Silk Road forums

Discussion => Philosophy, Economics and Justice => Topic started by: ZenAndTheArt on November 11, 2012, 11:51 pm

Title: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: ZenAndTheArt on November 11, 2012, 11:51 pm
Understandably a lot of people are unhappy with the state of the world today.
Which got me thinking, when would have been a better time to be alive?

Personally, I think some of us enjoy more freedoms now than any time before, although it's FAR from perfect! Economically speaking, right now is a hard time to be alive, and I'd rather be starting my career in the 80's or maybe the 60's. As far as drugs go, although we have more choice and possibly more availability now, I think drugs were stronger back in the 90's (and maybe the 80's, I wouldn't know). Having said that, I do like the fashion and technology we have today!

What's your preferred time to be alive? You can chose any point in history (a rich land owner in Victorian Britain for example). :)
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: Ben on November 12, 2012, 02:07 am
That will always be a matter of personal preference.

From a technological standpoint 'today' or any time in the future is probably preferable. Today, we have a device in our pocket that allows us to communicate with the majority of people on the planet, regardless of where they are at that specific moment in time. This is something that was almost unthinkable only 3 decades ago.

If i look back that the last few decades, i'd probably still say the best mix of it all was around the year 2000. Before the 9/11 attacks that turned the privacy vs security debate, just before smoking bans hit public places, and when technology was not as good as it is now, but when it was functional enough to communicate with the world with a little bit of effort. Factoring everything in, i think the optimum point must have been the summer of 2000 or 2001.

I suppose one downside is that we did not have smartphones or decent mobile data networks at that time, but at least we had cellphones and high speed internet connections at home, and few people were living in fear of terrorism, second hand smoke or avian flu.
 
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: demonspeeder on November 12, 2012, 03:45 am
Quote
You can chose any point in history (a rich land owner in Victorian Britain for example)

You chose the circumstances too? Who you are in that time period makes a big difference. How you feel about today depends mostly on this: Are you a successful business man with lots of friends and a beautiful wife or are you a homeless man eating out of dumpsters?
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: mode on November 12, 2012, 04:08 am
now
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: CoolGrey on November 12, 2012, 09:50 am
now
I agree. We have decent health care, good quality food and housing, the ability to travel and any music or movie we want at a mouse click away.

I hope the future will be better still, but these times are pretty awesome.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: mode on November 12, 2012, 10:02 am
these times are pretty awesome.

Completely agree :)
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: BabyPowder35 on November 12, 2012, 12:21 pm
Right here,right now ZEN!:-) The world is going through a huge paradigm shift!I mean,for example,have we ever conceived or even imagined about a concept about silk road...more good times ahead for all of us.... :-)
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: ZenAndTheArt on November 12, 2012, 05:04 pm
Cool! So the general feelings are that now is the best time to be alive. :)
Sometimes you'd get the impression from reading this forum that everyone's really pissed off at the world today.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: mode on November 12, 2012, 10:24 pm
Sometimes you'd get the impression from reading this forum that everyone's really pissed off at the world today.

If you take a look at our recent history, you could surmise that the greater part of humanity (in recent years) are beginning to know, feel, understand the mysteries of our existence, with a broader scope of the world in which we live in. From a 'western' point of view, from the Mesopotamian era right through to even a few hundred years ago, higher knowledge and spiritual matters, the mysteries of ones existence and true holistic place in the world, were aspects presided over and hoarded by Kings and Queens, Emperors and Priests, and the ruling caste of society. Not so anymore.

Yes there are many pissed off humans. As humanity begins to open up and discover, peel back and into the layers, the darkness is illuminated. This change brings a new perspective on war, banks, genocide, corruption, conspiracy, racism, hate, suffering, lies and deceit, but at the same time it also gives birth to a new/old understanding of consciousness, of creation, of energy, of spirituality, of our reasons for being here on Earth, of Love.

2 cents :)
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: CoolGrey on November 13, 2012, 12:01 am
It's good to be pissed off now and then, because there is a lot of injustice, disease and poverty in the world. If our ancestors would have said 200 years ago: "things are not perfect, but life is pretty good right now so let's just sit back and enjoy", then we never would have been where we are now.

If you see something you don't like, you raise your hand, stand up, and speak out. That's what brings us further as a species.

We have to keep going, but doesn't hurt to appreciate all the good stuff too, every now and then. .
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: wackmanblu on November 13, 2012, 01:38 am
Now defiantly,

We live better than Kings before us - We have 50 different choices of toothpaste, I have a machine that makes my coffee and I got it for $20. If we get sick we'll probably live. I live in a metropolis and I don't have to walk around in horse shit and human excrement.
The list goes on .. American Thanksgiving is coming up so be sure you guys remember what you've inherited from you forefathers.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: Ben on November 13, 2012, 01:52 am
"Now" is a very tempting, but tricky item.

What exactly do you have now, that you did not have 1 month, 1 year, 2, 5 or 10 years ago that makes 'now' better?

The only real improvement that i noticed in the last 5 years or so is the widespread availability of mobile internet. Most other things are exactly the same, some specific things have gotten worse.

Quote
Best time will be 50 years from now, when we've got a plethora of psychedelics past the research stage and at the point where the only physical side effects are the same as heightened levels of endogenous chemicals (like LSD more or less is with regards to serotonin).

On the other side, there will probably be automated drones flying around that shoot you in the head as soon as you click the 'order' button :D
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: tHEgREy on November 13, 2012, 04:38 am
Since you have the ability to even fathom the question, every day is the best time to be alive, regardless of historical timeline. Your body is on a timer and every passing second brings it closer to 0. So, have no fear, for fear is a minds prison cell.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: MollyRingwald on November 13, 2012, 04:51 am
Understandably a lot of people are unhappy with the state of the world today.

Sounds like they should take a trip down the Silk Road.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: bincofone on November 13, 2012, 04:56 am
Today.

Who wouldn't want to be alive to see the collapse of the worlds largest/wealthiest empire (United States)? That will sure be one interesting clusterfuck to watch. I don't think it's gonna happen immediately, but give it a few years. Eventually people will stop accepting what helicopter Ben keeps dishing out, and when that happens the SHTF.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: paraiso on November 13, 2012, 04:59 am
Interesting topic. I had a professor at university tell me just before I was about to do my exams "don't put a condition on your happiness, don't say when this is done, this will be better or your happiness will forever be delayed".

That quote has always stuck with me and I think it applies to this question. Of course when the best time to be alive is purely subjective and unless you've really lived a long time and/or experienced a lot of things, I think that this would be a difficult question to answer. I've traveled all over the world (37 countries) and seen a lot of stuff from poverty and war zones (or supposed war zones anyway) to some of the most technologically advanced and amazing places ever.

I know that my parents have been to very few countries in the world and have such a jaundice view on life. "Our country is the best... why would I want to go anywhere else" and their view on poverty being a burden and people such as asylum seekers should not be allowed into the country. Everybody should be able to have a chance at living a privileged life and get to experience true happiness.

But I think, for me anyway, just being alive and being able to experience things that so many people can't, definitely makes me feel privileged to live where I do. So for me, time is only a small factor. Things seem to come and go and the changes are somewhat minute when put into context and compared to some people that don't even have running water, free press or education.

For me, any time is a great time to be alive. Appreciate what you've got now and don't delay your happiness.

Deep... Time to smoke a fat bowl.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: BabyPowder35 on November 13, 2012, 10:56 am
Since you have the ability to even fathom the question, every day is the best time to be alive, regardless of historical timeline. Your body is on a timer and every passing second brings it closer to 0. So, have no fear, for fear is a minds prison cell.

Nicely said...cheers..
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: snuff2829 on November 13, 2012, 02:18 pm
I think it's possible to accept and find the goodness to any time or place, this time too.  However, the all out war on the natural world continues unabated, we have oil spills and nuclear contamination as two human examples for the proof of it. 

Regardless of how long this onslaught has been on-going, since the dawn of man or whenever, it is far more advanced now then it ever has been with no signs of being remedied so that generations that may come can inhabit this world in peace.  Unless you truly want to live in a dystopia, which may not be a bad time either if you have the right disposition for it, then the future looks increasingly futureless.

If you want to see canaries in the coal mine, you don't need to look much further than the birds, or other creatures who inhabit this earth who are leaving in droves, who no doubt have an aversion to dystopian futures.  Personally, I don't see any human resolutions on the horizon, and left to human devices this won't end until the last drop of oil is extracted from the ground. 

On the other hand, we are fortunate to live at this time and witness this dilemma! 
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: Ben on November 14, 2012, 02:00 am
Since you have the ability to even fathom the question, every day is the best time to be alive, regardless of historical timeline. Your body is on a timer and every passing second brings it closer to 0. So, have no fear, for fear is a minds prison cell.

Would that not imply that any time in the past was better than the present, because you had more time left on  the clock?

As far as problems with fossil fuels go, those will not have that much effect on our generation (i.e. anyone capable of reading this right now). We should work on a more permanent solution for energy supply surely, but the outlook is that we can actually produce coal, gas and oil at todays prices in todays quantities for over a century... and i assume anyone reading this will be dead 100 years from now.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: mode on November 14, 2012, 11:27 am
Everything is happening all at once... from a multidimensional perspective :o
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: Ooohmani on November 14, 2012, 02:29 pm
The times I am most happy to be alive are always "now"
Especially during the sunrise and sunset.

although I would have liked some acid from when my parents were young.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: ZenAndTheArt on November 14, 2012, 09:40 pm
Personally, I wouldn't mind if the 'End of the World' happened during my lifetime. I'm not being morbid, I'd just like to know how the story ends...
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: mode on November 14, 2012, 09:44 pm
The story may continue on, life time after life time :)
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: debbydownerr on November 14, 2012, 10:35 pm
Probably the future, but shit, I can buy drugs online now, it's not that bad.
Title: Re: The Best Time to be Alive?
Post by: Joey Terrifying on November 15, 2012, 12:33 am
IMO, right now is the best time to be alive, and i think that every day is better than the last.  the things available to us in this world are astounding; nothing less than magic to someone from a previous time period