Is the world getting worse than ever?

I don't believe the world is getting worse - but media coverage of bad stuff has been getting more detailed.

A very real truth I have found is at any given mentioned there are wins and loses gains and missing. Rain and snow and wind and sun all present at any given time. Where our focus lies is where our happy or sad come from most days. If all you see is bad... friends, fill you minds and hearts with a little more of what you want to see come out. No fair planting corn and saying I hope I get an apples. Keep a strong balance. Balance is needed every where, ESPECIALLY our attention. May the Living Force be with!

The mere fact that we are having an instantaneous conversation about this topic while on multiple continents in different time zones on a forum dedicated to creating an environment that fosters personal growth and improvement would lead me to believe that the world is just fine.

Just wanted to toss this video into the mix, as I feel it addresses a lot of this in a well explained / animated manner.

Here in Japan we do not see much news from outside of the country, and even terrorist attacks overseas get about 5 seconds of airtime and they are never spoken about again. It is silly as a lot of Japanese have no idea what is happening around the world, which is also a good thing because less violence shown on the media means less people will resort to violence.

As for the world getting worse, I have been hearing the same line since the 1980's by a certain government "We are working on making the world a safer place", the problem is that government has been responsible for the deaths of 30 million people since the end of WWII, because of their direct and indirect interference in other countries, so my answer is yes the world is more screwed up then before and its because of others government interfering in countries and causing a vacuum that is then filled by radical morons set out to cull anyone that do not follow their stupid ideas.

Murasaki wrote: Here in Japan we do not see much news from outside of the country, and even terrorist attacks overseas get about 5 seconds of airtime and they are never spoken about again. It is silly as a lot of Japanese have no idea what is happening around the world, which is also a good thing because less violence shown on the media means less people will resort to violence.

I do not know about Japan, but it seems to me that usually the populations least exposed to media tend to be the most close-minded. This an observation based on anecdote and my own experience however, I might be completely off.

Japan Times tends to give the world stage their time. But there are a lot of other internal issues that go on in Japan which need attention. Like Futenma, which doesn't need to be there (seriously, where that base is located is horrible for the residents in the area, and Kadena more than makes up for it's "need")

Although the Japanese tend to close themselves off, it's also of note that they flourish as a country that is not really seen in other multi-cultural areas around the world. It's probably the only country that can pull that off because of where it is located. It's also not big enough for them to let everyone in.

I, personally, think they are the most healthy nation (socially speaking) on earth because they are mostly closed off. They can't afford to hate one another. Everything they do is meant to contribute back to their society, and they do it with great detail to their work. I mean, no other country can literally turn bagging McDonalds food into a perfect art form. I swear the photos of the burgers you see at your local McDonalds were taken in Japan. And they even perfected the french fry (practically no grease)!

That said, Japan Times tends to give the world news the attention it warrants.

Although America and other large countries like ours would benefit from laws like those in Japan, the reality is Japan is an Island nation and can pull it off. We are pretty much on large lands with plenty of border space occupied around us. The same laws wouldn't really get us anywhere, it would just give us a lot more illegal immigration. Which isn't good for the economy, or whatever the nation's debt crisis is.

The Japanese culture affords them protections that our multi-cultural system exposes. Japan even outclasses the west in many research and development arenas.

That said, I could see an argument for being closed-minded out of North Korea, but that's also it's own dynamic. It's really hard to understand everything else around you when you're abused into submitting to a dictator. So I'm not entirely sure if Japan is the exception to the rule, or if there are too many rules to measure cultures closed off to media exposure.

Manu wrote: I do not know about Japan, but it seems to me that usually the populations least exposed to media tend to be the most close-minded. This an observation based on anecdote and my own experience however, I might be completely off.

Closed minded is what has keep Japan from being screwed up by multiculturalism, look at all these fools in government that have been open minded and open the flood gates to immigrants and refugees, their countries are now a simmering pot that will explode in to civil war, you watch Europe is going to explode sooner or later, because of so called open mined politicians.

As for The Japan Times, It's only read by English speakers that cannot understand a word of Japanese to save their lives, Most of the Japanese population have never even looked at The Japan Times, and if you read the comments 99% are by gaijin, that do nothing but complain and bitch about Japan and at the first sign of trouble take off, its why gaijin and now called 'Flyjin' ... lol

Murasaki wrote: Here in Japan we do not see much news from outside of the country, and even terrorist attacks overseas get about 5 seconds of airtime and they are never spoken about again. It is silly as a lot of Japanese have no idea what is happening around the world, which is also a good thing because less violence shown on the media means less people will resort to violence.

As for the world getting worse, I have been hearing the same line since the 1980's by a certain government "We are working on making the world a safer place", the problem is that government has been responsible for the deaths of 30 million people since the end of WWII, because of their direct and indirect interference in other countries, so my answer is yes the world is more screwed up then before and its because of others government interfering in countries and causing a vacuum that is then filled by radical morons set out to cull anyone that do not follow their stupid ideas.

Thanks Murasaki. We are talking about America here, by the way.

Manu wrote: We live in an age where conflicts are growing, war, corruption and corporate profiteering reign supreme. Our health is deteriorating, disease is everywhere, and values are all but lost.

I read this kind of intro everywhere and hear people state it as fact over and over again. The message is the same: the world is falling to pieces... but is that statement accurate? It seems to me that it is quite the contrary, things are better than ever.

What do you think.

It seems that way and at times I feel that way as well but I hold confident we will continue to evolve. We are as a species of survivors and perpetuate well. Change is slow like a glacier and we have little patience. I remain optimistic.