https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUTs9-vsO6k
An insight into the previous examples of extremism, and the increasing rise of extremism today.
Oof he really went for it with this one. My favourite Rare Earth yet.
I really like Rare Earth, it's been giving me loads of ideas for cool spots to go in the world. I really like his analysis of the situations he presents, and he's usually pretty fair and balanced. I wonder if he's ever studied journalism?
So far I think Rare Earth's Albania series has been their best yet.
Which is saying something because each series has been better than the last, and all of them are amazing.
"In 1995 Umberto Eco laid out the 14 signs of fascism. Each is a canary in a coal mine. Just one is enough for concern.
But in the United states today, All 14 are present. This is where we are. We need to acknowledge it."
Powerful words.
You know what scares me?
Are there any examples in history, modern or otherwise, of a society, facing internal turmoil and an impending internal collapse into authoritarianism, xenophobia, isolationism, and decay, managing to bring itself back from the brink, and rather than collapsing, instead healing and strengthening itself?
Now how many examples can you think of where a society in such a position has instead fully succumbed to its problems, and come out the other side far worse off for the trouble? A theoretically objective mindset would posit us a at a fork in the road, faced with two equal paths: collapse, and repair. Either one as likely as the other. We can save ourselves, if only we make the right choices!
Is that really the case?
Humanity seems to me a tale of consistent collective inaction. We're not motivated to change unless we literally cannot abide otherwise. And typically, when faced with a binary choice between inaction or doom, we don't take measured, rational response in the interest of long-term stability. We lash out wildly. And when we lash out wildly, we create instability. And where there's instability, there are lustful eyes gazing upon the abyss created thereby, thinking only of how they might fill it in accordance to their own greed and agenda, all other concerns be damned.
Humanity didn't evolve to live in nations numbering in the millions, we evolved to live in tribes numbering in the dozens. We evolved altruism and empathy, but it was only ever intended to strengthen our cohesion in small groups. In the wild, other groups of humans are just as much potential threats as they are potential friends.
When faced with threat and loss, we don't become more altruistic, we become more self-interested. After all, a group that doesn't fight to preserve its resources necessary for survival is less likely to well... survive to pass on its lineage. It's natural, logical, and useful as small band of hunter gatherers. But in a globe spanning civilization of billions, self interest and inward focus makes everyone worse off, not better.
I'm not some cynic who thinks humans are evil and stupid and that we should all just die or whatever. But it's necessary to understand the true depth of our issues in order to have any hope of overcoming them. Pretending that we're collectively more rational and "evolved" than we actually are contributes to our vulnerability.
We're better than we were before, but we have a long way to go.
wow I didn't mean for that to be a novel lol
Maybe its an unpopular opinion, I'll preferred if rare earth doesn't go so philosophical.
But maybe that's why its so popular
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