Has the world gone mad?

It wasn’t too good in the early 40s. Fear of bombs and not much to eat. TB, infantile paralysis and all the childhood illnesses were par for the course. It’s just that things are different now. Different things worry us. But we do have flu jabs and we do (for the most part) have plenty to eat. Social media has created different problems, and of course the pandemic, completely unexpected, has changed lives. So I think things, though bad now, have been worse in my lifetime of 80 years.

Summerlove I meant, when the world cries 'abuse' at any form of child discipline other than a 'naughty step' or removing a toy.

Surely the time when most of us were young was by definition, the best of times? With exceptions of course. I think the internet has been a double edged sword. On one hand it has given every fantasist and conspiracy theorist a platform to spread their theories, lies, harm, but on the other hand it does mean that monsters like Trump no longer have anywhere to hide, are shown up for what they are by people brave enough to write articles about them. It gives a mouthpiece to those not employed by and beholden to the tax dodging right wing press barons, and it does give us an awful lot of information on everything.

Just wondering where you went Kittylester? !

So what do you think Kitty?

Looking back with rose tinted specs seems to be the order of the day here
.I'm on a site that shows old B/W pictures ,when I say old I mean from the 5o's 60's and 70's.It shows a world far removed from that "green and pleasant land" .Homes dripping with condensation,no inside toilets ,no hot water for many .Ice inside the windows in winter people still even in the 70's living 4 ,5or 6 to a one bedroom flat .

Life is better for most ,its quite sad that so many think otherwise . Sadly theres a long way to go before everyone has a decent life and a good warm home and food on the table .The past ,as they say ,was a different country...not necessarily a better one for millions even if they have a big TV and a mobile phone .Times change and if we cant accept that then the problem is ours .Jeremy Vine spoke about pensioners today not wanting to retire because they cant go on their cruises or travel etc etc.Most pensioners I know are happy just to be able to eat and heat their homes.It appears you all inhabit a different world from me .

Donald T is certainly getting too much telly time ....... I don't know if the oxygen is messing with his brain???

Totally agree sw

janeainsworth

kitty no the world hasn’t gone mad, no more than in previous decades, as suzie has eloquently expressed it
What has changed is that we are now old.
I heard an interview with Martin Amis on the radio the other day.
I think he’s 71.
He said something along the lines of, when you get to around 70, you suddenly realise that the world has changed and you are no longer part of it. It belongs to the next generations.
It really resonated with me.

I agree with many of your points, but things really are bloody batshit at the moment.

I’m sure there are many things that are better now than they once were, as well as some that are worse. But the present situation just makes it all seem a bit crazy right now, yes.

Brilliant post suziewoozie.

I don't know if the world has gone mad but this plague does seem to have hit us in our most vulnerable spot - socialising.
Even during WW2, which I lived through, we were able to turn to our families friends and neighbours for love and support. That was how we survived.
But not now. Wearing masks and social distancing.
Others have said, the internet, smartphones etc are allowing people to vent their feelings and say hurtful things, open to the whole world. My Grandma used to say - "Hold Your Tongue".
I think we're being taught a hard lesson.

yes

When children apparently can no longer be reasonably chastised and adults appear to be subservient to their desires and whims.

What reasonable way can children no longer be chastised?

kitty no the world hasn’t gone mad, no more than in previous decades, as suzie has eloquently expressed it
What has changed is that we are now old.
I heard an interview with Martin Amis on the radio the other day.
I think he’s 71.
He said something along the lines of, when you get to around 70, you suddenly realise that the world has changed and you are no longer part of it. It belongs to the next generations.
It really resonated with me.

I think the world was mad when married women were chattels, could be raped with impunity by their husbands and not allowed to own property or vote. I think the world was mad when apartheid and segregation were sanctified by religion and enshrined in law. I think the world was mad when young soldiers suffering from PTSD were shot at dawn. I think the world was mad when men were offered chemical castrations to stop their homosexual behaviour ... I’ll shut up now.

I remember my dad saying that the world had gone mad. And he died 36 years ago! As someone said here, the world is evolving. The older we get the more changes we see - I’ve certainly seen a lot of changes in my 65 years on earth - not all good, not all bad. Technology has changed out of all recognition and will continue to do so.

The world has always been mad - it’s just that it’s mad in different ways

Certainly feels that way but it was, probably, ever thus.

No there were some horrendous things happening in those decades you mentioned.

Definitely has gone mad, when men can call themselves women and youngsters encouraged to change gender. Call me a prude (I know I am!) but I disapprove.
When people who have enough to eat and have shelter can complain at any imagined / perceived slight.
When a world population knows that it is helping to destroy its own planet and continues to value profit above all else.
When children apparently can no longer be reasonably chastised and adults appear to be subservient to their desires and whims.
I could no doubt find other reasons.

It's just evolving

No doubt the children of our grandchildren will look back on this time and think how backward we were.

Welcome to this alien world. My friend and I both comment on being aliens in our country of birth and within an almost unrecognisable world. Yes, the internet while giving many benefits also seems to bring out the worst. Fortunately, she and I have enjoyed the best of everything and how fortunate life has been. Living in a time when most wished others well and found joy and pleasure in their good fortune. When children were children. When the spoken word according to the beauty of the English language, and the context and content of conversation understood and accepted without ambiguity. When life full of possibilities for the young and a seemingly beautiful colourful landscape waiting to be discovered.

In what way Kittylester ?

No more so than at any other time in its past.