Going Forward

I have reached an age where I might only have 20 years left.  Possibly much less if I develop a major health problem.  If I try to live healthy, then I might live another 30 years or even longer.  Regardless, everybody comes to a point in their life where the road ahead looks shorter than the road behind. Eventually, that road is short enough that no matter how distant, the end is still in view.  This has a way of focussing the mind that wasn't there before.

This causes me to be pretty contemplative about what it all means.  I define my own life in terms of the things that I find valuable, and I'm not worried about any of the choices that I have made.

However, I look at humanity and I feel that in many ways we are worse off.  We face many crises.  In the worst-case scenario, we could get into another World War, with the possible use of nuclear weapons.  Or disease could rear its ugly head again and the next pandemic could be far worse.

However, I think that the more likely danger is financial.  Our government is so far in debt that we are rapidly going bankrupt, and this is a disaster from which we may never recover.  Other countries have serious financial problems as well.  Meanwhile, the cost of everything like housing, medicine, and education are becoming too much for people to afford.

I am very concerned about how divided we are.  We can't agree on basic facts.  It used to be that this country had certain founding principles that everyone agreed on, such as free speech.  However, there is no longer any common ground.  It used to be that no matter how much people disagreed, there still was respect for each other as fellow citizens.  Now your opinion can cost you your job, your safety, and maybe even your life.

Objective truth no longer exists.  People don't even try.  We are in a post-truth age where people believe whatever sounds good, and then claim that their belief is scientific.  Either the human race has become much more delusional, or it was never very rational to begin with.

I consider it my birthright to live in a free country.  Unfortunately, the world now is very different from the one I was born in.  We have long abandoned any notion of constitutional government with limits on its power.  Where this will lead us I don't know, but probably not someplace good.