“Signs of the Times?”
by Dennis
Most people think we live in unique times. This is a sensible conclusion: We've achieved an unprecedented level of technology. We've sent men to the Moon and brought them back. We understand the universe in greater detail than ever before. In just a century, we've nearly doubled life expectancy. We have modern conveniences that were undreamed of, as little as a few decades ago. We're connected to each other by the broadcast media and the Internet, making the world a "global village."
But recent events show that we still have a long way to go. Strife in the Middle East, for example, has come home to roost here in the United States. But that's not all. In many countries, violence is a way of life — as it is here at home, in our inner cities. Some Americans fear opening their own mail, worried about what might be inside. For all that humanity has accomplished, we still haven't learned to live together, nor does it appear that we will, any time soon. What's worse, with the attacks of September 11 and the anthrax scares, the turbulence seems closer to home than ever.
It's enough to make anyone depressed, let alone those of us who suffer from the illness of that name!
Well, take heart: As is written in Ecclesiastes, "There is nothing new under the sun." Humanity has lived through troubled times. In fact, it's hard to think of a period in which there was no wide-scale turbulence. The so-called pax Romana, or the peace of the Roman Empire, came at a cost — that being, constant warfare at the fringes of Rome's territory. This period certainly was no "pax," from the point of view of the Roman legions or their adversaries! The "peace of Rome" was only relative.
The second century, for example, was marked by generational rebellion. Each generation considered itself more enlightened than the one before. This should be familiar: These days we mark ourselves by our generation: there's "the Greatest Generation," the Baby Boomers, "Gen-Xers," and even "Gen-Y."
Even within the heart of the Roman Empire, places which prospered in unprecedented ways, there was still trouble. Some thought the end of the world was imminent; buoyed by an "anything-goes" philosophy, they rioted in the streets.
Does this sound familiar? Millennial fever? Many were convinced the world would end at midnight, January 1, 2000. Some thought the "Y2K" problem would torpedo all high-tech equipment, leaving the world without electricity, water supplies, or sanitation. Others thought that a more supernatural apocalypse would take place.
Never mind that the 2nd millennium didn't actually begin until January 1, 2001. That fact didn't stop people from predicting impending doom.
Well, the doom never fell upon us. Y2K didn't destroy technology. The Messiah didn't come. (That we know of, anyway!)
But this hasn't stopped folks from revising their predictions. They now look forward to dates for the apocalypse, supposedly predicted by the Mayans or the Egyptians, or encoded in the Bible, etc.
In every case, people are convinced that this time, it's for real; all those other predictions were mistaken.
The same thing applies to our view of the world. We don't live in times that are fundamentally different from what came before. Humanity is still pretty much the same, psychologically and emotionally, as it was 2,000 — or even 3,000 or 4,000 — years ago. Technology may have changed, but that's about it.
This may seem an even more depressing thought — but there's a flip side to it! We have lived through such times, before. We will continue to live through them, in the future. Barring some sort of natural disaster — such as an asteroid hurtling into our planet from outer space — humanity will probably survive indefinitely.
This doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. We have improved — slightly. Many cultures have developed ideals, such as respect for life and for others' welfare. These ideals haven't reached every part of the globe, and even where they're honored, not everyone lives up to them. But slowly, they're seeping into humanity's consciousness.
The bottom line is, if you are worried about the current world situation, and your own fate, understand that things are not as bleak as they appear, nor are you alone in your concern. Uncountable millions of people have lived through turbulent times, before, and will undoubtedly do so, again. You aren't alone in your worry.