There are many and various
changes overcoming us, some more rapidly than others. Some are thought to be "progress",
although that is debatable. Others are
thought to be going backward, others simply being taking another direction.
A couple of centuries ago,
and at times earlier, there were attempts to create societies on a basis of, at
its simplest, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
In some nations and places there were situations which approximated to
this, notably in those which were then among the wealthier.
Today, it looks like we
could all be headed for Servility, Partiality and Diversity. The ancient Romans and Greece, for all the
ideas in their philosophies and literature, would have understood this to be
the norms of reality.
As you look around human history
and much of the present world these are much closer to the actual life of most places
than of those happy, or not quite so happy developed states. One of the perverse effects of "human
rights" is that the rights of some becomes the oppression of others.
If we look at what is
going on in Washington DC, London, Brussels, Berlin etc. it is not just that
government is becoming highly centralised with dominating elites, it is that
the tidal waves of laws and directives are issued with scant concern for the
opinions and needs of the lower orders.
This is prompted by
reading an item in Science Daily about academics Looking For
Slaves in ancient Pompeii with its vivid description of what ordinary life
may have been like. Today we look on all
this as old history.
In fact much of human
history since we moved into towns and settled communities has been like this. Even in the more rural and less wealthy
groups there were usually clear divisions to be observed and adhered to. These were usually reinforced by religion as
well as laws and the behavioural demands of those who ruled.
It is possible that what
has happened in the West for a few generations now is simply a system that went
wrong as opposed to being a new world system for all and for all our futures. Our new religions are those imposed by the
media and consumer economies.
There is a fairly simple
test for anyone. Who are you obligated
to, bound by and have to obey. Why is
that and what can you do about it? Just
what real freedoms do you have? Why do
you have to spend so much and so much time on things you neither want or need?
Don't forget to pay the
mortgage/rent, credit card bills, energy bills and TV costs. Also, there are other things to be done if
you do not want to find yourself being in trouble. Be very careful what you say and how you function
in relation to others.
And remember to put the
right rubbish bin out at the right time or there will be penalties.
"the tidal waves of laws and directives"
ReplyDeleteThere is no way to stop it because so many are employed to keep it coming. As ever, it will stop when it all falls over.
As a Yank, we have more problems with coming to grips with the reality that you posit. The self image over here is that we are free. But the pace of the intrusion on the shibboleth's that we hold as our freedoms have been accelerating lately.
ReplyDeleteThere are reasons that the Ancien Regime held together as long as it did. The Age of Enlightenment that followed carried with it the seeds of its own destruction.