Society and Its Challenges - A Think Tank Topic

Indeed, not much remains when it comes to the topic of society in our civilization, and our think tanks, academia, and government leaders are constantly speaking amongst themselves how to use social engineering tactics to maintain civility in a society?

And if so to what extremes should they go to help keep the peace? It seems at times there are no bounds and perhaps this is why our online style think tank recently addressed this dilemma.


You see, if we allow government to interfere with the courts, to keep everyone happy, or the natives restless depending on what is needed at the time to maintain a cohesive society based on the strategies and thinking of the powers that be, then at some point there will be a mob which will manipulate the leaders to serve its will on the other side of that same pendulum, thus, it all becomes a push-pull, ying-yang issue in the end. And as society pushes extra hard at one time or another, things generally get out of hand and more often than not end up impeding upon a minority of individuals that perhaps do not wish to go along with the mob.

If the politicians realize that their longevity in office is predicated on keeping the mob happy, then the minority group will pay with a decreased level of comfort or lessened life experience as liberty and freedom are removed for them. But this is only one of the problems involved and the mob can only move with willing participants, even if sometimes things get ugly, nevertheless it is truly amazing what groups of people are capable of when they stop thinking and act together in a wild feeding frenzy.

For instance, there is that famous quote; if everyone was going to jump off a bridge, would you jump too?" Perhaps, your mom used to say that, and generally, parents say things like this to tell their kids just because the rest of the kids are doing something wrong, doesn't mean that little Johnny can. Do you see that point?

Today, it appears that there is more than one society, as people have double identities - for instance, there are their online persona and that which is in the real world. Sometimes they are the same, but often they are quite divergent, in other words, people put their best foot forward online, while their real lives are not up to the standards that they portray. No, that doesn't necessarily fit me, just an observation from friends and associates I know, I am sure you'd come to the same conclusion if you look.

This is all well and good, and perhaps no different than those in Los Angeles where everyone has a story, and you really can't talk to anyone unless you allow them their line of BS, of who they say they are, rather than who you really know them to be. If you expose the truth, you are no longer their friends, but if you pretend to go along with it, everything is fine. It's a silly game, but so too are humans in society often enough.

Of course, this often entices others to do the same, and everyone tries to one up-man-ship everyone else with a better story, none of which is true. In other words, you can't believe everything you hear, and therefore you certainly can't believe everything you read on a social network. At some point in our society everyone just needs to come to terms with this reality, rather than a virtual-reality they pretend to be one with.

Most cohesive societies have a common bond, perhaps one with religion, nationalism, or the case of the United States it once was freedom. In other words, anyone could have come from anywhere, held any religious belief, and as long as they believed in freedom and what America stood for everyone was in a cohesive melting pot society.

Today the melting pot is not melting exactly it once was, for instance, if you were a city like Los Angeles you will see that if you drive down any major street, every 2 miles the signs change in front of all the businesses, it might be Korean town, then an all Hispanic area, then an all-black neighborhood, then perhaps a white area, and into an area that is purely Chinese.

That's not really melting, although everyone gets together in the mall, and no one seems to mind that everyone is of a different nationality, background, culture, and many of them don't even speak the same language. Of course, everyone speaks enough to get by, it is amazing that it works, but it only works because everyone believes in personal freedom. You see, there has to be a glue that holds society together or it will fall apart.

Many people are worried about the issues of culture clash between the Middle East and the first world Western nations. Some believe this is quite contrived, and there is no reason we can't get along, of course, it comes back to the issue of human rights, liberty, freedom, and the ever-present religion. It makes things very difficult, it is very hard therefore for someone who's a Christian to live in the Middle East, because they will get arrested the first time they start explaining their religious views to another.

In fact, in the Middle East, there are different sects of the same religion, and they are constantly at each other's throats, so you can imagine what happens when someone who has completely divergent thinking on religion comes into the community or neighborhood. It's just not possible. Still, it's amazing how money and trade can also bring nations together, and allow societies and cultures to share. It is, in fact, the sharing of culture, tradition, and nationality that will be the path to a one-world Society. And we need to get that done because the Internet is bringing us closer together each and every day. Please consider all this.