The Flip Side

It's easy to have a bleak outlook on the future of humans. Based on the statistics, it would be unrealistic to not have a sense of pessimism. Hell, based on personal experience, it's hard not to place any sense of optimism on the shelf.

That said, there are movements that push against the decline of society, whatever that may mean to you. There is a strong movement to return to the nuclear family, or at least an updated version of it. I don't foresee people having as many kids as they did in the past for a multitude of reasons but parents are making more of an effort to have stronger and healthier relationships with the children that they do have. To raise their children in a way that is different than how they were raised so that they can go into the world with more self-awareness and understanding. Parents may only have a few children due to whatever circumstances befall them, but that doesn't mean that their children will follow the same path, especially if they are given a different outlook and a better future.

Medicine is always improving, as is our knowledge on health, nutrition, and fitness. There are those who protest against these advancements, but they are a vocal minority. We have more interest and access to what's in our food and how it affects us and can make better decisions based on this. A sharper lens has been placed on reproductive health and how we can create longer, healthier, and happier lives. As those in my generation get older, we see the struggles of the previous generations and seek to break those cycles for ourselves. I hate to sound so harsh, but those who are complacent against such things are likely going to die off sooner, and will leave behind those who take their lifestyle more seriously. Those who take it seriously are likely to spread those values to others in their life.

With social media, it's easier than ever to find information to better yourself, to better the world around you, to even be made aware that there are elements of the self and society that are in desperate need of changing. Admittedly, this is a double edged sword as many of the people who promise to have answers are hurt people preaching to hurt people and this only contributes to the mess. But empty, easily debunked messages have short shelf lives and in the age of information, are prone to lose support through a sharp and swift downfall. Some realize what's happening, jump ship, and move on while others go down with it. To make another harsh statement, those who go down with the ship are also likely to die off before the rest- though in this sense, I mean that mostly metaphorically. They too, serve as a warning to others who may have walked their path but still have the time to re-evaluate.

We are all tired of misinformation, lies, and deceit and have turned a sharper eye onto it, demanding more from the people we choose to invest our time and energy in. We are pickier when it comes to partners and friendships. Some people are absolutely unrealistic in this regard, but I think learning to set stronger boundaries and standards begets better long term relationships, romantic or otherwise. Younger generations are doing this en masse. They may struggle to understand themselves and others, but they are not unwilling to learn as the alternative causes an undeniable strife. It's not that we don't want meaningful relationships, it's that we don't have much clear guidance on how. Emotional growth is a slow process, but it is still a work in progress all the same.

Humans put themselves in a very sticky situation, but we are not ignorant to this. Everyone wants to see better (though some people really do just want to watch the world burn) but have different ideas on how to get there which is where I think much of our struggle lies. Despite the doom and gloom pushed to us in the media, and the hysterical voices of the loudest ones in the room, I see the landscape shifting. Will it be the same? No. Are we doomed? I don't believe so. Different is not a death sentence, though we very well may need a moment of intense healing before we can see desired trends moving in an upward direction. These trends didn't decline for no good reason. Society doesn't go off the deep end spontaneously- it is a direct response to the trends of the past and our ability/inability to view them with honesty and perspective.

This is all anecdotal, of course. Based purely on personal observation. My beliefs push against the hard numbers and I recognize that. But I see social, political, and cultural trends that I believe will cause those hard numbers to change in the coming decades. Humans are not endangered. The downfall of humanity has been preached for a very long time, and yet we've managed to ebb and flow for centuries. We're figuring out what doesn't work and how to change it. Growing pains are inevitable.