A Puerile Mindset

Modernity has shown to human beings uncontrollable, destructive forces, which knock us to our feet leave us stripped of our dignity by tearing apart our carefully crafted world. The modern concept of government and economy have two things in common: The first being our incredulousness over the fact that terrorism, hunger, poverty, war, crime and pain can, and do happen to us, and happen all the time without our consent.
Secondly, this world is not a static entity. In fact, is it quite the contrary. The globe we live on is a stormy sea where calm can never be predicted or kept for long. Because the world is defined by change, and unruly gusts of events that throw our ships off course, it would logically follow that humanity has discovered this truth to be self evident and has adjusted properly to such a reality. It is, in all honesty, quite the contrary.
The Ancients were wise, much wiser than the modern man because they understood and accepted the changing world as a simple truth. This affected their lives so that they looked at their role in the world as subject to the phenomenon around them. Modern man has his head in a cloud. The Enlightenment ideals of such philosophers as Descartes, Hume, Locke, and Rousseau have given him the vision that man can actually 'solve' problems the world presents and sit back, rest, and relax while pondering new ideas. For example, the way government is handled, is in a very idealistic manner, as if the existence of problems could be resolved simply by theorizing and working it out. History, Sociology, and Political textbooks show war, economic downtimes, racial conflicts, etc. as strange phenomenon that should be stopped immediately, and once they are, they will never happen again. The notion of progress is completely absurd and foolish. Modern man thinks he is far ahead of the past, that he has finally subdued nature and is in control of all that surrounds him. The problem with the 21st century, is that every person is in shock or awe when something bad happens. For example, the present economic crisis has sent millions of people in a tailspin. Everyone wants to know how it happened? Why? And how to prevent it from happening again. What every person fails to acknowledge is the fact that perfection didn't exist before. Whoever said the economy was doing well five years ago was wrong. Which economy? Nothing new has happened, that hasn't happened before. The scientific mind of modern man is obsessed with perfection. Modern man thinks he can perfect himself and the world around him. What happens when something goes wrong? He has to begin again, this time, with more problems than before. The world appears to be becoming more and more complex. It is just as complex as it was thousands of years ago. What has changed? The constant of change, the cycle of the world in motion. People who accepted the simple truth of change were the ones who created monarchies, developed traditions, rich cultures, and above all, rested. The modern world cannot rest because modern man hasn't realized that he can't halt the motion, or hinder the unknown. If he did, he would be spending his time creating beautiful things, building relationships, and enjoying his work, his time, no matter how long or short it might be. He did not complain, revolt, throw out his existence as it is. He was aware of pain, felt it, saw it, created it. But he did not try to escape from it, solve it, or rename it. He was a lover, not a scientist. His world, though always on shaky ground, was very solid. The ancient world developed permanence, while modern man develops emptiness. The ancient world left a thirst for wonder, while modern man is quarreling for control. The modern world is childish because it tries to fit scientific models on a wild, unharnessed world.
If a sense of mystery, intrigue, and curiosity is gone it is because humans have forgotten how to see with their own eyes. Instead, they substitute their eyes with a telescope, a microscope, a camera lens, or a scope on a machine gun. The lesson to learn here is this. The world is made of change. Human life is one of transition. Starting from this simple truth, one can see immediately what can and cannot be done. Fixing the economy, creating the best system of government, developing better technology, all these things are really very petty goals for any human being to have. Building foundations from real dirt, instead of castles in the sky is a wiser way to spend one's life.
Besides our desire for control, there is a contradictory force in all of us that goes against our own reason and judgment. We don't realize we even have it, but it is there, deep within the core of our being. It is the urge to destroy. The desire to break what we've made, ruin our progress, tear everything apart and burn it. This desire comes from our desperation for more, our feeling that this world is inadequate, and cannot provide. We seek fulfillment, and this world won't bring it to us. So we are tired of trying, and so we destroy. Secondly, we want to destroy because we want to test our lives and see what is real, if it is real. We are disappointed when life doesn't work out, because then we know deeply, and profoundly that we are fallen, and separated from the true reality that defines us and gives us meaning. The place we are wanted then most isn't around so we search for satisfaction on earth and its no where to be found. We need disappointment even though we, in our rational minds don't think so. Another problem with science is that it tricks us. We are so reliant on our reason that we fail to recognize there are other factors within us, working against our reason, so we are self defeated and then, we don't know why.