2335 HRS / 151111

I love how it's always "be humble" but also "be wise". I like that it's always a "but" that is used. It's as though as if surviving in this society requires a complete abandonment of all the ideals that had been taught to us as young children.

If that is the case, then why bother about moral values in the first place? Why teach your children to share and think about others if doing so is only going to "get them bullied" later in life? Maybe Jack London was right in writing that "mercy is for gentler climes".

It's strange that humans have always yearned in a different direction from societal development. We long for friendship, trust, love and all those other idealistic concepts you often only see in movies (correction: *you used to once see in movies). In addition, E.O. Wilson has also noted that our concepts of a safe haven/paradise often always involves the image of serene, pristine nature.

On both counts, the capitalist system that dominates our current society have often been thought to be in disagreement. We are taught to earn money so that we can afford that ideal home-by-the-beach or farm-in-the-countryside. In so doing, we push industrialisation to its limits. We increasingly invade and replace such spaces that we yearn for. In turn, supply drops and prices increase. We are cheated into pursuing a dream that constantly drifts further and further away from us.

Likewise with moral values. We constantly complain about the dearth of society, wishing for a revert to the "golden era" where things were "a lot more simple and less complicated". In turn, we ourselves do nothing to achieve such aims. Our rhetoric says it all -- it's terrible for someone to steal from us, but it's just too bad for the one we successfully steal from.

There is often still a desire to pursue "moral values", "nature" and other such ideals. But you see, the one who steps in such a direction will inevitably get beaten down by society. For sure, people will take advantage of you. Is it worth it, really?

Perhaps, succumbing and yielding to societal currents is ultimately most wise...