X-Message-Number: 10006 From: Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 20:18:35 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: Not depressed! Josh Glasstetter, #9982, wrote in part > The smarter and more perceptive one is the more one realizes how unjust> everything is. Personally I see the world as entirely unjust and corrupt but know that humankind and technology can change it; however, most are not> so optimistic and patient so they want the easy way out. So essentially, if peoples' lives are not rewarding and worth living in their own eyes, not> our eyes, no amount of reason can convince to try cryonics, a technology which only promises to extend their misery. > -Josh >ps-hope i didn't depress anyone :) > I don't think that most people think about whether there is injustice in the world and thereby become depressed, whether intelligent or otherwise. Barring a chemical basis for a depression, most such emotional states are perpetrated by the individual for other reasons, often not even known to the individual himself. Since at least Lord Byron's time, it has been fashionable to affect depression (in the absence of tuberculosis) and to wail about the angst of our modern society. People who are happy in those circles are secretly envied and openly resented. Pop psychology has been woefully inadequate in dealing with such emotions as depression because the current culture is focussed upon short-term emotional indulgences rather than long-term rational planning. The unquestioned assumption which we are supposed to believe is that the world is full of injustice. That is undoubtedly true. And no one person has control over this fact. I control what I control and I refuse to feel guilty or depressed over that which is outside of my control. Is there any reason why I should? Why is it that "smart people" should be depressed? I submit that technology will not change depression or any other emotion. Happiness is a choice based upon one's ongoing decisions regarding what to focus upon as important or not. You can't think about everything. What you dwell upon is what generates your emotional reactions. I'd feel depressed too if I felt personally responsible for all the horrors around the world. However, I did not mass murder anyone lately. I cannot personally dismantle the virtual slave systems hidden in kleptocracies around the world. I do not consider myself responsible for the actions of other people, other governments nor other societies. I may abhor all these things but in the real world I have no real control over them. Therefore I focus on being a good friend and companion to those immediately around me and appreciate the joy of learning about all the wonderful and mysterious things there are also in the world. -Ruth E. Smith Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=10006