“If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world. If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthiest ones. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation, you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering. If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all.” - unknown source.
Probably
most of you already heard or read this somewhere, didn't you? For me it is quite
deep thought. Sometimes I wonder about how happy I am, and sometimes I do not
appreciate it enough, but recently something has reminded me of it. It is a
book - Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ - and here for interested ones is a trailer to the movie version based on
the book:
I am not going to make any spoiler of the story, don’t worry ;) My intention is to focus on some deeper philosophical questions which this book consists of. To do so I have to at least make a little introduction to how things look like in Dune. The title is a name of a planet which is very, very poor in water. There are almost only deserts.
But despite it, against all odds, there live humans. You may ask, why the heck anybody would like to live on such a place? There is a good reason for it – a spice called ‘mélange’. This is a very precious drug in all universe and Dune is only place to mine it. For this reason there is an imperial colony which acquire the spice but on the planet live also autochthonic inhabitants – Fremens.
The Fremens are very similar to our real-world Arabs
but with some differences. In physical way they all have blue eyes with also
blue whites of the eyes, what is caused by the mélange. But it is not everything.
They learn how to live on desert, in burning sun and with almost no water. They
use suits which filter they urine and turn it into renewable drinking water to
spare as most as possible. It is a must to live and it is also a part of their
religion. To spit on somebody for them means a great respect, because it means
somebody shared with his/her own water – such is an environment which led to
such behaviors and principles. And in spite of such obstacles they are fearless
that can even ride a giant (really giant, because about a few hundreds meters
of diameter in a jaw) worms which dig and live in sands of Dune’s deserts. On
the contrary the imperial colony has imported water in abundance and does not
want to share with it. It brings to my mind what I wrote at the beginning of
this article. Some people have so many and some people have so little… And I am
not talking about issues where someone deserve to have little because of
laziness or something like that. I’m talking about real disproportion in resource
distribution, about real injustice. I'm talking also about hard conditions which shape strength of men and about how much we have and shall to appreciate and admire.
I wonder if in a future people will come up
with an idea how to care about each other and as one humanity will live in
prosperity and thrive together with no one left behind. Is it even possible? Or
maybe it is inevitable? Or necessary to survive as humanity at all.
And how to
make it happen? Or maybe we don’t need such a solution? Maybe we humans need a
lesson, hard conditions which will shape us to be strong as Fremens themselves? Does our society is already too spoiled and too weak?
Maybe we even deserve such fate?
Do you appreciate what you have?
What do you think about all of this?
Hereby I
invite you to a discourse over the subject.
The used sources:
1) First image
2) Second image
3) The quote
From logical point of view humanity has to find a way to unite and work as a collective in order to prosper and survive. From time to time you can see articles which are mentioning many crisises which are yet to come; for example global warming, famine, drought, overpopulation and diseases. I can't imagine how one nation could overcome such catastrophes alone. However, an idyllic utopia is not possible and as history have shown us people can't unite even in the hardest times. I don't think it is too late though and it is very likely that nations will cooperate to resolve issues regarding us all in the future.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, but looking at nowaday's cooperation it seems not likely though. What's more I don't think that people haven't got united, because they do it all the time, but unfortunately not in organized way enough and not in enough big number to make significant change, at least in present days.
DeleteYou touch the problem, which is very close to my recent thoughts. I’m lucky to have nice and helpful family, which loves giving presents After getting next set o f plates last month I came to the conclusion, that I really don’t need all those things. I have too much, but it’s not only about having. Concerning about too many things interferes in appreciating what we have and we focus on matters which aren’t really important to us. We forget, that having some food, clothes and roof is enough. We forget, that near to us are people, who have less. However I’m far from idea of system which gives everybody prosperity. It always lead to catastrophe. We had system, that said “the same for everybody” and as we know from history it is utopia. There was always privileged group of people that had better.
ReplyDeleteWe also have to remember that concept of equity and caring of each other is present in our Latin civilization, but in others it doesn’t exist or understanding what is good for a man is much different. In some cultures people think, that let others die is better than helping them, because after death people are in a better place. Trying to transfer them our idea of care will encounter many obstacles. Other cultures have so strong identity and fixed sense of being part of their society that other humans are treated not exactly as humans.
So if you ask if it’s possible to care of each other and thrive together I say “no”, but not because people are bad and think only about themselves. I say no, because cultures are different and in other cultures people don’t see the need of doing such things, they even don’t understand why to do it.
What you said seems logical to me but it brought some additional thoughts to me. For example can we treat nazi society as a different culture with right to exist? Nowadays we live in so liberal times that we treat every world view as valid and with rights to be among the others. At some point of view it seems good, but at the other... it can lead to total chaos and destruction of any culture, any organized thrive to social and indirect personal development. Therefore shouldn't some cultures be forbidden? Shouldn't societies be more organized, more disciplined, more bounded? I know it is a thin border between going to far with it. But it can't leave my mind, because the issue is very important - if not so much yet, then it will be in future. People usually are short-sighted and see only that some concepts f.ex. from WWII as comunism were too restrictive, so then they went to another extremum. Similarly they have forgotten that comunism rose up because before it society were at another extremum to it also. Can we not to bounce from wall to wall but learn how to stay still and therefore be able to start to walk and maybe even run into some great direction of a future? ^^
DeleteGerman society belongs to the same civilization as we: Latin. Writing about cultures and civilization I meant something deeper. Something formed during thousand years not in decades. For example Christian morality and rules are different than Jewish or Hindu. Those rules work in society even if people aren’t religious now and are wider than one nation. They work because from hundred years people pass them and even don’t know that they have some rules different from others. They alter in different parts of globe because circumstances which formed them were different. Understanding of basic notions like freedom, equality etc. is not the same. It’s why cooperating is so difficult.
DeleteIt's interesting what you wrote and it is right in some range, because despite it I think the economy changes all cultures and nowaday we observe as thousends years cultures dissapear giving place to one globe culture base on money, fame and consumption. Isn't it?
DeleteLook on the quote: only 8% have money, 3 billion people can't read. "Globe culture" is culture of minority, even if it is the most powerful minority. And still I can't say that money, fame etc. creates culture, they are only means to an end. Means are to fulfil people's values and different civilizations are based on different values.
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ReplyDeleteI would love to be more optimistic about our future but I can't. I don't beleive that living together in prosperity all together is possible.
ReplyDeleteSomeone once said that world war IV will be fought with sticks and stones and I'm afraid that that it can be true. Our technology and ability to destory develops way faster than our societies and our morality.
Just look at great West - the most developed counties in the world - people there live in opression of political corectness imposed by the minority and I think that something that is based on a lie will not last.
There are may people that try to make the world a better place but it's still a minority compared to those who are lazy and selfish.
I think that hard conditions of past wars lead to strong people that wanted peace - but they are almost all dead now and in general new generations are more and more weak.
I still have hope though.
I think Einstein said it. I also bounce from hope to hopelessness. And you are right that no lie can last forever. Every problem will come to the focus sooner or later, but I hope it will be not too late and will be cared with wisdom, which will never run out.
DeleteAfter reading this article, the first thing that came to mind is that our civilization is heading for such climate. Fuel combustion produces CO2, which is transferred to our atmosphere. The climate is getting warmer, the glaciers are melting. Perhaps a similar future awaits us. But back to the topic. I think that people as individuals will never be able to live in such a way that everyone will be guaranteed a worthy being. We are egoists, we do not want to share. For this to change, we need many years of learning how to create a society where everyone can rely on each other. Every war was caused by the greed of a man who wanted to take away from others. Unfortunately, ordinary citizens usually lost on this. I hope, however, that the Earth will be able to exist as a civilization, where everyone cares for another human being.
ReplyDeleteI always liked the quote from the beginning of your article and I always wondered who said it. He/She was right! Most people can’t appreciate what they have. They dream about a better job, a bigger house and a faster car. They don't think about the fact that things which are everyday to them, can be other people's dreams. Unfortunately, we usually appreciate something when we lose it.
ReplyDeleteThat is a sad truth really. We take many things for grated without even imagining how the world would be without it.
DeleteOver the years we have experienced a lot of bad and yet we still can not unite. New conflicts and wars are still causing a great gap between us. The gap between the poor and the rich is also growing. In fact, we don't appreciate how much we have on a daily basis, and we get caught up in wanting more and more.
ReplyDeleteWe don't enjoy small things. I'm not happy that I have a roof over my head, warm clothes and a meal. I don't appreciate that I am healthy.
The desire to possess is ever greater, and material things often cover our eyes. We will not save the world, but we can appreciate small things more and respect each other.
Indeed it is very important to appreciate all of these. It is important to start from ourselves and then, maybe someday, there will be a possibility to spread this appreciation further and make other people do the same, what can contribute to the world becoming a better place ^^.
DeleteThe last few months brought me a revelation and a very positive one I must add.
DeleteI ended up in an industry where 99% of people are passionate. At first I saw nothing striking there. But then after embracing it I understood why it felt different. All those individuals are working for the same goal - to grow something they truly love. The outcome? Everyone from the C-levels to volunteers, the ones sleeping in 5-star suites and those from the suburbs are proudly wearing the exact same genuine smile and in that way they all feel equal.
I think that lack of appreciation is not that bad as it drives us forward. You won't be highly motivated if you feel like you have everything. Ofcourse we should always care about other ones, but there's nothing wrong in getting a lot for your self without doing any harm to anyone. I also think that spending some time on setting your wealthy life is really important as you will be able to help much more later. Lastly a lot of people that aren't in those 8%, just don't want your help or doesn't deserve it. I remember when I was younger and more naive, I always gave some spare coins if someone begged me that they need money for food, but nowadays instead of giving coins I'm proposing that I can buy them some food or even give some sandwiches from my backpack and in most cases they refuse it.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. It is crucious to maintain a balance. And it is different also from casual people and those at the top of a pyramide of power. The second ones are more responsible for proper shape of the civilization, but they do not make it really well unfortunately. I think they are lack of imagination. Actually this is a common problem nowadays regarding many people, because they are chopped into a given shape which mainstrem leads to, what lefts no space for new intelligent visions. We are a society of repetitiveness, not of creativity.
DeleteIt is hard to say which way the humanity follow. Nowadays, average person doesn't care about the fate of other people. We are only interested in temporary prosperity and we don't care our doings which may have irreversible effects. As an example can be using a huge amount of plastic which degradation after for thousands of years. An advanced civilizations very clever deal with it through shift the responsibility on others in the future. Very good example is here 'The Great Pacific Garbage Patch' which resulted from dump the trash into the ocean. For this moment, 'The Garbage Island' is more than two times bigger than Poland. Because of that I think, We as a humanity digging himself a mass grave and if we don't change our approach to problems like trash It is very possible a 'Dune' scenario is going to be true.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid of such scenarios :( Or thinking about not used nuclear bombs, which are stored by russians or americans. There are plenty of them and they are quite unstable. It is a thrilling thought. Anyway to maintain a mental stability I must have strong hope it is somehow secured and these things, as well polution and garbages, won't threat us all.
DeleteThis quote which was quoted at the beginning of the presentation is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteWe live in such times that people don't appreciate what they have and are still unhappy.
we appreciate what we have when it is too late.
They forget about the values that are really very important, that is family, health, love.
Of course, I don't appreciate what I have, because, for example, sleeping in a bed under the roof is normal for me.
I think it is fantastic too ^^. Yes, we get use to our comforts. But it has also maybe a good side - people get use to bad things the same. Sometimes it can be wrong, leading to passivity in face of some oppretion or injustice, but in some cases it allows people who suffer unconvertible illness to still experience happiness in life.
DeleteNow that is an interesting topic to discuss. Before I share my opinions I must say that I never watched the movie so my thoughts will be only based on my knowledge and that linked trailer.
ReplyDeleteI am certain that in the future people will have to come up with a better plan of how to take care of each other. Having big water problems can be a big problem faster that we think. Recently I watched documentary on Netflix Explained titled: World Water Crisis. It opens your eyes of how much water goes to waste and how valuable is becoming. I don't think we will drink our own liquids to survive but other extreme cases can happen. Then only the strongest will survive. Of course we need solution for water but saving as much possible is still really important.
I appreciate how easy we have access to fresh water, food or bed, don't want to know how world looks without it.
Link to Netflix series if you want to educate yourself: https://www.netflix.com/pl-en/title/80216752
Yes, it is a one threat among many of such ones... You're right, sometimes when I get shower I smile to myself that I have so many miraculous water ^^. Sometimes I think a casual citizen of the western world have a better life conditions that even a noble people one or two hundreds years ago - we have a symphony on simple noding of our finger on our smartphone, we can communicate with people with no bounds of space, we can travel fast by trains or planes, we have whole library of the world in our hands also, and so on.. We really have so power of potential and in so many cases we do not use it enough.
DeleteWestern civilization already came up with a solution how to care for weaker ones and it's called social service - opinion on if it's a good or a bad one might differ. You asked if I appreciate what I have. I think to appreciate something you need to earn it with hard work, to know the cos of getting it. And yes I appreciate what I have earned and feel comfortable with it.
ReplyDeleteGreat quote at the beginning of the article. However just because we have a better life than some people doesn't mean that we should be complacent. Having dreams, ambitions and motivation to surpass others and develop new ideas are the reason why we achieved so much as humanity. You asked about a society that will care about each other. I think that it is unfortunately a utopia. There were already some failed attempts to achieve this. For example socialism.
ReplyDeleteI think that we won't take care of each other. Look what happens even in the XXI century. We are so distanced to each other. Yes, we communicate faster, but we don't spend time together. Because of that, we can't recieve proper signals, because we forget how people act in certain situations. Future is like going to work, back home and spending time with your virtual friends. Regarding the beginning, yes we are lucky, and I'm very grateful for the opportunities that I have because of my parents or even ancestors who very clever enough to settle in a good place on the map :)
ReplyDeleteRegarding your questions it is always a common problem of governments which have to find the right balance if they want to support the poor, middle class, rich and large enterprises. Recently again it becomes more and more visible in Polish politics and tax system. New taxes are irritating for the groups that are charged with them, even more if the taxes never really existed before. Would you really like to have your salary divided by all the people in the world? Let’s say we calculated a mean earnings by the man in the world. If everybody would be given this amount of money regardless what they do, it would lead to total disaster and anarchy. The computer you read my comment is there because of financial systems, banking systems. Someone had to have more, someone had to accumulate more capital and it is nothing wrong, if it’s free market. Thanks to this someone could invest and share theirs idea, develop and create the new or improve the current, which satisfied the needs of many. I’ve never watched the movie Dune you proposed, but I think that the imperial colony would realise its position regarding water distribution is wrong, if it lost something they really needed - like society needs the water, but it would be only the society, that could satisfy them. The roles would reverse? Anyway it is possible to have a system in which everybody is satisfied with their needs. Equal does not always mean better.
ReplyDeleteI am Damian Sagan, I will investigate why it shows me as a unknown..
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DeleteMost likely in the future we will have to face some huge obstacle (nature cataclysm, epidemic etc.)which couldn't be bypassed and will force people to work as one unit. Otherwise the failure might be unavoidable. For now on, people are way too arrogant
ReplyDeleteso the dark scenario is more possible to happen. The cold shower on our heads is most likely the only thing that can unite us, hopefully we will not experience it. That's why I always try to respect everything I have, everything that I earned and me or my family worked on. The world is definitely not ready for testing our ability to cooperate on a global level.
Regarding your questions it is always a common problem of governments which have to find the right balance if they want to support the poor, middle class, rich and large enterprises. Recently again it becomes more and more visible in Polish politics and tax system. New taxes are irritating for the groups that are charged with them, even more if the taxes never really existed before. Would you really like to have your salary divided by all the people in the world? Let’s say we calculated a mean earnings by the man in the world. If everybody would be given this amount of money regardless what they do, it would lead to total disaster and anarchy. The computer you read my comment is there because of financial systems, banking systems. Someone had to have more, someone had to accumulate more capital and it is nothing wrong, if it’s free market. Thanks to this someone could invest and share theirs idea, develop and create the new or improve the current, which satisfied the needs of many. I’ve never watched the movie Dune you proposed, but I think that the imperial colony would realise its position regarding water distribution is wrong, if it lost something they really needed - like society needs the water, but it would be only the society, that could satisfy them. The roles would reverse? Anyway it is possible to have a system in which everybody is satisfied with their needs. Equal does not always mean better.
ReplyDeletePaweł, first of all I would like to congratulate you on choosing this topic. In my opinion problem is in human nature. We have two important and dangerous ‘factors’ in our genes. First factor is responsible for domination. We want to dominate each other. In most cases by violence. During last era it’s a little bit better because of the things called empathy and compassion. But it’s not enough to help all who needs help.
ReplyDeleteSecond factor is a procreation. We don’t know how control it. I think this will be the biggest challenge for human kind in next 100 years. Even poor, starving nations couldn’t control it. I strongly recommend a good novel about it. It’s fantasy, written by George R. R. Martin titled “Tuf Voyaging”. You should read it. I bet that you will not be disappointed.