Opinion by Peter Bentley
I have been intrigued over the last few years by the seemingly increasingly bemoaning of the state of the world, particularly within the church. The timing could be partly related to the ongoing impact of what I term ‘Covid Syndrome,’ namely the focus on saying how bads things are and indeed how bad they will get because this [insert here ‘virus,’ ‘war’ …] has made it the worst time ever. The seeds, however, have been developing for a while.
There are many facets to take into consideration when thinking about the state of the world. Factors that often stand out when we consider the state of the world include.
War. Yes, there are wars and there will be more. There have been few periods of recorded history when there have not been significant wars somewhere, but when things were quieter it was usually because one power had subjugated others to the extent of compliance. Some wars stand out in terms of numbers killed, ratios of population and civilians killed, and the type of violence inflicted.
I have heard mentioned that the last year or two with Ukraine and Palestine is the worst ever and the world is coming to an end, and yet there are many people still alive who have personally experienced times that were substantially worse. World War II and the major wars following, and numerous massacres in specific countries around the world stand out in just the last 75 years. Perhaps those born in this century are not aware that it will be the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan massacre this year?
Disease. For those who believed the wildly hysterical promotions of possible death numbers with Covid, they had clearly not heard about the impact of plagues in past centuries.
The economy. We usually think of this in our own country and in the context of how we, or those who know are faring.
Natural disasters and climate. Interestingly there are many other periods in recorded history and in geological history that historians regard as worse, and yet there is now a populist movement riding high on climate apocalypticism, oddly removing hope for the next generation and at the same time unwittingly encouraging overconsumption with an ‘eat and drink for there is no tomorrow’ mentality.
Crime and Safety Concerns, including riots, terrorism and domestic turmoil, corruption in the context of government and business. Drugs feature prominently, but remember the Opium Wars? It is helpful to review this period, as it provides greater understanding of the development of Chinese nationalism in a communist state.
Attitudes to Traditional Sanctity of Life Issues
This is an interesting one as it depends on your beliefs or philosophy. For example, some people believe euthanasia is a sign of moral improvement because it endorses human autonomy, or even economic efficacy. For Christians, the wilful promotion of euthanasia and abortion are a clear sign of a society disconnecting from God’s laws.
Understanding of and appreciation of our identity and our creation as humans, including our status as female or male. Standing out is the long scourge of slavery and continuing contemporary forms of slavery, and particularly the treatment of women.
And the list could go on …
But why do some people now think it is such a cruel and bad place? There are many possible reasons why people have come to believe the world is so bad now. A few thoughts are below.
A lack of historical perspective
There has been a growing ‘ahistorical’ understanding. People tend to focus on the now, without thinking about what has happened in the past. We also mainly consider our own area, and if that is presently reasonably quiet in comparison to the images on our screens, we can tend to think it is really bad in the world overall.
The Visual Environment of Today
We have moved into an increasingly visual society with images accessible at our fingertips wherever we are. There is less concentrated reading in general, and seemingly less inclination to take time and do your own research and thinking about issues. Whether your prime media is only the legacy media, or a favourite social media commentator, there is another common feature, repetition and repetition.
Repetition is a key to emphasising a message and getting people to believe or react, so it is not surprising that people end up thinking everything is getting worse if a report and images illustrating the latest issue are constantly repeated.
Mental Health Issues, including Cognitive Difficulties
Some people are simply not able to consider the many complex ethical and moral issues that arise in our world. Some have no interest whatsoever in even attempting to think about the world around them, let alone any nuances in discourse. For some difficulties are linked to personal mental health challenges, particularly those associated with depression. This is aggravated by the tendency to focus more on the negative events and elements in the world, and when news and social media centres on the negative as well, a vicious cycle ensues.
Societal changes
Following on from the last point, significant issues are arising due to the increase in solitary living arrangements. This is coupled with a decline in community connections and basic physical contact, and an overabundance of disconnected social media leading to an increase in loneliness, and associated worries about what is happening in the world.
There is now a more general acceptance of involvement with, and often reliance on, different forms of drugs and this is breaking down past established patterns of ordinary living and common practice.
While many in Australian society in past times were not Christian, there was a more established Christian ethical foundation and rite of practice that helped to provide a framework for living from birth to death. The breaking of the nexus has ushered in a new era of uncertainty and unpredictable ethical consideration that accentuates a general ambiguity and often bewilderment about what is happening in the world.
Generational issue issues
Each generation has an issue that is a focus for some part of their life cycle. The Vietnam War, leading to the peace movement and the nuclear disarmament movement were significant issues in past decades. People today are more adept at serial moralism, partly because our attention span is made more limited, so we are prone to focus on one issue and with heightened media input there can be more issues one after another. We can then more easily lurch to the next issue when that issue becomes the dominant one in the news cycle.
Living in and reading the signs of the times
I will provide some further advice, but it is appropriate at this point to highlight a helpful resource that encourages a broader reflection on the issues of the impact of news today and how to consider the news as a Christian. This is Jeffrey Bilbro’s Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News (2017).
(Part two, here)
Peter Bentley
pkbentleyarchive.com
Earth credit: Przemek Pietrak/ wikimedia
Bandaid credit: Band Aid Flat Icon Vector.svg from Wikimedia Commons by Videoplasty.com, CC-BY-SA 4.0
Really helpful thanks!! “Hearing the truth is rarely ever pleasing
But it’s clarity for the soul and we all need it, need it” Phil J (musician) from his song “Slave”
Thank you Annette. Not a perfect article, particularly when one tries to reflect in a dispassionate way today. I certainly do not claim to be a prophet, but I hope this and the next part raise relevant issues to consider at this Kairos time. I mentioned to John that given the length this article was better in two parts, but the theme builds, and the second part has more comment on the Christian context.