I come to address the dire condition of our modern society
from a historic perspective, one chronically dismissed
somehow by those we have mistakenly appointed guardians of
human progress: professors, journalists, politicians, et al.
Though there is no question we are an astoni****ngly
comfortable people, suckled and sedated by the cradle of
modern materials and processes, with unprecedented time
for leisure and introspection available to those few who
choose it, we are nevertheless a monumentally empty people.
Our era will be remembered, if it is remembered at all, for
its preoccupation with mindless entertainment.
The greatest of the world's pursuits: philosophy, poetry,
divinity, and justice lie neglected and in a state of
shambles, ignored by a jaded and mostly ignorant public. Why?
Is it the fault of uninspired and mechanical educational
systems, determinedly devoid of moral and spiritual content?
Is it that society has become so superficially blind that
it accepts without question that the best use of the talents
and energies of its youth is the reckless pursuit of wealth
and status?
Or Is perhaps simply the naive arrogance of a generation so
self-obsessed that the wisdom of the ages is dismissed off-
handedly, as if the humanities professor with his tweed jacket
and airs holds a candle to Solomon, and Moses, and Abraham.
As if the Manhattan scribbler of short stories in in the same
league with David.
Because it clear to the historian that with all of our comforts
and conveniences, our generation lacks the moral and spiritual
sophistication of our predecessors, who surpass us in the realm
that gives real purpose to human life.
In throwing off the shackles of misguided religious regimes, we
have inadvertently discarded the timeless wisdom that is the key
to living our lives in this world.
So it is precisely our forward-looking nature that makes our
modern society so backward, divorce and depression increasingly
popular lifestyle choices.
As we fawn over celebrities whose only loyalties are to luxury
and the pursuit of infantile relation****ps, we ignore the
exhortations of countless geniuses who pointed the proper
directions for the energies of man.
And those who would still care about traditional values such as
kindness and charity quietly dispose of endless hours following
the news and participating in intellectually bankrupt left-right
debates.
Would not their time be better spent in the improvement of
themselves, their families, their communities? Would we not
live in a brighter world if one day a week the bleary-eyed m*****
got up from their couches and made an earnest attempt to strive
for excellence in citizen****p, parenthood, or simply humanity?
Sadly, it will not happen. For in our blind rush to reject
inherited wisdom, we have lost what sensitivity once existed
for the preciousness of a minute of human life, which can be
squandered in the pursuit of a momentary pleasure or elevated
enternally in an attempt to do good unto others.
So instead we learn to live with the millions of broken homes,
prescribe pills, and wonder.
I. D. Abramson
idabramson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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