What if life is not as simple as Yahoo Answers would have you believe (part II)?

Question

What can I do during my life to make a truly significant contribution to the earth or our society? Why would I want to? Or should I be like 99% of the people out there and just ignore everything and drift through this world doing what I see others doing and ignoring what's real?

Why do we try so hard to prolong our lives when sickness comes? Is that what we were meant to do? What happened to survival of the fittest? What happened to humans working with other organisms instead of fighting against them?

What if there is no god? What if there is a god and I go to hell? At least I won't be board, dust in the wind. What would god want me to do with my life? Drive a Prius and be a jerk who pretends to be earth friendly while I cruse the streets wasting gas at a higher MPG while drinking Starbucks coffee? I've never even seen coffee grow in the wild. What business do I have drinking it?

You may say I have a depressing view of life. Is there truer view to have?

Answer 1

I'd like to take a shot at answering your questions, but I'd like to first note something about your thinking: You don't seem to know when not to muck "I" with "We". In some of the instances you give, there is no "we".

We are a bunch of human beings made of the same stuff, and we share a set of basic human needs and then some not so basic ones that are almost universal nonetheless. Beyond that, though, there is no "we". There are only a bunch of "I's, each of whom is a unique individual. (For example, if I say, "Why do we rob banks?" that isn't, technically, a correct question because while I am well aware of the concept of the collective, the reality is "we" don't all rob banks, only a few people do.) If each and every individual does his best to make his own little world what the larger world should be then our larger world would be made up of "zillions" of excellent smaller worlds.

You, in your mind (or writing), have zero'd in on little, specific examples of a few people who do something or are something (drive a Prius and be a jerk who pretends to be Earth-friendly while cruising the streets wasting gas......" You don't know why someone has the Prius, what they pretend they think or whether they think what you think they think at all. You don't know if they're cruising the streets or if they have good reason to be out driving. You don't know if they're wasting gas. It isn't your call as to whether their use of their car is wasting gas. Besides, maybe some people are running errands for elderly shut-ins. What about that scenario as long as we're selecting a few individuals and picking them apart and judging them. Why do you care if some goes to Starbucks coffee? Who cares where the coffee grows, but the fact is you haven't been over every inch of this Earth to be able to guarantee that your statement that coffee is never grown in the wild is accurate.

What can yo do during your life to mke a truly significant contribution to the earth or our society? Start with being the best person you can be, build your character and your integrity and your little environment to be what you think is the way they should be. If you have children do an excellent job teaching them. If there is a need for someone to assist someone in your little world or community, do that. When you've got all that much to where you're really satisified that you have a high-quality little world then think about the larger world, and if you see something you'd like improved join up with a group, donate money or time, etc. Who are yo to attached the 99% to other people who you think just ignore everything and drift through this world, etc.? You don't know what others think, do, say, work toward, or believe. If you live in a circle of six people, and 99% of them are what you say they are that isn't the whole world's statistic. Further, when it comes down to it, you should take care of you own little self and world and don't worry about the other people.

People try to prolong life because they know life is short, they have family they want to stay with a while longer, they may still have things they want/need to do here (believe it or not). Survival of the fittest can also mean if people are intelligent enough to have the ability to prolong life and if others have the enormous will to live and love of life and ability to withstand pain and illness in order to try to squeeze out a little more of life before they leave; then maybe nothing happened to "survival of the fittest". The fittest aren't always those with physical strength, but at this point in evoluation "fittest" has moved to intellectual ability, emotional strength and endurance, and maybe even ability to love the gift of life enough to want to hang onto it. I, personally, don't know what you're talking about when it comes to "humans working with other organisms". Humans work alone in a world where they have been given the highest intellect so far.

If there's no god then you need to design the best self, soul, and little world you can because nobody else will do that for you. If there is no life afterward you had better make the most of this one. If there is a god why does there necessarily have to be a hell anyway, but if there is then if maybe you'll end up there.

Nobody knows what God would want you to do with your life, but if a person believes that God endowed him with common sense its probably safe to assume that we are expected to use our common sense when it comes to what we think God may want. I think God would want us to appreciate the life we have, do the best job we can at being a person, and don't harm other people or creatures God also planned to have here. Common sense would suggest that God would want us to take care of the world but also maybe use its resources up to a point in order to further the existence of all life, and that doesn't necessarily either concur or conflict with "environmentalist thinking".

In a nutshell: Never mind whether there's a God or not. Just act as if there is one. You know what's good and what isn't in this world. Just do the good stuff as best you can. Never mind what other people are doing. First, because five people you saw do something it does not mean 99% of everyone in the world is doing it. Second, it isn't your business. Third, if you extrapolate some little crummy thing a few people do out to "the world" and then you say "we", what you're doing in creating in your mind an imagined situation and then you're jumping into this imagined depressing situation

Sometimes when people are young they find something a little attractive about being riddled with depressing thoughts and the anxst. They imagine themselves some artsy, thoughtful, deep-thinking cynic. They don't believe someone happy or upbeat could possibly be intelligent, and certainly they can't be cool.

I don't think you have a depressing view of life. I think you wanted to write what you thought would be some excellent and intelligent questions with a hint of pow and dose of philosophy and an implication of a deep thinker and carer; but your question comes out as if you're a young person who isn't quite adept at accomplishing what you had hoped to with your words.

My point is that you don't "have a depressing view of life". You are trying to create one for some reason. Just thought I'd answer your question because maybe you'd like someone to play devil's advocate and challenge what you said.

Answer 2

have not been insulted on 360 yet here I even have been many situations. Worst - there became into guy pronounced as "taking a piss" a tragic guy with a pretend identification going around calling all Arsenal followers specially me a 'wh---' and an 'ape'. Hes a United fan, i comprehend him, hes specially around in the united kingdom area yet on occasion comes directly to here. I wont say whom, it relatively is going to create loads of subject. He would desire to have an exceedingly rather unhappy life to come again up with a pretend identification to insult somebody for no reason.

Answer 3

That we need to stop all man-kind's puny wars on the dying lands, live like true "images of God" with his immortality mentality to extend the life-span of our race... not our own greed!

Answer 4

life is a wonderful mix of several things. so be happy. take it easy is the best way to lead our life.o.k.

Answer 5

Sounds like you need to get you some happy! Go get laid or get drunk or find Jesus or something before you slit your wrists!

Answer 6

Ok Zac, go to sleep.