Where are we in history and culture?

[Eric the Green]

We live in interesting and changing times.

Culturally, the best art and music is found on the ignored fringes, such as ambient music. It may be that ambient music will be what these years are remembered for. I like Justin Bieber and all, but what does it say about us that the best artists of our time are Justin Bieber, or one of Rags' favorite rock bands like Airborne? Or a girl pop star? PBS gives us "great performances," and there's endowments for the humanities, but that does not provide us with any achievement in these areas.

We don't think we can write great music or paint great paintings today. There is some greatness in architecture though, although it's little known. We mostly think greatness is technological invention and development. But technology alone will only leave a legacy of tools. What do we use them for? Texting while driving? Posting pictures of trips or parties? Tech is valued because of the economic power and wealth it brings. But again, this is only a means to a purpose we seem to have lost. Our advances in science are a value that will last, but as knowledge it only scratches the surface. So we also need to look deeper too toward the advances in our times in depth psychology and esoteric practices, and where they can lead us.

So we need to develop greater respect for and dedication to the creative arts.

We also live in times of paradigm shifts. These have retreated from public consciousness as the 4T has renewed and extended our obsession with economics. But the needs of the time still call us. We need to respect the Earth and its gifts to us. She makes our lives possible here. That means shifting the way we use the Earth to meet our needs; principally our energy technologies. We need to see that we live in a spiritual world as well as a physical one, so that we can revere and respect life, ourselves and all living beings, and not reduce them to objects for our use. We need to recognize our own consciousness and its depths, and further those trends of our time that release human potential and imagination. 

We need to see ourselves not as separate individuals, but as integral parts of the greater whole, and as wholes ourselves. We are interdependent on what we all can do for each other through sharing our wealth and our unique talents. We need to see that each of us has the economic opportunity to unfold our lives in peace and reasonable prosperity, rather than reserving these things for the fortunate few. We need to respect and honor all people, regardless of which group they are in, and to reduce fighting between us, and to do what we can to help depose the tyranny of corrupt, oppressive and murderous rulers, especially if they are our own. We need to support those movements that advance these paradigms, so that our living world is sustainable and fulfilling.

May America, and our times, be truly great. Happy Anniversary to the USA.

[pbrower2a]

We do so well at creating stuff, yet so badly at creating happiness. We are good at generating profits and elite incomes yet terrible at alleviating poverty.

Sometimes I conclude that the wealth on the books for the ownership elites and the high incomes of the managerial elite come from human suffering.

We are on the age brink of non-scarcity (forget the "Age of Aquarius" nonsense), when all the basic human needs are possible with slight effort -- except that a few people have decided, out of their greed and narcissism that happiness must be denied to the rest of us.

Prosperity does not mean that a few can live like sultans; it means that nobody needs to need. If the post-modern economy fails at creating happiness then we must scrap it and return to the old one.