The Big Crunch Revisited

Once upon a time I was an idealist and thought that science and technology combined with reason would lead mankind out of the darkness. But over the decades I come to realize that mankind was instead "dumbing down" and was using his science and technology as a means for self-destruction. Mankind is doing everything to assure his destruction; or at least the destruction of his institutions. I'm not one to believe that his existence is about to be terminated, just his civilization. He ignores the energy crunch that is impending in the next one or two decades, he insists on cultivating superstition, instead of embracing reason, he does nothing about curbing population growth, he insists on raping the environment, and politically does everything to encourage all of the above. Greed and superstition drives our civilization.
I mentioned dumbing down--that means each generation is dumber all around than the one before. I remember when teachers were well rounded in knowledge, having a broad base of knowledge and experience. Now teachers know teaching and that is all; and dumb teachers produce dumb students, who in turn become dumber teachers and produce dumber students. I'm generalizing of course, but do you see smart teachers staying on teaching for years? No, they find more rewarding pastures.
Education and learning for education and learning's sake is a thing of the past. It used to be a status symbol, an attribute of culture--now it just a means to make money, if the job still can be found in this country.
I mentioned energy more than a few times in the past. We are energy greedy. Everyone knows that someday it, oil, will be a thing of the past yet we do everything in our power to use it up faster and faster. Big gas guzzling vehicles, gas guzzling playthings, and misuse of energy at every turn--such as wars and inane pursuits. We are in self-denial to the extreme. We will believe anyone who tells us what we want to hear, and we want to hear that the oil glut will go on forever, that it will remain cheap and available. Then there is global warming. Record heat, storms, melting of glaciers and ice packs---ding, ding, ding--anyone out there? Can we afford to gamble on the chance that there is some phenomenon happening such as global warming?
Then there is the middle east. How many times has anyone mentioned the turmoil in the Middle East? Do we need preachers to dictate to our politicians how to bring on Armageddon? Has Democracy become the new religion of the world, one which will solve all problems? Is G.W. Bush the Second Coming?