Posted by juniper on May 29, 2000, at 3:23:36
In reply to Re: Useless words, posted by Cam W. on May 28, 2000, at 22:01:18
a few more useless words as i procrastinate, of all things, sleep:
i think that the evils of progression have less to do with environmental factors (poisons?) affecting our brains and bodies, than with progression affecting and confusing our minds. i imagine that it has always been somewhat difficult to grow up confident enough in one's abilities to disregard others' opinions and shoulds and to follow one's dreams. (and since i know little of other generations, i am making a leap to say that it is harder now) (but in the late 1700s a rabbi mourned--wide spread atheism and immortality in the world today, and in the 1500s St. Teresa wrote to her brother--there is so much worldliness nowadays that i simply hate having posessions)
but now it seems, at least in the united states, that there is a new breed of cookie cutter followers who walk around with their identical suits, cell phones, and palm pilots. if it is, and rightly so, difficult to capture an individual and subjective feeling
succinctly in words (because, i am assuming, people and their feelings differ widely), how is it that we have masses of people who spend their days exactly like thousands of others? it seems to me that variety is molded to serve a purpose most useful to the few extreme upper class, but the molding is barely perceptable because it is hardly different from society. blurs on TV, cell phones, call waiting, lap tops, palm pilots, beepers are all perfectly fine in their own right, but i think that too many people rely on them as not to miss a bit of information then to prioritize their time that is dwindling because now they need to DEAL with all this new information. our lives are creating problems and solutions to problems. we are changing technology faster than we can change ourselves.
maybe this is leading to increases in depression, maybe not. my depression felt too viseral to be explained away like this---a chemical explanation gave me validation that what i was feeling was not attributable to weakness or laziness. but since i do not live in a vaccuum, my surroundings will always influence and affect my moods, thoughts, ideas, feelings (and hence my hormones, neurotransmitters etc.)--isn't it more comforting though to think about changing tiny particles that have been manipulated in labs than to take on the predominant culture?
poster:juniper
thread:34979
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000526/msgs/35059.html