What would you say is the single most important problem facing the world today? Sense of entitlement, both on a personal and a global level. Everyone thinks their own problems are the worst and the ones who need to be tackled first. Europe as a whole keeps teetering on the brink of economic doom because we can't get our act together as the Union we pretend to be. When it comes down to it, it's still us against them, whoever 'us' and 'them' might be in any given situation. On whatever level we are talking, global, national, state, personal, anything in between, in then end all everyone cares about is their own wellbeing and how big their piece of the cake is. In my hometown, the planned construction of a third runway for our airport was postponed/stopped because a vocal minority decided it went against what is good for them personally. They pulled their weight against an apathetic majority, to stop a project that would have benefitted the entire region economically well into the future. People in countries all over the world are dying of lack of food, water, medical supplies that we have plenty of in better-off countries. But again, those who can care more about themselves than a balance for everyone. I am not a huge fan of 'the greater good' as a concept, but sometimes it's just necessary to look over the edges of your own little box, and I feel like people are doing this less and less.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-07-20 08:04 pm (UTC)Sense of entitlement, both on a personal and a global level. Everyone thinks their own problems are the worst and the ones who need to be tackled first. Europe as a whole keeps teetering on the brink of economic doom because we can't get our act together as the Union we pretend to be. When it comes down to it, it's still us against them, whoever 'us' and 'them' might be in any given situation. On whatever level we are talking, global, national, state, personal, anything in between, in then end all everyone cares about is their own wellbeing and how big their piece of the cake is.
In my hometown, the planned construction of a third runway for our airport was postponed/stopped because a vocal minority decided it went against what is good for them personally. They pulled their weight against an apathetic majority, to stop a project that would have benefitted the entire region economically well into the future.
People in countries all over the world are dying of lack of food, water, medical supplies that we have plenty of in better-off countries. But again, those who can care more about themselves than a balance for everyone.
I am not a huge fan of 'the greater good' as a concept, but sometimes it's just necessary to look over the edges of your own little box, and I feel like people are doing this less and less.