More World Troubles Than 'Normal'?

[Jack Knave]

At times I get the feeling that there are more troubles and wars in the world than there have been in the last few decades, and tensions are brewing across the globe. How do others feel about what's going on in the world?

[BeRational]

What's normal?

[Jack Knave]

What's normal?

Why do you think I wrote it as 'normal'? We tolerate a certain level of upset in the world and see this as just part of things but when it starts to escalate we often have the feeling that something is a foot.

So how do you feel about all the violence and wars in the world today?

[Jack Knave]

I believe you are right.

"Scripture speaks of earthquakes, wars, and rumours of wars, and warns us with great urgency to prepare for the storms to come."   Billy Graham

Well yes, 

I'm sure they said similar things about WWI and WWII and so on...

But generally do you think things have increased recently?

[Harrowby Hall]

I believe you are right.

"Scripture speaks of earthquakes, wars, and rumours of wars, and warns us with great urgency to prepare for the storms to come."   Billy Graham

Scripture says all sorts of stupid things, Johnny. Best not to take much notice of it.

However, we do seem to have entered a period when individuals with grievances announce their grievance in the most destructive manner they can manage.

We have just heard about getting on for a hundred people slaughtered in Turkey. The USA ignores the carnage its self-indulgent, bizarre and uncivilised gun laws generate (so far, this year, there has been an incident which has resulted in at least four people being injured or killed, on average, once a day). ISIS uses extreme brutality to reinforce its vile message. And in North Korea an ugly apology for a deformed idiot entrances his brainwashed subjects with fantasies that he can conquer the USA.

[Sassy]

Look at the prophecies in the book of Daniel and tell us if they relate.

[ekim]

There are a number of factors.  As somebody else has pointed out the technological means of disseminating the world news related to tensions and warfare have improved so much that it appears almost instantly in your living room.  During the last world war the actuality of warfare appeared in your 'living room' but other bad news was largely suppressed to maintain morale.
The technological means of killing people and destroying property has advanced considerably and continues to do so.  This coupled with the world population explosion and density probably means that there are more potential casualties and destruction of property and mass migrations.
As the world resources dwindle political power blocks will flex their muscles to exercise control over getting their 'share'.
As more and more people are forced to live in precarious geological zones e.g. lowland areas, tectonic areas, any natural disasters will create more casualties.  Diseases will spread more quickly.
.... and that's just the good news.

[Sriram]

Please see the thread on 'Some positive thinking...' . I think there are lots of good things today as compared to earlier centuries and decades. Of course, when the world becomes smaller and all of us relate to each others problems...things  are bound to look gloomy.

I remember when I was in college... even events happening in other parts of India and even South India looked very distant and irrelevant to us. Only things happening in our town and maybe our State would seem important. Today its different. Even the killings in US, suicides in Japan, migrations into Europe... seem important and worrying. That's perhaps why we feel there are more troubles than before.

According to Hindu beliefs we will be entering a golden era (Satya yuga) after this period and I believe this is true.

[Aruntraveller]

There is more of us - so there is more of everything. Good and bad. Link this to the aforementioned ease of dissemination of information and the bias applied to that information and you could be led to believe things are getting worse. In relative terms I don't think so.

[floo]

Look at the prophecies in the book of Daniel and tell us if they relate.

NO!

[bluehillside Retd.]

Actually the news is overwhelmingly good and improving - albeit the news that's little reported.

Globally child mortality has halved since 1990, girls very nearly match boys now in terms of the number of years in school, devastating diseases have been nearly (polio) or completely (smallpox) eliminated, previously chaotic and dictatorial countries (Nigeria, Indonesia) have had very successful democratic elections, life expectancy is increasing, the gap between poorer and richer countries has inexorably narrowed etc.

Pretty much everywhere you look there are (largely unreported) stories like this. That's not to say that catastrophic things are not happening (they are the things that get reported) but it is to say that underlying trends are almost universally positive.

In other words, if you rely on the most of the news outlets for your understanding of "the World" you'll get a very distorted view of it.

Try googling Hans Rosling for information about the stats actually say.   

[Leonard James]

According to Hindu beliefs we will be entering a golden era (Satya yuga) after this period and I believe this is true.

I'm sure it is inevitable once humans educate themselves out of beliefs in gods, spirits, and things that go bump in the night.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Blue,

Here's a thought, a news programme that only reports good news would anyone watch it??

Gonnagle.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Hi Gonners my friend,

Here's a thought, a news programme that only reports good news would anyone watch it??

I would. Not sure that those the think the Book of Daniel is credible would be able to handle being smacked so hard in the face by reality though!

[Sassy]

Look at the prophecies in the book of Daniel and tell us if they relate.

NO!

Too Difficult for you to relate to with the Old names...

[Gonnagle]

And now for the News at One O'clock.

Square Sausage and Tottie Scones God is in his Heaven all is right with the world

Gonnagle.

[floo]

The world have gone through good and bad patches throughout history.

[BeRational]

What's normal?

Why do you think I wrote it as 'normal'? We tolerate a certain level of upset in the world and see this as just part of things but when it starts to escalate we often have the feeling that something is a foot.

So how do you feel about all the violence and wars in the world today?

Not happy with it, but it is to be expected.

[bluehillside Retd.]

JK,

So how do you feel about all the violence and wars in the world today?

For my part, obviously wars are horrible but it's comforting too to know too that proportionately fewer people are caught up in them than at pretty much any time in our history. You need to consider both what does happen and what does not happen to understand this - recently I was listening to something on Radio 4 when a Nobel laureate was asked what the most important historical event of the last century had been, and his reply was the fact that nuclear war did not happen.

I'm paraphrasing, but the point is well-made I think.

[BashfulAnthony]

An extract from a paper by the University of Warwick:


"Wars are increasingly frequent, and the trend has been steadily upward since 1870. The main tradition of Western political and philosophical thought suggests that extensive economic globalization and democratization over this period should have reduced appetites for war far below their current level. This view is clearly incomplete: at best, confounding factors are at work. Here, we explore the capacity to wage war. Most fundamentally, the growing number of sovereign states has been closely associated with the spread of democracy and increasing commercial openness, as well as the number of bilateral conflicts. Trade and democracy are traditionally thought of as goods, both in themselves, and because they reduce the willingness to go to war, conditional on the national capacity to do so. But the same factors may also have been increasing the capacity for war, and so its frequency."


Also: 

www.express.co.uk/.../Islamic-State-ISIS-conflicts-world-map-most- dangerous-ever-been-terror-security‎

[jeremyp]

A pretty graph. Armed conflicts peaked in the 90's and have declined since although they are now on an uptick.

http://www.pcr.uu.se/digitalAssets/66/66314_1armed-conflict-by-region-1946-2014jpg.jpg

[Hope]

Don't remember where I read this, but I believe that, when one takes the global population and the instances of 'trouble' into account, the proportion is probably not that much worse than it has ever been (the period that includes the 2 world wars excepted).

[Harrowby Hall]

Look at the prophecies in the book of Daniel and tell us if they relate.

NO!

Too Difficult for you to relate to with the Old names...

Sass

Religion has really screwed you up, hasn't it. Do you really think that there is anything in the Book of Daniel that has any relevence?
You have already shown us (in the thread on giving accommodation to refugees ) that you haven't a clue about the central message of Christianity, so why on earth do you think that we shoul take notice of even older fairy tales?

[Rhiannon]

Actually the news is overwhelmingly good and improving - albeit the news that's little reported.

Globally child mortality has halved since 1990, girls very nearly match boys now in terms of the number of years in school, devastating diseases have been nearly (polio) or completely (smallpox) eliminated, previously chaotic and dictatorial countries (Nigeria, Indonesia) have had very successful democratic elections, life expectancy is increasing, the gap between poorer and richer countries has inexorably narrowed etc.

Pretty much everywhere you look there are (largely unreported) stories like this. That's not to say that catastrophic things are not happening (they are the things that get reported) but it is to say that underlying trends are almost universally positive.

In other words, if you rely on the most of the news outlets for your understanding of "the World" you'll get a very distorted view of it.

Try googling Hans Rosling for information about the stats actually say.   

Agreed.

[jeremyp]

Don't remember where I read this, but I believe that, when one takes the global population and the instances of 'trouble' into account, the proportion is probably not that much worse than it has ever been (the period that includes the 2 world wars excepted).

Apparently, Ghengis Khan was responsible for the deaths of maybe 30-40 million people which is around 10% of the World population at the time. The last two World wars are peanuts by comparison.