The complexity of the modern world can often seem bewildering. Terrorist bombings, mass murder, gang violence, governmental strangulation of the economy, confiscatory taxation, lame-brained conspiracy theories, faith-based ideologies, political demagoguery laced with cynicism and lies--all of these are so commonplace that we accept them as ordinary. Yet we also live in a world where science and modern technology open amazing new possibilities so fast we can barely keep pace. How is that possible? How can the startling achievements of the human mind co-exist with unconscionable brutality and evil everywhere we look?
How to make sense of it all? Should we just accept the fact that mankind is irrational and learn to live with ugliness, destruction, senseless death and depravity? Or are there cultural forces at work which explain the madness--ideas which undercut progress and make all the evils we see possible? And are there potential solutions which could offer a way toward a better tomorrow?
In other words: Is it a rational universe? Given certain philosophical and cultural sources, does the current day orgy of death and depravity have a certain logic behind it?
The basic premise of this blog is that there are very specific causes for the world we see around us--and very specific solutions. And the first step toward creating a better world--where happiness and success rather than ugliness and gore dominate the news--is to understand what those cultural forces are. And that requires a mind that is open to challenging the most fundamental beliefs we have come to live by.
Rational, independent thought is the pathway to clarity. And it starts with each individual mind. The world will not be saved by elections or mass demonstrations or revolutionary guillotines. It can only be saved one life at a time.
