Help me restore my faith in the Human species.

Hi ATS.

Over the past few months, I have found an overwhelming distaste developing for this species. This is worrying me a lot, as I obviously don't want to hate my own species. The more I think about this problem, the more I realise how quickly we are going in a downward spiral.

All I see in the world is the war, murder and disrespect for the lives of others. War against arab countries, the attempted eradication of the jews and the murder of the native Americans are events that spring to my mind off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are many more events that I haven't thought about it, or even that not many people know about! Human beings killing hundreds, thousands, sometimes millions, of members of their own species because of a disagreement in belief, or for resources, or even just land. Apparently the life of an individual that you can relate to, someone that you could have a friendly conversation with, is less important than the petty issues of an individual.

- Rwanda genocide

- Data of past genocides.

We even show the same amount of respect (none), for other species that we share this planet with.

Humans were responsible for at least 500 extinctions in recent history. However it it more than possible that humans have killed over 1000 species over the course of our existence. Scientist find it quite suspicious that a many large animals (saber toothed cats, mammoths, ground sloths, etc.) went extinct near the time that humans arrived in north and south America. Read more: wiki.answers.com...

For the first time since the dinosaurs disappeared, humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve, one of the world's experts on biodiversity has warned. Conservation experts have already signalled that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction" of species, driven by the destruction of natural habitats, hunting, the spread of alien predators and disease, and climate change.

- Whaling

- Murder of baby seals

We show our planet no respect either. This planet is what developed not only our species, but all life that we know to exist. Who knows, it could host the only life in the universe. In return we use it as a garbage dump, and spend money that could be used to clean it up and help it support life on technology and weapons to kill more things in a quicker time.

The total estimated cost of the Manhattan Project in 1945 dollars was $2 Billion ($25 Billion in 2008 dollars)

In 1946, the Manhattan Engineer District published a study that concluded that 66,000 people were killed at Hiroshima out of a population of 255,000. Of that number, 45,000 died on the first day and 19,000 during the next four months.

25 BILLION dollars, so that 66,000 people could be indiscriminately killed.
Before us, the planet went through it's natural cycles and hopefully it will continue to do so after us.

- Garbage dump, filled with waste from OUR species.

Looking back into the history of our species and the development of our 'modern' culture, our species is based on murder and terror. We are specialists at killing, and always have been. If by looking into the past we can predict the future, as some say, there is very little hope for the future of our species: we are bound to wipe ourselves out over something ridiculous, like religion or to prove a point to another nation (America I'm looking at you).

We need to drastically rethink our priorities, or I fear that not only the human race but Planet Earth is nearing the end of it's lifespan. Life is a very delicate thing, and we know from analysis of planets in our solar system that it doesn't occur everywhere. We don't know how rare we are.
Looking further than the survival of our species, we need to make sure that this planet is inhabitable for future species. It is our responsibility as a (moderately) intelligent and advanced species.

I love this website for how open minded the majority of the members are, and how intelligent some of you can be. So I want you to tell me, what is it that gives you hope in humanity? What makes you happy, and look forward to the future of our species? Big or small, let me know. It is likely to be the small things that will make a difference.

It could change my outlook on life, and I hope that this post changes yours.

Wow humans are terrible and should be eradicated. You're human, aren't you?

Maybe we're just going through our own natural spiral. Or humans are just pests.

reply to post by BenTFH


What gives me faith in humanity is that there are still good people in the world. I've had the opportunity of meeting, and have made friendships with, a number of these of these people. I have faith in the fact that good will eventually prevail. It may take a while but I know it will happen...

reply to post by DarthMuerte


Yes I am human, and never said that we should be eradicated. Just that we need to change.

Screw faith in humans, I've lost mine a long time ago, have faith in yourself is truly what matters.
It's quite simple, see what you can do around you, the small things that helps others but that don't demand much from you is pretty awesome what it does around and in your life.

So have faith in yourself, if we all do, things will get better.
But humans in general... The ones in power, I can't ever entrust them with my faith, it's too precious to get raped.

Peace
Think for yourself, question authority

reply to post by BenTFH


"What is it that gives you hope in humanity?"

People who think like you. People like you who want more love and understanding. People like you who are fed up with it all and can put their concerns down as intelligently as you just did on a well read website such as this.

It does help.

Violence is what makes us human.

This is all normal.

Been going for thousands and thousands of years.

And sorry. We will never change, as a whole.

reply to post by Bigfoot12714


Hi Bigfoot. There are a few good people I have met in my life so far, and I am truly thankful for them.

BenTFH, do not be fooled by Ego into believing you are different or separate from the human species.

Have faith in your Self, and you shall have faith in 'others.'

Forgive your Self, and you shall have forgiveness for others.

Love your Self, and you shall have Love for others.

"All I see in the world is the war, murder and disrespect for the lives of others"

Look for the beauty in existence, and you shall see more.

Thank you for shining your Light of Hope. May Peace be with you.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


Hi Taupin, thank you. It is people that think outside the box, and those who question that I hope will go on to better our species.

go outside and sit on your front porch, or back porch. you will see families spending time together, birds chirping, and the sun shinning (unless its cloudy of course).

what youre complaining about is a very very small minority of humans. most people are good, caring folks who wish no ill will towards others. stop watching the news and make some friends. youll see all is relatively good and that humanity does not deserve to be extinct.

if you honestly do feel that humans are a problem and you have no faith in your own species...

then please. kill yourself so you dont have to deal with your fellow man anymore.

reply to post by XelNaga


That seemed like an awfully personal attack, XelNaga. Completely unprovoked and unnecessary.

When I was twelve I lay in my bed and suddenly saw this all at once. I weeped. My brother, who was four years older than me, asked, what it was all about. I couldn't answer at all.

He called all my family. And they stood infront of my bed, asking what was wrong.

I suddenly had to laugh. I knew they would not understand, even if I tried to explain, why I suddenly felt that big pain.

It is still the same. Nobody will understand it. It is your pain and you have to get over it or carry it with you.

I had to laugh when all of my family stood infront of my bed and did not understand why I was weeping. They never will understand it. You have to carry this burden all your life long. Maybe you can laugh about it sometimes.

You either hang out on ATS too much, have to many liberal friends or no children or all of the above.

ETA: I have a lot of liberal friends and unfortunately it was because of the environment in which I lived. I used to feel the same way I guess, but one day I separated myself from the environment, not my friends and all that changed.

reply to post by BenTFH


Hi to you too. I'm sure I'll meet more good people in my life as well and that's part of what keeps my faith. What sucks about this country (or world depending on where you're from) is that the good people rarely get into positions where they could make a difference. The "evil" ones have a louder voice than the good.

I've become quite the misanthrope as well. I guess it comes with imagining a better world. It's the contrast that makes it so painful, along with the impression that not enough people are working towards universal betterment. Too many are concerned with "myself and my family", forgetting that we're all stuck in this reality together as one big universal family.

My main problem isn't actually the corruption, it's the defeatism, a realization which goes all the way back to kindergarten for me. I won't go into the details, but if people would stop defeating themselves before even trying we could have so much more progress here on planet earth.

Like the Terminator said in T2 , "it is in your nature to destroy yourselves". This is the problem with humanity. The duality of our nature. The good and the bad. We take two steps forward, then three steps back.We think we are so special in the universe, but we are probably not. I sometimes run into people and I am astonished at the fact we even made it out of the caves we crawled out from. Then I run into people and I see a whole side of humanity that is almost divine in nature and I wonder what great things we could have accomplished over the last few hundred years if the world had more people like this. So I think as far as we go as a species will be determined by how nature or ourselves figure a way to somehow centralize human behaviour. I know this sounds a lot like eugenics or some type of social engineering but I really feel this could be the only way we really evolve as a species and reach our full potential.
Now me personally I am totally against social engineering and eugenics because I believe that this type of duality in human behaviour is natures way( or some other way?) of keeping things in balance. The ying and the yang, the positive and the negative , the good and the evil, black and white, wrong and right. This system of balance I think is universal and applies to many aspects of the universe as well as humanity. So when I look at humanity in this way and see that this is the way it has always been, we need to just accept that there will always be people who do things we don't agree with and even though we try hard as a society to quell these types of people, nothing ever changes. We've been locking up and punishing people for murder and other crimes for thousands of years, yet people still murder and commit crimes. There will always be a certain segment of humanity that will never fit into other peoples idea of a perfect human.
No one is perfect even the one's crying for perfection. I believe everyone has a right to exist good or bad. If you are born you have a right to exist. Regardless of what you do with that existence, be it good or bad. We just have to accept this fact and hope that one day in the future something will change within our genes and our nature to bring us one step closer to perfection as a species.

reply to post by thehoneycomb


All of the above! haha.
But I definitely hang out here too much, the doom and gloom is starting to eat away at my soul

reply to post by BenTFH


I might recommend maybe a change of atmosphere. Move if you have to.

You could try to apply for citizenship in the states or just visit. Granted we don't have it all together right now either, but a change of environment could work wonders. That also depends on which state you visit. Or you can try other places or countries in your neck of the woods.