please take a second to ponder my theory

Great Debates
1

With all the crap that has been going on in the U.S. (school shootings, children murdering, increasing in bullying, etc) and maybe the world, a lot of different things have been blamed. I have a theory that I would like to be both validated and refuted: the reason for much of the violence in the world is largely due not to any one thing (such as Video games and violence on the telly) but rather the overall mood of society. For example the simple fact that in every form of media violence sells, that people seem to be stuck in the rat race, the overall tension that has encompassed the working people has made society significantly less happy and more prone to anger management problems.

And so assuming this is true, then how do u go about changing the mindset of not just one person, or even a group, but rather a society, be it American or any other?

Arjun

2

This is a pretty heavy topic that will take more than a second of thought. So will have to return. But will add that I never felt part of the “overall mood of society.”

P.S. Should this be IMHO?

3

I just wanted to point out that 1) the word you are looking for is zeitgeist, means “spirit of the times” and 2) you would be hard pressed to find a period of history less violent than the one we live in today, esp. in the developed world.

Military conquest used to routinely involve depopulating areas. That means sticking sharp pointy things into infants, toddlers, very old people. And before that, you raped anything you could catch. You can’t pin this practice on any one group: the conquistadores did it, the Vikings did it, Native Americans did it, Tamer (not the poster) did it, various Czars, the Mongols, the Romans, every European medieval lord with his own horse did it.

In the middle passage, hundreds of human beings were stacked like cordword into the bowels of ships, and the bodies of the many who died en route were pulled out and thrown overboard only intermitingly. Babies were chucked over the sides of the boat still alive. This went on for centuries: it was not a passing madness.

In 19th C Britian the government could legally kidnap you off the street and send you to spend the next severl years in the hell of a navy ship.

One hundred and fifty years ago people–children and the elderly-- starved to death in the streets of London and New York, and many, many well off people watched them and thought it had nothing to do with them.

Early this century in the US, hundreds of men were hung by lynch mobs, most for no other reason than to serve as an object lesson to African-Americans in the south.

Up until this century in the US it was legally impossible to rape your wife. And up until pretty recently it was effectivly impossible for a man tpo rape a woman of signifigantly lower social status than himself.

If there’s a “spirit of the times”, then frankly, I’m proud to be a part of it.

4

Yeah, but the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad.

5

And at least the trains ran on time.

A good remedy for anyone who thinks the 21st century sucks is to watch eight or ten episodes of History Bites in a row. Hey, Columbine was nuthin’ compared to a day in the life of Caligula.

6

The problem with the world is that the young people are inexperienced and full of hormones and do dumb things. And the older people are set in their ways and unwilling to adapt to new things and new times. So my answer is that we need to get rid of all the young people and of all the old people and then most of society’s problems will go away.

7

Yeah, if yu get rid of all the young people society’s problems will pretty soon dissapear. Along with society.

8

Pathetically enough, this is something I’ve thought about a lot, and, IMHO, there are several things going on:

  • General crowding. I think it was Heinlein who said “When a culture gets big enough to require ID cards, it’s time to leave”. Jam too many people in together, and they’re going to get pissed off.
  • Things move too quickly. Computers, cars, and other technologies haven’t made things easier - they’ve just raised the expectations so that we have to get more done in the same amount of time. And if we don’t get it done, we have to work 80 hour weeks.
  • Teenagers have always been stupid and hormone-driven. Until recently, people dismissed it with a “kids will be kids” attitude. Now it seems like “grownups” (particularly the media) are assuming that it’s this particular generation.

That’s my $0.02. Welcome to it!

9

I think JTH is on to something. I too have given this a lot of thought and have come to the conclusion that pretty much ALL of the world’s problems are due to the fact that there’s just too many damn people. What we need is some planet-scouring virus to disinfect about 80% of the world. Of course, we’ll eventually end up back where we started.

And for the record, I thought of this before Tom Clancy. I did. really.

10

Why am I feeling an urge to burn things then go to Las Vegas :smiley:

I would tend to wander more into the area of the little speech Brad Pitt did in Fight Club about “we were all brought up to think we would all be models, rock gods and movie stars, but we’re not”

We have glamorized many of our superstars to the point that many see the world presented to them everyday as unattainable. Generating hopelessness in many, or even violent competitiveness to make a mark on this world.

How many people who have committed major crimes like school shootings and such will eventually get out of prison. Many will write books, make talk show appearances, etc. They will be famous, they will have fans and sympathizers, they will be supported by fees for doing speaking engagements or consulting with security companies on how to prevent thier crimes from being committed in the future. Much of rap music glamorizes the “thug life” and makes it look like its ok to be a gangster because coolio, snoop dog, Tupac, etc were able to be gazillionaires while still playing the part.

How do we convince the world that success usually comes with education and hard work.

How do we kill off the allure of role models like pimps, gang leaders and major drug dealers. Our world is full of these poor role models yet they continue to exist and play like they are some kind of urban robin hood while they prey on the poor and make themselves rich.

I guess it boils down to this question IMHO. How do we quench our thirst for power and wealth without hurting others?

11

I couldn’t agree more, Drachillix. This and other forms of artificially high and rising expectations are strongly influencing behavior.

12

Funny, I thought the zeitgeist was a symptom, not a cause. I.e.
If A causes people to B, than look for A, rather than assuming that A is making more A.
Oh, to Bizzwire: We have penicillin and agriculture. Famine and Disease can’t touch as a species. We reproduce too damn fast for Death to get a hand on us. That leaves War. 'Nuff said.
Well, not really, being as this is an open thread. Rather, ‘nuff said by me. Except I had to clarify it. D’oh!
Doh? Do’h? D’o’h’?
Anyone?