Like it or not, we are all living in the ever-changing ecosystem of a global society. With the recent bombing of Ukraine by Russia, I’ve been airing on the side of “not”.
Human society is a community of people interacting with each other and their environment– there’s no escaping our interconnectedness. If we think of society in terms of our body, which is a more personal ecosystem that we can relate to, you may start to identify different “hubs” of functioning. Where’s the heartbeat, digestion, and respiration taking place?
We know there are centers to teach and enforce morality; like churches or the police, and schools that help us process and further our knowledge. But, it is also known these institutions can be corrupted. There are more sinful endeavors like gambling billions on the stock market or in the success of porn sites and other illicit operations…all of which take place in society.
With the reasoning that different parts of our society perform different functions like the cells in our body, it would be natural to measure the health of that society on a scale as we would when visiting the doctor. Question is, what scale could we use and who is qualified to interpret its results?
The only scales available to measure society are the scales of justice and there is only one incorruptible figure with the authority to judge its result.
To put this into context, let’s say morality equals health and amorality is disruptive. A moral society is a thriving one, as seen in the solidarity and prosperity of Switzerland. An amoral society would be like our new-age America or now-enemy Russia; rife with corrupt politicians, police, and talking money that has subsequently fallen into chaotic division, spreading like a disease over the world. Amorality is the greasy bag of chips and big cup of soda we consume, growing apathetic to the societal fallout it may cause. We laugh and say while eating a bag of chips that it’s hard to have just one.
Amorality can be distilled into one concept: our selfish, indulgent nature. This selfishness, or self-propagation, is not unlike the unchecked division of cancer cells in a sick body. You can see self-propagation on a large scale in Russia’s attempt at annexing Ukraine.
More personally, you see it everywhere on social media and in relationships; people post hundreds of pictures of themselves to show-off their manufactured lifestyles or capitalize on the ideas of others. Is it for the benefit of others, you may ask? Under a guise possibly; ultimately, it is for the advancement of themselves.
And I know what you’re thinking…a selfie isn’t so bad! You’re right, it’s not. It’s not until the sugar addiction from that sip of soda, or adoration from followers, sets in and you continue drinking more and more without regard for your problem; effectively becoming another bad cell and catalyst in the metastasizing of self-serving ideology across the world.
When you have people competing for attention instead of coming together to solve the world’s foremost issues, your society has fallen to the disruptive side of the scales. This disruption destroys progress in humanitarian efforts and society as a whole. Selfishness, being the root of all evil, leads to war, famine, and illness culminating in the figurative and literal death of our societal ecosystems.
Ukraine has been bombed. Now the world waits for a response.
Jon Vandall • Feb 26, 2022 at 4:35 pm
Hey Ashley I loved all the points you are making here! Viewing the global society and how you would treat it like you would your own body. I can only hope the rest of the world does there part in taking care of eachother, this society is very delicate and need to be treated properly. Let’s hope Russia sees what its negative affect is having on the world right now so we can continue as a whole to live a happy healthy life.