Is the world better or worse than it used to be?

fernsA few months ago, Chad was thinking about writing a story that would take place in the future. He started thinking about what the world would be like in 100 years, and whether it would be better or worse than it is now. He started randomly asking people if they thought the world had gotten better or worse over time.

The answers were interesting and, at times, incredibly contrary to each other based on the answerer’s worldview. I don’t know how I could even answer that question. My favorite answer came from someone who coworks with Chad: “No man, I don’t do those kinds of dichotomies.” A very West Philly answer. It leaves room for paradox and tension and reality. Things are of course better in some ways and worse in others.

I have a bunch of blog post ideas, but I can’t bear to write a floofy round up or something. Not with what’s going on in the world. It’s been a difficult several weeks to wrap your head around, and I don’t feel that I have anything wise enough to contribute to the cacophony that more eloquent people haven’t said already. Right now, my privileged, first-world, upper middle class, white heart is incredibly heavy.

Mike Brown. Ferguson. Gaza. ISIS. Christian children being beheaded in Iraq. Ebola. Friends who’ve suddenly lost loved ones. Injustice upon injustice. They need to be acknowledged.

Anne Lamott is one of my favorite writers. And though she is oft-quoted, I still think this is appropriate:

Our preacher Veronica said recently that this is life’s nature: that lives and hearts get broken – those of people we love, those of people we’ll never meet. She said the world sometimes feels like the waiting room of the emergency ward and that we who are more or less OK for now need to take the tenderest possible care of the more wounded people in the waiting room, until the healer comes. You sit with people, she said, and you bring them juice and graham crackers.

This world feels like the emergency ward. I don’t know if it is getting better. I hope it is.


Comments

3 responses to “Is the world better or worse than it used to be?”

  1. thanks for writing this. i haven’t seen many other bloggers broach the subject, and you did it gracefully. i’ve actually been thinking about this dichotomy a lot in the recent years. i was very involved at the texas capitol last summer with all the wendy davis filibustering and such. the people running as republicans in my state positively terrify me, and some of the things they want would take us back to pre-1950s. there are some really amazing things happening for women, racial minorities, and members of the L&G communities (i cannot include bi or especially trans* in that, because it’s simply untrue). on the other hand, there are some devastating and terrifying things happening to women, racial minorities, immigrants, trans*people, impoverished people, etc etc etc. we shouldn’t still be fighting for these things in 2014.

    sorry for the long comment. i’ve had a lot of feels lately and no where to put them. i love that anne lomott quote. i wish i personally had enough juice and graham crackers for everyone, and i often feel helpless when i don’t.

    ack, didn’t mean to end on a sad note. you’re a beautiful writer with a powerful voice. thanks for sharing.

    xo nicole
    writeslikeagirlblog.com

    1. Don’t apologize for the long comment! I really appreciate such a thoughtful response, and I’m glad you shared. I was kind of anxious about bringing any of this up, but I felt like I couldn’t write anything else until I acknowledged it. The Michael Brown and Ferguson story has been on my mind pretty constantly, and it felt disingenuous (and disrespectful) to not mention it at all.

      It’s partly that we know about all the horrible things happening now, when we used to not be aware, but I do think there are maybe a few things that are worse. For example, the economic situations in rural areas that used to be built on manufacturing, political vitriol, and less emphasis on family (I mean that in a totally not creepy way) and community. But by and large, things have gotten better for many groups, which is awesome! We definitely still have a ways to go. I’m super privileged to not be forced to think about this all of the time based on my race or gender identity.

      Maybe it’s true that there’s nothing new under the sun: hate, greed, injustice — these have always existed. But so have hope, reconciliation, and concern for one another.

      I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore — I clearly have a lot of feels about this, too and am just dumping out all my thoughts right now.

      Anyway. Thanks for reading & responding, Nicole. It means a lot.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *