Whither We Goest?

                                            Whither We Goest?

     It appears to be the case that the era of Western dominance of the world stage is drawing to a close.  People living five hundred years from now, will probably see the era of European dominance as a small blip on the historical record. So the question is, “what will the world look like 200-500 years in the future”?  I believe that by looking at current trends, we will be able get an idea of what the future holds in store.

                                                Europe

     In a recent newspaper column, it was noted that given current rates of immigration, combined with high immigrant birth rates, that in 25 years France will have a Muslim majority, thus reversing  the verdict of the Battle of Tours.  Allowing for a certain amount of exaggeration, it is clear that in the near future Europe will have to cope with large Muslim populations that are not going to assimilate into the mainstream cultures and who are not going to adopt Western political values of liberalism and openness. It can already be seen that this problem is not going to be restricted to France.  Germany, The Netherlands, Great Britain, and Spain are already having problems dealing with their minority Muslim populations.

     As their Muslim populations increase, the indigenous inhabitants will probably fall into two groups.  The people most susceptible to media propaganda campaigns espousing cultural diversity and political correctness will take the position that the Muslim population can be assimilated into the mainstream culture and that most of the problems come from a small number of fanatics.  Those who wish to preserve their native culture will try to take steps to restrict immigration and possibly to deport many of the immigrants who are already in residence.  These social trends will probably lead to widespread civil strife throughout Western Europe.

         If the assimilationists prevail, it is quite possible that a Muslim majority may well use the electoral process to install a Muslim government.  It is clear that the first election won by Muslims will be the last.  At that point the nativists may well engage in violent insurrection in order to retain their culture and way of life.

         If the nativists prevail, there will be a long era of minority control governments trying to cope with rising levels of terrorism.  In either case it appears that Europeans are heading towards a period of civil strife that may well last for decades.

          Eventually, one side will have to prevail.  If the Europeans win, it may take decades to repair the wreckage and rebuild their societies.  If the Muslims prevail, the question is whether or not they will be able to use and expand upon western technology.  If they can’t, there will be a period of declining populations with people living on the remnants of current civilization.  If they are able to use and build on current technologies, they will probably develop a society much like the one described in Frank Herbert’s book “Dune”.  A technologically sophisticated people who retain the moral, spiritual, and cultural outlook of medieval people.  It will be as if the “age of enlightenment” and all that came after, never happened.

                                     North Africa and the Middle East

     It is quite possible that as Muslim immigration begins to create great levels of civil strife in Europe,  that access to western technology and western influence will decrease in the region.  The conflict between Sunnis and Shiites may well come to the fore with their competing centers of power.  Once the local powers are no longer restrained by western influence, they will probably engage in a long period of protracted warfare.  Eventually, some group will emerge with enough power to reestablish a new Muslim Empire encompassing the entire Middle East. 

          Since Islam is not conducive to liberal, western values, it is quite likely that the area will continue to retain its medieval outlook on life.  Once power is consolidated, the question is how well they will be able to adopt modern technologies.  If they are able to do so with any great success, such an Empire may well resume an attitude of expansionism.

                          

                                             Sub-Saharan Africa

     The people of Sub-Saharan Africa are extremely dependent on western medical technologies for their survival.  If social unrest in Europe and the United States reaches a point where they can no longer be provided, Africa may well lose 50-80% of its human population.  If the news media is correct, HIV and AIDS have already reached epidemic proportions and obtaining the necessary drugs to combat them is a major problem.  Another reason for high African populations is the existence of vaccines and treatments for tropical diseases.  Loss of access to these could be even more catastrophic than the AIDS epidemic.

     Another consideration is that civil unrest in Europe and United States would cause these countries to lose their export markets.  So they may be faced not only with a lack of medications, but also the money with which to pay for them.

     This may not be entirely a bad thing.  Any animals not already hunted to extinction will have a chance to recover.  Also, the surviving human population will probably be able to sustain themselves at a much higher standard of living than is currently possible.

                                               The Far East

        Before political correctness made such studies taboo, psychologists were able to perform studies on the genetic factors involved with intelligence.  By testing different racial groups on the different components of intelligence tests, it was found that Asians outperformed all other groups in those areas related to mathematics and scientific abilities.  This makes China and Japan the two societies most likely to continue to evolve technologically.  It also makes them the societies most likely to become the dystopian, soulless, technological societies that American writers of science fiction tend to obsess about.

                                           The United States

     Through the course of history, many societies and civilizations have come and gone.  Some were destroyed by being conquered by other more powerful societies, and some were destroyed by internal conflicts that left them powerless to resist their enemies.  One thing they all had in common was the will to survive and they all put up some kind of resistance before being overwhelmed.  The United States may well become the first society in history to commit “National Suicide”.  Let us look at some of the things that may shape our future.      

                                             External Pressures

     Right now the United States is under pressure from massive immigration, both legal and illegal.  For some reason millions of Muslims are being allowed to legally immigrate into the United States.  Since it is already clear that they are never going to adopt western, liberal values and given the fact that we are currently at war with Islamic terrorists, why this is being allowed to happen is a bit of a mystery.  Arab speakers who have infiltrated American mosques have written numerous articles and books describing how they have become recruitment centers for terrorist cells.  Moslem clerics are also being allowed into American prisons where they are recruiting prisoners to become indigenous terrorists.  It is also interesting to note that given the phobic reaction of Americans towards foreign languages, our intelligence agencies are being forced to hire Muslims to translate Arabic intercepts.  It has already been found that many of these translators are sympathetic to the terrorist cause and have deliberately mistranslated or left untranslated important sections of captured documents.  Instead of being fired or tried for treason, they have actually been promoted to show how well we treat minorities.

     The massive illegal immigration of people from Central and South America is rapidly changing the demographic makeup of the United States.  In the near future, people of European ancestry will no longer be in the majority, and people of Hispanic descent may well become the largest single sub-population in the U.S.  Given the media’s preoccupations with cultural diversity and political correctness, it is doubtful that these people will adopt mainstream American values of political openness and respect for a legal system that seems to go out of its way to protect criminals.

                                              Internal Pressures

     The U.S. is currently being treated like a corporation that is losing market share and profitability.  It may still be showing a small profit and employing thousands of people, but more is to be gained by liquidating its assets than by continuing to operate it as an ongoing business.  To date, the governing class has moved almost the entire industrial base overseas and used the tax system to transfer hundreds of billions of dollars from the middle-class to the rich. As a result, we now have the economic structure of a third world country.

       By assassinating President Kennedy, and using character assassination in the media, those seeking elective office must be willing to go along with the agenda of the governing class, thus demonstrating the impotence of our elected officials.  It is becoming obvious that we now also have the political structure of a third world country.

     By reducing public services such as education, libraries, parks, police protection, fire protection etc., it will not be long before we also have the social structure of a third world country.

     Unfortunately, those who should be acting to counter these policies have neither the intelligence, organizational skills, or political acumen to present an effective alternative.  Rather than make the effort to develop a program that will appeal to a large segment of the population, they scream like spoiled children, embrace positions calculated to antagonize anyone with any kind of moral sensibility whatsoever, and believe they are striking blows for freedom by espousing the ideals and viewpoints of their country’s enemies.

                                               Where we are going

     The Roman Empire succumbed to the “barbarian” tribes of Huns, Vandals, Visigoths and Ostrogoths who continually overran their borders and eventually sacked Rome itself.  Since there are no barbarian hordes in Canada waiting to overrun us, we are creating our own barbarian hordes by failing to educate and civilize our young people.

       Morally and spiritually we are in the process of recreating the Roman Empire.  Right now any ten year old who knows how to click on a box that says “yes, I am over 18 years old” can watch all the hard-core pornography he wants to; and for free.  I once passed through a room where a group of high school age teenagers were watching a movie called, “Natural Born Killers”.  I was absolutely horrified by the level of sadistic violence being depicted.  What stunned me was that as I looked around the room, it was obvious that all these teenagers (both male and female) were in a state of heightened sexual excitement.  So what is it going to take to arouse them when they are 40 or 50 years old?  My guess is that as in ancient Rome, there will come a time when there will be private performances of people being raped, tortured and murdered as a form of entertainment.

     It is interesting that one of the most important news stories of the last century received about two paragraphs in the local paper.  According to the report, the Japanese have been working on artificial wombs and have brought a goat to term in one.  This means that in about 50 years or less, women will no longer carry babies around inside them.  Having a child will consist of filling out some paperwork and going to a center and depositing some genetic material.  Nine months later, you can go and pick up your baby.  If you change your mind, simply call the center and have them pull the plug.  The potential for abuse is probably beyond what we can currently imagine.  It may be that in order for someone to legally exist, their parents have to go through a beaurocratic procedure. People at the birthing center may well be able to create people who have no legal existence.  They would then form the basis of a massive slave trade where they could be used for any purposes whatsoever.

     I have already seen mention of the “cashless” society in magazine articles.  At some time in the future the government will probably try to convince people that cash is unnecessary and that everyone only needs to carry a debit card. (Probably by arguing that the only people who need cash are drug dealers and tax evaders) What people don’t seem to realize is that money is more than just a medium of exchange?  It is also a store of value.  It is our savings that enable us to resist pressures for total conformity.  Imagine the look of surprise on some malcontents face when he goes to buy groceries and finds out that his account has been cancelled or no longer exists.  He then goes home to find out that he has been evicted from his living quarters because his automatic rent payment hasn’t been made.  How long would anyone survive under these conditions?  If at some future date people accept a world where there entire existence is tied to a magnetic strip on a plastic card, the pressures for conformity will make Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia look like an anarchist’s paradise.

                                                   The World

     The greatest problem confronting people today is that we are currently between religions.  As Dostoyevsky pointed out, humanity and civilization are contingent on the belief that on some cosmic level, justice will ultimately prevail.  We are currently being told that the universe came into being by happenstance, and is thus morally neutral.  One only has to watch a newscast or glance through a newspaper to see that Dostoyevsky was correct.  All religions have become problematical and have lost their ability to appeal to large numbers of people except for Islam which is designed to appeal to people’s basest nature.

     The inconsistencies and irrationalities of the Christian mythos have been so brought to the fore that only those capable of engaging in “the willing suspension of disbelief” can still find solace in its doctrines.  (It also hasn’t helped that large numbers of clergy have been found to engage in decidedly “Unchristian” practices.)  Many Christian denominations have adopted  positions and practices in contradiction to scripture in order to retain and appeal to people with more modern value systems.  This gives them the mien of a business trying to increase customer satisfaction as opposed to a religious institution offering moral guidance and spiritual consolation.

     Judaism has never been a proselytizing religion.  In fact, it tends to operate as an exclusive club whose membership is restricted to the descendants of a man named Abraham. (Oddly enough, large numbers of Jews do seem to have certain genetic markers in common)  The biggest problem with Judaism is that it is at heart the world’s oldest cargo cult.  Depending on how one translates ancient Sumerian, approximately 150,000 to 450,000 years ago entities from somewhere else came here, performed some genetic manipulations on a native species, and created Homo Sapiens.  Since the Torah tells us that our creators were not exactly pleased with the product of their handiwork, it may strike many people as odd that there are those who pray for  their  return.  Also, in order to retain the loyalties of those born into the religion, some branches of Judaism have adopted positions that directly controvert scripture.  It is doubtful that a religion that has difficulty retaining the loyalty of those born into it will have much appeal to those who weren’t born into it.

     Islam is probably the only religion that recommends lying, deceit and treachery as morally acceptable practices.  It is based on the premise that “might makes right” and that the earthly purpose of women, children, the poor, and the weak is to be used and exploited by the rich and the powerful.  Also, the life of the prophet is taken to be an exemplar of how people should live.  The prophet started out as a gigolo.  When he began having epileptic fits he managed to convince the credulous that they had religious significance.  He gained and maintained power by being even more treacherous and deceitful than those around him.  In old age he capped his career by taking up paedophilia.  As a religion it is perfect for authoritarian societies designed to make sure that the poor and the powerless stay that way.  It is doubtful that it will ever have much appeal for western peoples but it’s possible that members of the American ruling class

are already trying on Arab regalia to see how they look in it.

     The major problem with Eastern religions is that they engender an attitude of fatalism and resignation towards the status quo.  If one is unhappy with one’s lot in life the alternative is to become a monk or an ascetic.  This is not an outlook on life designed to further social and technological progress.  Fatalism can also be used to rationalize extreme acts of cruelty.  Japanese culture is an example of how spiritual enlightenment and sadistic cruelty can be combined within the same individual.  Eastern religions may appeal to wealthy westerners who can afford the luxury of such beliefs, but to the great majority of adherents it serves merely to rationalize poverty and despair. 

     What the world is apparently waiting for, is a teaching that will appeal to both man’s rational and irrational natures and that will be able to affirm that justice and truth  have an objective existence.  The teleological view must ultimately prevail for the alternative is the continued moral and spiritual disintegration of the human race to the point where we truly are no better than the beasts of the field.