I know it’s more pleasant to think that this is the result of propaganda by a small number of awful people, but at some point we have to accept that we, as a species, are awful as a whole. Including ourselves.
I don’t think we’re awful as a whole. To some extent, I need to believe this, in order to avoid breaking down and killing myself. However, I do think it counts for something that there are so many people who want humans to be better, and are doing what they can. I think that resigning oneself to humans being awful will lead to a world with more awfulness.
I think a lot of awfulness is just the result of a poor internal model of the world. Intentionally spreading a poor model of the world is an effective propaganda strategy and often done. However it is difficult to tell apart people who have been lied to and people who have been unintentionally misled.
I think a great many people, myself included, have been misled about a great many things. Mostly not even out of maliciousness, but because reality is not as obvious as it could be. Our perspectives are often so limited. My takeaway from all this is to try and broaden my perspective, and when possible, give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they just need some new information, or the removal of a malign influence.
I know it’s more pleasant to think that this is the result of propaganda by a small number of awful people, but at some point we have to accept that we, as a species, are awful as a whole. Including ourselves.
I don’t think we’re awful as a whole. To some extent, I need to believe this, in order to avoid breaking down and killing myself. However, I do think it counts for something that there are so many people who want humans to be better, and are doing what they can. I think that resigning oneself to humans being awful will lead to a world with more awfulness.
And they’re all still failing at making us even a halfway respectable species.
I think a lot of awfulness is just the result of a poor internal model of the world. Intentionally spreading a poor model of the world is an effective propaganda strategy and often done. However it is difficult to tell apart people who have been lied to and people who have been unintentionally misled.
I think a great many people, myself included, have been misled about a great many things. Mostly not even out of maliciousness, but because reality is not as obvious as it could be. Our perspectives are often so limited. My takeaway from all this is to try and broaden my perspective, and when possible, give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they just need some new information, or the removal of a malign influence.
Humans like to think they’re cool.
Humans are not cool.
Deal with it.
I feel like that sometimes too :(