Are Things Getting Better or Worse?
‘In my day…’ ‘When I was a lad…’ These phrases, well-known to anyone who has ever
had grandparents (I assume, though I can only identify with one generation), are so often heard that they mean little more to one’s ears than a sanctimonious prattling about what once was. However, if one takes notice of them, it can open a whole semi-philosophical can of worms to study.
The television show, Power Rangers, is still going strong after fifteen years. I fondly
remember five actors dressed in bright Lycra and painted motorcycle helmets fighting monsters which were protected by deadly electrical fields and created from putty by an evil little elf on the moon. I saw it recently, and it had completely changed. The characters were computer animated and the villains looked more believable. I know this is a development, a technological advancement, and the five year olds of today must enjoy it just as much as I did. However, to me this is abominable; the show I remember was so much better. It seems to me that nostalgia plays a very great part in this; to extend my analogy of Power Rangers a little further, the show that can now be seen on morning television is quite clearly better than what my age-group watched, but I believe that it has gone to the dogs. A small child who saw the original series would think it pathetic, crude and obsolete.
And is the world really
getting any better? Look at the disasters that the world has suffered in recent times: two World Wars, the nuclear bomb, unstable leaders with more power than ever before. In 2005 alone the world has suffered from terrorist attacks all over the world; would these have happened (and even if they had, on such a large scale?) without progress being made in all fields of human conquest. The answer, most probably, is no. But then, we would not be able to live the way we did. I would not be using a computer, nor for that matter writing, had humankind come to a stagnant, pregnant pause as soon as we had discovered how to stand on two legs.
Progress is a double-edged sword. It benefits some and hinders others. For example, food production today is on an acme never before seen. Genetic modification and advanced farming techniques mean that we don’t need to worry about weather conditions or reaping it all in time. But the poorest people in the world still starve, and, due to climate changes which our progress has caused, many more now starve than used to. The problem now is not amount of food, but distribution of it. Our progress has still not eradicated fundamental, endemic problems. It has just shifted the balance.
Man has progressed since he has existed, indeed the fact that he can progress is one of the things that makes him human. No-one would dispute that we are better off now than we were however millions of years ago it was that we started to be. And progress wouldn’t even happen if something was perfect to begin with; that would be impossible. Progress means something must be imperfect in some way. So, things logically have to be getting better. But it could be a trade-off; the amelioration of one thing leads to the detriment of another. The Industrial Age meant fewer workers are needed than in times of old and unemployment is rife whereas in the Middle Ages everybody had to work. Evolution has a two-way effect.
Life today is easier than ever before. I depend on my mobile phone but those who grew up without them fondly remember having to walk miles or sending a letter to stay in contact with a friend. But it is easier to ring someone than walk furlongs to tell them that you’re going to be late. While sending letters holds romantic, almost antiquated ideas, it is a much worse way of saying something if it can be said in a text message which costs less and takes seconds to write, send and receive. In my opinion, things are getting better all the time. They have been doing so since I was born (though not on account of my existence) and although I can often only accept this regretfully, I will certainly admit it is the case.