What's wrong with the World

On: Is human nature a thing and how did we end up in this mess?

We are living in a Black Mirror episode.

— Calvin (@calvinstowell) 9. November 2016

When I came home today, after roughly three months of not seeing my family, I had a talk with my mum over coffee and home-made christmas biscuits. All of this screams: "Idyll! Harmony! Home!" but our conversation not consisted of any of these. 
We talked about all the shit that went down in 2016 and how it is, with high probability, going to be even worse next year. How Europe and "the West" in general and Africa, Africa in particular, and every other place in the world is kind of fucked in a way. 

Europe is lost.

My mum says we didn't learn anything from history. And I am so afraid that she might be right. I turn into that kind of person I don't want to be, I have been fighting all along not to become: A scared person. A weak one. A hopeless one. Because out of all, these are the worst things we can have, the worst of the worst emotions to have about the state of the world today. 

Like I stated before on this blog, I think that this world presents itself as bad oftenly, especially on the news. Every few hours, days, weeks, months - a new catastrophe happens, a crisis, an attack, a drone strike, a war. Maybe many people die. 
Or only one person dies. 
Forgotten. Lost. 
But as we all know from our personal lives, the death of one person can mean the world to us. And nobody's death "doesn't matter". Just tonight, as I write these lines, 12 people were killed in my home country, in Berlin. It's not clear yet: Was it a rampage, an accident - a terrorist attack? 

What's gonna be left of the world, when you're not in it? - Bastille, "good grief"

It does not really matter. All I see is the fear that spreads, rumours, hatred that poisons every potential discussion and makes it impossible. All I see are wasted lives. Lives of people that still could have done good in the world. Or just enjoyed their existence. And everyday in conflicts on the African continent, in violent acts against one another, humans kill each other. Erase each others lives. As if there was no worth to them, no meaning. 

Kindergarten politics 

Is there? This may be a question to answer in another entry, but what I like to talk about today is: How and why does this all happen? Mum and I went back to the kindergarten. As she is a trained kindergarten teacher who has worked in the field for about 30 years now, and I have a good year of experience myself (not comparable, I'll give you that, mum), we have some examples to draw from. I had this crazy idea a little while back, that all international politics come down to kindergarten fights. Is it about who gets the good toy or about "I was here before, this is my sandbox!" or about "HE STARTED HITTING ME FOR NO REASON!", it's so ironic and funny that we can break down bigger conflicts like that. 

I'm studying politics, so obviously, I know that it's not that easy. But looking at children does help to understand adults better. Why do they act like they act? 
A lot of responsibility lies in parenting. Some social scientists even argue that socialisation is the one and only source and reason for the actions, opinions and character of a person. I would not go that far, but I think it is a key factor in how a human turns out to be. Education, not only from the parents plays a big role, as well. 

Another one is experience and how you reflect on it. If 4-year-old Billy hits you for no reason with a building block repeatedly, you are more likely to believe that people are evil for no reason or use violence for fun. If you meet your best friend for life in kindergarten, who always supports you when you struggle, you're more likely to believe in real friendship and long-lasting human cooperation and relationships. 

WTF is human nature?!

So what do you think: What is human nature? Good? Evil? Nothing at all? And how do you "become" evil? 
An interesting idea is the one stated above in a fairly old vlogbrothers youtube video: Can you keep evil people from becoming evil by raising them right? Where does "Evil" come from? That's also a question on which Hannah Arendt had insightful and inspiring thoughts . But this entry is neither here to discuss the concept of "Evil" in general, nor for unfolding complicated psychological or political processes. I think it's here to make a statement against the hatred and the fear that are so blooming and growing out there in our world, that I'm afraid we're caught in a garden, a jungle of fear already. It's hard to see through it, to see the world how it is. 
As constructivism states, maybe there is no such thing as "the real world" because there is no reality, no objectivity at all. There are only billions of constructions of reality that each and everyone of us has built or adopted, varied or kept the same since kindergarten.

are we living in a jungle of fear? pc: pixabay

And now we're getting closer to the point I wanted to make. The pieces that are missing in our jigsaw of the human nature are, in my mere opinion, personality and free will. With personality (I don't know if I used the right term, sorry, psychologists) I mean the thing that is you, maybe the voice inside your head, something that you'd call a "soul" or a "consciousness", the flaws and peculiarities that you have, your feelings and your thoughts. I think that personality, although it is highly influenced by socialisation, experience and many other factors, is something that is distinct to every human, that everyone has their own. Even if the little human is only 3 years old, like my mum strongly argues in favor of, he or she can have an agenda, plan their behavior, they can even have malicious intentions. 

Here we go - the free will. Regarding it scientists have different outlooks, too, some reject the idea completely. They say we are only victims to the influences of our environment. Our actions only reflect what we learned and know to be true. They have a point, but still, what meaning can life actually have without a free human will? We would just be leaves floating in the uncontrollable stream of a big river or sea, without a plan, without a destiny, without a choice, without any cause.*

So the thing is, we can not simplify and generalize people, like we always tend to do. 


If we talk about refugees for example, we have to keep in mind, that these are so many different complex humans. Every one of them has feelings, experiences, traumas, goals, fears and an agenda. Just like when you look at a group of children in kindergarten. 25 different humans. Some like to fit into the community, do as the teacher says and sit peacefully at a miniature desk drawing flowers. Some just like to be alone. Others like to disturb the group, because they have problems at home and need to project these onto others. Or just because some humans are little pricks (Excuse my language, but you know...) Sometimes it needs to be said. For whatever reason, some people come to decide that they want to harm others. That's why they throw a building block - or fire a rifle. And here, too, I like to point out the complexity of it all again. There are no simple classifications. There are so many reasons for becoming a "criminal" or a person that does no good. 

Complexity is the blessing and the curse of human nature. 

Basically, we are all so stuck in our perspective and world views, that we are not able to emphasize with others who have a really different one. A friend of mine also worried about that this is what makes discussions with the opposite political side so difficult: You can not even sit at one table because your perceptions and constructions of reality are too different. This is why everything in our world is so fucked. The people who are "evil" (and I mean evil in my own constructed unclear version of reality) raise their children like-minded. For example abusive or addicted parents tend to pass this behavior on to their kids. This is horrible.  
This is so fucked. 

And furthermore, we still bear the burden of the past, the history on our shoulders. In Germany, Nazi-Germany and the Holocaust are still present, also you can still feel the seperation of the country back from the Cold War days. 
Globally, I can only shake my head in disbelief, about all the inequalities that European colonialism has created and how the Western world still try to establish and maintain superiority and supremacy about other cultures and states... - like we own the fucking place.

Nobody owns the fucking place, though! The world is so rich in its beauty, its diversity, its complexity, in the ways that lives can be lived; by plants, animals, humans. And some humans just look at it as property, as a means to gain profits. (Neoliberal society and their jerk parents maybe made them do it but who cares) What matters is, they destroy our planet. They harm other people, themselves, and the best of it: They leave a nice fucked up place behind for their grand-children: "They can deal with it, because we'll be no longer around."

That's what's wrong with the world. 

I would love to end this on a positive note. But it's so hard to find one. Everywhere in Europe, right-wing movements are reaching for or are already in power. Millions died in the terrible wars in Syria, Libya, Somalia (and countless more). Thousands died and suffered on their journey out of this hell. Gay people get arrested in Iraq, and spit on in Russia. Donald Trump is going to be the fucking US president. Meanwhile, there are still dictatorships in place. States where human rights are not a thing. And on top of that, the environment goes to shit. This is so fucking sad. 
And I am sitting here in my privileged white-people-middle-class-bedroom, writing these pretencious lines on my computer, living a life based on the costs of others. Torn and stuck in a web of dependencies, historical, societal, personal and economic ties, I'm almost paralyzed. A question that turns around in my head a lot these days is: How can I be good to this world? Or at least not as bad?

And there it is, my positive note: Please, do something about it. You. 
Me. We have to do it. We can. Giving up is not an option, is it? For me, it's not. "That's just how things are" is not an argument. Change is possible. 

Und auch wenn man es oft vergisst. Ein neuer Blickwinkel kann helfen, wenn einem zum Kotzen ist. Mann, eigentlich ist ganz vieles wunderbar. Und ganz vieles war ganz scheiße vor 100 Jahren. Denke ich mir so, während ich den Text schreib. Dann schalte ich den Fernseher an - und kriege wieder Brechreiz. 

-   Edgar Wasser, "Back in the days"

Look at everything good people have already accomplished. Human rights are a thing, constitutions, laws, justice systems, environmental politics and protection, renewable energies, food saving, volunteers who help refugees, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, less cruel animal farming and slaughters, equal rights for women and people with sexualities that differ from "the norm" (at least in some places). 
There are the types of music, art, science and media that decide to try to do good things for people. Lastly, what about all the little things in a "normal" life that can make you happy?

We need to conquer the fears and counter the insecuritiy we feel. We must try to reflect on our subjective views and on the complexity of others. I know, that's a lot. Our brains are really complex, too, but it's still hard work for them. There are assholes out there. People who don't care. But I think deep down, you are not one of them. You care. 

Do something - LITERALLY ANYTHING - about it!










*Okay maybe we are, but this would be really really really depressing, so I choose not to believe in it, at least not today, I can keep that for even more sad days and also for a further entry on the meaning of life. YAY. That doesn't sound like an upcoming existential crisis at all.

How to be a better human

Or: No meat for a week

Die Welt ist schlecht, aber mein Leben nicht. Deshalb akzeptiere ich das Lächeln in meinem Gesicht.  Edgar Wasser

It’s not that easy. Yes, the world is bad. We all know it. In fact, we’ve known it all along. 

Documentaries such as FOOD Inc. informed us about… well, food. They told us about the ways of food production in a capitalistic unfair world (fun fact: The world we live in!).

A world that neither cares about quality, nor about animals or workers in the industry. Others showed us that global warmingis going to kill us and that we have a global footprint. With every scandal, with every investigative article or film, we learn more cruel facts about the world. The politicians don’t trust each other and surveil their friends and neighbors (and your grandma, too?).   

You, as the ordinary human, as the ordinary citizen, get the impression that our world sucks.

Is this cheese bad, too?

It doesn’t get better, only worse. The world seems to become an even shittier place. There are “bad people” everywhere ruining it in a thousand different ways. And there are we, supporting them. We are guilty. For a system we’ve been born into. For a system that hides its downsides in every possible way. The “Made in China” tag in my shirt doesn’t tell me the working and living conditions of that poor Chinese 12-year-old who produced it. The tag doesn’t inform me how toxic the bleaching process was or how much of this poison is still in the shirt, it doesn’t let me know how many liters of drinking water were polluted during the production. It just tells me: This shirt was made in China.

I hate to admit it. We are guilty. The accusations are true. 

Es ist nicht deine Schuld, dass die Welt ist, wie sie ist. Es wär‘ nur deine Schuld, wenn sie so bleibt.

Die Ärzte

We are here, learning about all this information… and still not changing anything. We travel with airplanes, buses and cars – because it’s so easy. We still eat the meat and the eggs produced in factory farming. We still buy at H&M. We want the big companies to change for us, we don’t want the challenge to change ourselves. We still use whatsapp, we still buy new smartphones every two years. I hate that we do. But we do.

Why? Pure convenience. 

But how can we stop? How can I stop doing what I hate? 

A Guide:

1. Don’t become numbed by the news. 

Personally, I struggle with the overload of badness in this world. All the things I hear about (e.g. about human trafficking in Europe & the US – recently in a TED talk) evoke strong emotions in me: Anger, fear, sadness or disappointment. But instead of doing something, I just want the bad feeling to go away and put on a new episode of my favorite series on Netflix. All this horrible information makes me jaded. And ignorant. And little. I tell myself that I can’t change anything. This is wrong. You need to see that this is wrong.

2. Money

Being good is expensive. You can’t buy meat by cows that had a good life, ate good natural food without antibiotics and pay supermarket prices. It’s impossible. Or Bio-products. They are expensive. They have to be. Because quality means costs. 

Warning: This doesn’t mean that a pricy product is automatically a good product.

I bet you can afford tomatoes.

(For example expensive jeans that are produced under the same shitty conditions like PRIMARK jeans) What I want to say: There’s a reason for FairTrade and Bio-products to have a certain price. You can look up the standards of labels online. A product of good quality is distinguished by the transparency of the process!

Not everyone is able to live healthy and “good”. But I bet you are. I bet you can spare a dollar or a Euro here and there. HEY, WAKE UP! IT’S YOUR BODY. IT’S YOUR LIFE, THE FOOD YOU EAT, THE PRODUCTS YOU CONSUME. IT’S YOUR WORLD. 

 

3. Start anywhere & try it out

You see something that sucks. You see that you support it. You stop doing it.

It’s not that easy, I’m aware. But just start with something now. Change your electricity provider and use eco power.  Tipp: Changes you have to put effort into once are easy – Even for reeeeaally comfort-loving people

But on the other hand, when you have little decisions to make in your daily life, make them actively and consciously FOR a better world. Like: Today I take my bike instead of the bus.

START ANYWHERE. You read: “Company X has bad working conditions. Their workers are underpaid, work too many hours and have to live in sheds.” – You don’t buy their products. It’s that easy.

For me: After a conversation with a friend (who lives vegan) I thought again about becoming a vegetarian. It’s not just that Freiburg as a green & alternative city is the perfect seeming environment to do it. It’s that I’ve known the production process and problems of the meat industry for like 4 years now. And what did I change? I’ve stopped eating at McDonald’s – Ok, 1 point for me. But, except for that? Not much. I can say about me that I don’t like lots of meat sorts. But for someone who doesn’t love meat eternally, I still eat a lot of it.

I want to reduce my consumption. And when I eat meat, I want to be sure about its quality (see 2).

Therefore I will start small: No meat for a week. After that, I’ll see how I get by. If I “need” it or if I feel a big loss… I’m not making assumptions, I’m not going further. I’m just trying it out. 

I'm glad I can still eat waffles

4. Focus

You have to accept that you are just one person. A person that counts, yes, that is true. But also just a human who can’t be perfect in everything – and still have a life, a job, a family, and other stuff.

So, I tell you: It’s true that you can’t be good in every way. But can be good in some ways. So choose something that you care about. And commit yourself to it. Engage in changing things you can change and things that are important to you.

If you love animals – help out in the animal shelter or become a vegetarian. If you care about equal rights for men and women, print feminist stickers and spread them on campus.

Focus on something!

The vlogbrothers established the “foundation to decrease world suck”.  Any member can suggest ideas how to do it (in any way possible) and find (financial) support by the foundation. If you want to help from the comfort of your home. Donate!

- If you want to donate to an organization, make sure they have enough transparency(!) so that you can be clear about how your money is used for a good cause. 

 

     5. Stay informed.

Last of all: Don’t let yourself fall back into the comfortable sofa! Or if you do: Make sure you have your veggie snacks with you and watch the news.

We already think: The world sucks. The world is bad. – And that’s true

But: There are still shitty things that happen and that nobody knows about. There’s this mountain of problems and shitty things we have to get rid of – and still it’s becoming bigger.

What not to do: Nothing. That’s what too many people did who came before us.  I am angry at them. And so will our children and  grand-grand-children and if you don’t want children your nephews or any other people that will  live in this world when you are gone hate us.

And if you don’t care about this then maybe you are one of the “bad people” and you are yourself leading one of the capitalist and unfair companies that I was talking about.

Here’s to you: You can still change. You have got the money and the means. You just have to use them.

Sorry about the random food pictures from my recent Paris trip - Here are potatoes!