Most people only think about their life. What are they going to eat for their next meal? What is their boss going to ask them to do? Getting through the day is the first and foremost task. This is however short sighted because there are bigger issues at hand that you have probably thought about but most likely not often. This post will bring some that cross my mind.
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Dan Reynolds
In a less popular song by Imagine Dragons called Hear Me, the line “Maybe if I fall asleep, I won’t breathe right” hit me in a way that I’m sure Dan Reynolds did not anticipate. Or maybe he did. In no relation to the song, this lyric makes me think that at any point of your life, you might not wake up if you go to sleep. Most people thoughtlessly go through life with a feeling of obligation that you will wake up and die of old age. Life doesn’t work that way. It’s obviously crazy to live your life paranoid that at anytime you could keel over and die, but the possibility exists.
You are 1 of 7 billion people. Your specific life has no meaning whatsoever in the grand scheme of things. Nobody remembers that shitty ass presentation I gave in Business Communication when I couldn’t remember any of my part. This macro perspective is wonderful to have when undertaking risks. People only care about themselves and you are a second thought. Recognizing the magnitude of 7 billion is also mind blowing.
The United States isn’t Obama. It’s 400 years of European immigrants who have created a melting pot of people from all over the Earth. The US is this incredible super power who has resources and technology that allow it to reign over poorer countries. As pointed out by Gourlay in this post, even though we think we have problems, others have it much worse. Residents of this country seem to think that we are the central hub of the world. False.
The wild idea of intelligent computers taking over the world or aliens abducting the planet are not as far fetched as immediately received. Humans have been on the Earth for around 200,000 years and the Earth has been around for 4.5 billions years. Nobody can predict the future and saying things cannot happen is incredibly closed minded. I personally don’t believe in God or ghosts but if a beam of unknown light starts sending people up to the sky, I’m on board.
I learned from The 90’s: The Last Great Decade (incredible program finishing tonight) a theory exists that OJ was acquitted as payback for the Rodney King beatings. It truly was amazing watching all the white police officers slap hands in the courtroom for the terrible beating of Rodney. The LA riots that ensued after the verdict was read was unbelievable as well. The LA police were told to let the riots go on and not to interfere because it would turn into another Rodney King. The LA riots caused a billion dollars worth of damage and killed 53 and injured 2,000 more non-blacks. I see now why black people look at the OJ verdict as bigger than OJ. This really shouldn’t have been on this list but everyone loves to read about OJ.
Good post. I think another good thing is time. We think about our time period and look to the past as them being lesser than us. We believe we are the most important and in the best time period but people used to think that 2000 years ago and will think it 1000 years from now. What we do will be forgotten. Is there anyone famous alive today that will be remembered in 3000 years?
Also, America’s the most powerful force in the world but the Romans and others were also once the most powerful force in the world and they eventually faded away. It may take 1000s of years but the U.S. may cease to exist, or in the way that we know it. The U.S. cant last forever. Forever’s a really long time.