Humanity Is Dumbest It Has Ever Been

Yet, we are in the prime position for a better future

Humanity has never been dumber.

Yes, the technological advancement of the last decades is remarkable. We continue to produce and construct wonderful creations, as we always did. We have raised the quality of life to unprecedented levels and won many battles against our eternal adversaries — poverty and child mortality have dropped significantly.

But this war is neverending and right now we face many vital challenges, most of them of our own making. We have been constantly pummelling our nature and angry Gaia now strikes back — the various diseases walk among us like disguised spies, the frequent environmental catastrophes dance the waltz of death.

All the while some of us are denied their fundamental human rights, because of their ethnicity, gender, faith, or political views. People around the world are subjects of almighty dictators and all sorts of powermongers are stronger than ever.

But still, we are in a prime position to navigate humanity towards a better future. Future when we don’t survive but thrive. Thrive in synergy with fellow humans, other species, and the planet itself.

The sky is not the limit; it is our consciousness that restricts us. Do you know what’s great about that? Human consciousness is our direct link to the universal energy, which means we can expand it until we hit a barrier.

And right now we don’t know where the exact barrier lies.

However, we won’t find it unless we stop being so fucking dumb.

We balance every artistic masterpiece with work so stupid and bizarre, we are embarrassed to even acknowledge its existence. For every technological innovation, we still dwell on astoundingly useless and harmful practices and mechanisms. We undermine every act of kindness and compassion with malice so ferocious, we would be ashamed in the company of wild animals.

The highest of highs are balanced by the lowest of lows.

This universal equilibrium has always accompanied the existence of our species and it will forever continue to do so. We have to learn how to live with this burden or let it rob us of a more sustainable future.

It All Starts With Culture

“1990s, those were the days. The world was alright back then.”

If you ever watched a YouTube music video, you are familiar with similar statements.

Glorifying of yesterdays is our favorite leisure activity. We love the past because it already happened, it is set in stone. It won’t surprise us with some unexpected twist.

In contrast to the ever-developing present moment.

Until we can predict the future, we must count on the possibility of an unpleasant surprise jumping from behind the corner. We hate this uncertainty, which is why we always put the past on the pedestal.

But don’t be fooled with these history-loving sentiments. Many dedicated artists create beautiful and thought-provoking work. This applies across all cultural fields.

But the general level of culture and entertainment is dangerously approaching the shallowness of an inflatable garden pool.

Daily, the masses of people consume the straight-up dumb content. If you want to dip your toes and relax after a hard day at work, you’ll be fine. Enjoy the bizarre ride.

But indulge in it regularly at your own risk.

The accurate representation of our times is the emergence and success of mumble rap. The celebrated performers have nothing to say and got famous for it. It is so ridiculous, so perfect.

The mainstream culture is so dull, we don’t even expect our storytellers to actually tell us gripping stories. They can just mumble under their noses about the most pretentious shit and we are out of our minds.

We don’t like to get provoked, we are too lazy to think critically. Mostly, we don’t create anything and if we do, the quality of content equals the input.

We have found ourselves in the vortex of consumer culture — the more we consume, the simpler inputs we need.

The Path Is Within

As a collective and individuals, we should encourage our innate yearning for the unknown. We love to solve the riddles, to uncover the hidden meaning, to read between the lines.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t find ourselves being the dominant species on our planet. Our curiosity got us in this superior position.

So how come we are so dumb right now?

Because we have rejected our spirituality and shut down the inner dialogue. The shallow culture originates from the alienation with oneself, from surrender to the neverending stream of information and material to devour.

How can you debate with your soul if you jerk off to extreme porn and flush it out with several beers? Every day.

As I wrote in the beginning, we don’t know the limits of our consciousness. Well, we won’t find them if we remain plunged in our couches. Ask any adventurer, any astronaut, or athlete; to find the limits, you have to embark on a challenging expedition with no certainty.

Our natural curiosity is the way forward — individually and collectively. But it always starts at the individual level, with me and you. We have to peel the layers of our personalities like an onion; it is the only way to reach our core, to talk to our spirit, and learn about ourselves.

When we shut down the outer world and listen to the whispering internal voice, we remember that it is not enough to be entertained. To be genuinely satisfied, there has to be a meaning to whatever we consume, whatever we create.

We are an especially curious bunch here on Medium. The platform’s motto speaks for itself:

“Get smarter about what matters to you.”

Keywords? Smarter and matters!

Every one of us has something unique that matters to them. Its mere existence fascinates us, we are eager to learn as much as we can about it.

So, let’s celebrate the astounding beauty humans have brought to life. Let’s constantly remind ourselves that we create things with profound meaning.

Never forget the tremendous power of our spirit.