September 12, 2026
By “you”, I mean the average reader. If you’re able to read these words, I’d imagine that you’re on the internet which, despite its many downsides, contains such a portion of society’s information that one could maintain themselves on it and still never finish learning. Such a thing was unimaginable for most of human history. And, despite all this knowledge at our fingertips we still may opt for entertainment! Again the variety we have is so much more than any generation past. That we choose to stay inside to consume this rather than anything else is a step change in behavior.
Though not necessarily guaranteed, we also likely have access to modern medicine if we do the internet. Today’s antibiotics are a miracle; at one point in my childhood I acquired a staph infection to the degree that my skin was sloughing off. If it were not the modern day, this would have been it for me. Not to mention Parnate, which helps my digestion, & the other medicines which keep me stable. All of our suffering was that much greater not more than seventy-five years ago.
I oftentimes get frustrated with Americans’ addictions to cheap goods in no small part that many of the things we value have never been cheaper. Food and clothing take up less of our incomes, a luxury which only the ultra-rich were once able to enjoy. That land and rent comprise large parts of our budgets at least makes sense - they’re not making more of it.
Though I do not have any readership statistics it seems that the majority of readers on here live in the first world. If this is the case, enjoy the stability which this situation offers you. That one can be certain to be governed similarly through their life is a rare phenomenon. It is not guaranteed and this privilege ought to be protected and appreciated.
I will not deny climate change as an issue. However, that we are not living through one of the historical little ice ages is quite lovely. If we did, our environment and society would be much more in question. It can always be worse.
It is not that everything in this world is perfect but rather that we ought to know what is good so that we can better protect & improve it. Let us look to the best of our times such that an even more prosperous future can be built.