seen as wanting to be Columbus-like and discovery new worlds so that they could become famous and be in the history books.  So if your dream was to become an explorer, you would have to learn the history of Columbus and conduct yourself as he did.  

You may not have been allowed to add your own spin to being an explorer and if you did it anyway, you probably did not get much favor from those who were seen in those times to have the influence to issue such favors.  

Other examples can be used as proof of attempts to shape the world in their own images like Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, The Roman Crusades, and so many others.  Each believing that a big better fighting force is what’s needed to shape this world as they saw fit and it did not matter if there were others with as much right as they have to live, breathe and enjoy life any way they saw fit.  What mattered was who had the biggest army, who had the most influence or who had the biggest ego.  Are we not still following that same path today?

Today, we dislike or dismiss women because they are of a different sex.  We dislike or dismiss each other because they are of a different race.  We dislike or dismiss each other because they were not born with a silver spoon in their mouths or they hail from a trailer park instead of living near the country club.  We dismiss each other because they did not attend the same schools that we did or participated in the same activities that we did.  We look upon people as lesser than because they do not react as we do to events or certain occurrences.  We expect others to act as if we do, react as we do and feel as we do because in our minds, everyone should.  For those who don’t, we find ways to minimize them, dismiss them and degrade and disregard them.  This somehow makes us feel superior because we need to in order to justify our existence.  Our biggest issue and the spark that ignites the flame of anger, hostility and violence is the fact that someone did not act as we would have.  Well news flash, Einstein, they are not you and never will be you so get over yourself and respect the fact that the rights you claim are the very same rights that they can claim.  There is more that makes you the same than makes you different but it’s the difference that can save this world if we only embrace it and stop trying to fight or control it.

I do not enjoy being mean to anyone but I do revel in the opportunity to be frank and honest with everyone.  There will never be another Michael Jordan unless the parents of some kid names him Michael and their last name happened to be Jordan but even if that child plays basketball, he will never be the Michael Jordan he is being compared to.  He may travel the same path, average the same numbers become as famous as the real Michael Jordan but he will never ever be him.  There is and always will be a difference between the two that not even science could erase.  Take for example two brothers or two sisters raised in the same home by the same parents during the same time.  Even if they are identical in every way known to science, they will have their own individual differences which will make them special and who they really are.  If those parents continue to dress them alike, treat them the same and even force them to conduct themselves as one, they will never erase their differences and they will still emerge as individuals.

People we need to embrace our individualism treasure it and nurture it.  We need to welcome division into our ranks because without it we will grow stale and uninteresting.  We will eventually become passé and ignored because the world is changing but only those willing to maintain their individualism will change with it.  As with the sword of King Arthur which was stuck in the stone and only those valiant and brave, honest and pure could retrieve it this too shall be the fate of this earthly hell but those able to direct this world’s path will be those acting and believing as individuals.  Those who gather an idea of how this world should be then refuse to listen or accept another point of view because it is not the one they believe will sink deeper into the tar pit and eventually be looked upon as just another stick in the mud.  If you really care about the world, as many claim to do, then begin to celebrate individualism, allow people to become creative again and watch this world blossom into the image of a nation of people, a nation of individuals instead a nation of fools.  Just my opinion, I could be wrong and if so ME CULPA.