Stupid Adbusters
I hate Adbusters. They’re depressing. They make me feel like shit. So I try to avoid them like the plague. But dammit. They’ve usually got a point. So this time they’re talking about how our modern society has become toxic to the mental health of its inhabitants. Scary thought. Simply put, the rise in mental health problems (depression, schizophrenia, adiction, etc) is the direct result of our moern cultural environment. Cheery thought. Basically it points to a conclusion I keep trying to avoid — somthing is BIG TIME wrong with the world. Sometimes it seems the real danger isn’t nuking our specias into oblivion but progressing it into oblivion. However, I cannot accept the idea that progress is anathema to the well being of the human condition. Are people so self-destructive that we can createa culture in whichc we are effectively destroying our minds? Must we regress to some luddite utpoia for happiness to infuse itself throughout our begin? I hope not. So how do we create progress without melting our brains? Should we slow down? This brings me back to that favorite cliche of cyberpunks — progress (of all flavors) outstripping our own ability to control it and comprehend it. Are we destined to end up like in a world like Blade Runner? Is it inevitable? I think not. So what do we do? I don’t know. But it seems like it’s about time for some good ole grassroots evolution to happen. I don’t think revolution is the way to go, seems to me that we have a lot of cruft to dislodge that sticks around after revolutions. Unless we’re talking industrial revolution type revolution, which was more of a really fast evolution if you ask me. Either way, it’s time to start doing something, changing the precepts by which we understand the world and our place in it.