Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

Ustwo · 09-16-2004, 09:30 AM

The one thing most people are, no matter how smart they may be, is short sighted.

Its almost tragic that people can only see the now or maybe the tomorrow, but rarely do they look beyond that. I am one of those who do, and the best way to gauge tomorrow is to look at the past. As such I’ve already read as much history as I could, took 300 level classes in college that gave me no credit as a biology major but I just wanted to take, and I’ve always had a love of archeology. Time truly does seem to flow, once you know enough of the past you can see the trends, see the evolution, see the direction. The concept of ‘ancient civilizations’ is lost, it is just civilization, and you come to know the Romans, Egyptians, Chinese etc were no more primitive, no more less intelligent, no more selfish then you. We feel very proud of ourselves, but try going without power and natural gas for a month and you will find your ancestors really knew what they were doing.

Sadly, I know sooner or later ‘Western’ civilization will fail. It won’t have to be a war, or hostile take over (though it could be), but the ideals and values will be gone. Some people have a hard time grasping this, but so would a citizen at the height of the Roman Empire who thought their way of life would last forever too.

Now in just over two months, baring any medical difficulties, I will be a father for the first time. With any luck I’ll have more children in the future. As my genes will go so will history. Four generations from now, I’ll be lucky if my youngest descendants will know my name on a family tree, in ten generations I’ll be lucky if they knew where the family came from.

Who knows what system of government they will live under. It might be utopian, and that would be nice, but it might well be a brutal dictatorship of a sort as well. There will always be people willing to be the next Saddam Hussein, next Uncle Joe, next Pol Pot, and perhaps your and my decedents will be subjugated by one of these types.

If that is the case, I can only hope that some future nation is willing to risk their own citizens, their own currency, their own lives to make my decedents free again. Who knows that nation might even be Iraq. I don’t think they will complain about the water not running immediately after.

09-16-2004, 09:30 AM	#13 (permalink)
Ustwo Pissing in the cornflakes	The one thing most people are, no matter how smart they may be, is short sighted. Its almost tragic that people can only see the now or maybe the tomorrow, but rarely do they look beyond that. I am one of those who do, and the best way to gauge tomorrow is to look at the past. As such I’ve already read as much history as I could, took 300 level classes in college that gave me no credit as a biology major but I just wanted to take, and I’ve always had a love of archeology. Time truly does seem to flow, once you know enough of the past you can see the trends, see the evolution, see the direction. The concept of ‘ancient civilizations’ is lost, it is just civilization, and you come to know the Romans, Egyptians, Chinese etc were no more primitive, no more less intelligent, no more selfish then you. We feel very proud of ourselves, but try going without power and natural gas for a month and you will find your ancestors really knew what they were doing. Sadly, I know sooner or later ‘Western’ civilization will fail. It won’t have to be a war, or hostile take over (though it could be), but the ideals and values will be gone. Some people have a hard time grasping this, but so would a citizen at the height of the Roman Empire who thought their way of life would last forever too. Now in just over two months, baring any medical difficulties, I will be a father for the first time. With any luck I’ll have more children in the future. As my genes will go so will history. Four generations from now, I’ll be lucky if my youngest descendants will know my name on a family tree, in ten generations I’ll be lucky if they knew where the family came from. Who knows what system of government they will live under. It might be utopian, and that would be nice, but it might well be a brutal dictatorship of a sort as well. There will always be people willing to be the next Saddam Hussein, next Uncle Joe, next Pol Pot, and perhaps your and my decedents will be subjugated by one of these types. If that is the case, I can only hope that some future nation is willing to risk their own citizens, their own currency, their own lives to make my decedents free again. Who knows that nation might even be Iraq. I don’t think they will complain about the water not running immediately after. __________________ Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.