Ask Lemmy

History.

No really looking at all the crazy stuff that happened in the past, you realize these aren't unprecedented times, at least as far as tragedy goes, but the truly unprecedented part is how much less shitty things are in comparison. Not even with technology but with social progress.

It doesn't feel like it but when you think that within the lifetime of people alive we had segregated bathrooms and pools and that seems insane now, that's at least some hope.

There are so many good things that are happening.

I realise that humanity seems to be on the brink of some truly terrible changes. But you have to cast a wider view than what is broadcast.

Most of the good things are happening all the time in so many places, but simple good works don't generate clicks and engagement.

A huge part of the good in the world is coming through kids; we are teaching them to care for each other and the planet. It is working, there is pushback in some sections of society, there is serious backsliding in some countries. But overall we are moving forward toward a fairer and cleaner world.

I'm a techno-optimist, I think humanity has the capability to solve any challenge before us. It would be nice if we didn't need a crisis to spur the change we need; but we solve problems....that is what we do.

The old ways die slowly; the victories are hard won sometimes, but they are won. Even Trump, as much as I hate all the terrible things he is doing; seems to be the last gasp of a failed philosophy. They won't let go without a fight, but there are far more of us than there are of them.

My kids absolutely love life and are majorly excited about everything.

I have a beautiful girlfriend which I plan to marry. Whatever happens I know atleast she will be with me.

For me, it's the simple fact that almost every person you interact with is good. Yeah, in groups we can be horrible, but individuals will almost always help other people regardless of who they are. It's only when you make someone an anonymous "other" that they are cruel.

This maybe isn't super optimistic, because of how easy it is to create that "other", but it's something.

I, for one, don't fully understand my optimism, but I like to attribute some of it to a sort of autistic stubbornness that things must get better at any cost. Combine that with a little bit of delusion, and you get how I am able to remain optimistic.

One day trump will be dead.

Every day, more normal people are beginning to understand that conservatism is the single greatest threat to all life on earth. I am hopeful the normal people will be able to dramatically reduce the number of conservatives on earth before the conservatives kill us all.

Solving the problem of conservatism existing also solves nearly every other problem on earth. Without conservatives, the normal people would be able to address climate change, wealth inequality, affordable healthcare, housing shortages, artificially low wages, food scarcity, overt bigotry and numerous other issues that are caused exclusively by conservatives existing.

Without conservatives, billionaires become powerless. It becomes possible to charge the wealth class with crimes, force them to pay fair taxes and pay proper wages. Labor unions become possible without conservatives around to break them or outlaw them.

Every genocide in human history has been led by conservatives. Stopping conservatives is the only thing that stops genocides.

The world would be dramatically healthier, happier and safer without conservatives in it. I think the normal people are beginning to see conservatives as the existential threat they are. As conservatives escalate their violence around the world, hopefully the normal people will become willing to completely eliminate the threat. The world will be a much better place for it.

About 100 years ago, the situation was similar to how it is today. The rich were rich and only getting richer and the workers were being exploited mercilessly. The people were fed up and so there was an unprecedented general strike. This caused Parliament to introduce a max 48h work week, social security for old people among many other things. This was followed by a period of general prosperity for working people.

Now the pendulum is swinging the other way again, the way of the rich and powerful, but it will swing back in our favour in due time, further than it ever has. As long as we are living in a democracy, the government is ultimately beholden to the people and at some point the people will get fed up and the times will change again. Be a part of that!

All of this push for global fascism and tightening of chains across the world is actually an extinction burst that's happening precisely because the world is waking up. The oligarchs see one last chance to hold onto power before the common people flip the board.

I misread that as optometrist... Needless to say I was confused

The knowledge that I will outlive at least some of these old miserable fucks

Scientists are steadily progressing on biologically deaging human cells, so if I manage to keep myself alive for the next fifty years (and win the lottery), chances are I will reach the 100's: sciencedaily.com/releases/2026…

I am mortal.

I can do things to nudge towards better. Those little wins and survival is what thrivinging is built on.

I cannot remember a night so dark as to have hindered the coming day. -John Brown

the pendulum swings this way and that way

In general the last few centuries of history have been two steps back, three forward. Slavery (as a legal concept, not wage slavery) gone, or at least mostly unacceptable in many places. Automation meaning everyone has to work less (but you need a job to survive, the dream of an ever lessening work week has been squashed).

Hell, there's actually a chance this upcoming generation might do more than just react violently against the absurdly Orwellian culture emerging (that's OK, guillotines are appropriate) and perhaps have some coherent future trajectory.

OK, this was fairly pessimistic, but overall I believe humanity can overcome the capitalistic bullshit. Climate change will likely require it, cause for optimism, yay!

I think Gen X and younger are, overall, better at dealing with emotional issues than their parents and grandparents. Granted, there's definitely still room for improvement.

But it's no longer considered socially acceptable (much less preferable) to use your kids as a piñata to vent your anger on instead of seeking therapy. It's also far more common for parents to show physical and verbal affection toward their kids. Something my (boomer) parents virtually never did. Probably because that's the dynamic they were taught.

I dont have any firm evidence to back this claim up, but conversations with parents that are relatively close to me in age has shown that I'm not the only one who has observed this trend.

Sometimes it's just enough to be kind myself and get a genuine smile in reaction.

Being kind to cashiers, giving up my seat to the elderly, holding the door for someone or having a trans person seem relieved and sit next to me on the train because the see the flag on my jacket.

It's the little things that keep our society together.

Costco hot dog is still $1.50

I believe AI will finally drive a good percentage of people back to true art and human expression.

Three Thoughts:

1. In the long run, things have steadily improved for the majority of the world’s population. That doesn’t mean there can’t be setbacks along the way in the form of dictatorship and mass murder… but viewed over the long term, we’ve all become wealthier, healthier, and lived longer. Of course, this isn’t a sure thing, but it gives us hope that things will eventually be even better than they are now.
2. Billionaires aren’t superhumans, even if they think they are. The fact is, capital doesn’t create anything. WE create value through the work of our hands and minds. Without us, these people are nothing, and even with the stochastic parrot currently being hailed as “AI,” they’re just fooling themselves. It follows that even the biggest narcissists don’t stand a chance when we work together… and if there’s one thing humans are good at, it’s that.
3. People are much better than their reputation. If someone falls in a pedestrian zone, someone helps them up. If a traffic jam forms on the road, a rescue lane opens up. If you ask a stranger for help, you’re usually not let down. Far too many people believe that humans are “just animals with a thin veneer of civilization,” yet the vast majority are clearly more social and altruistic than is generally assumed. The narrative that “all people are bad” is, in my opinion, merely a self-serving narrative propagated by the ruling egoists to justify their own authority, and it’s passed on based on the assumption that we’re all just as selfish as our leaders.

Are these points open to criticism? Sure. Still, there’s at least a spark of truth in them, and that gives me hope.

People were talking about games going off (saleable, owned) discs and saying it's coz discs degrade and I got to post this

Eh, that’s just the shitty organic medium they cheap out with. Metal dyes (M-Disc Blurays are 100GB good for 100 years, fine even for modern games) are great, shame they’re artificially expensive.

Newer glass or quartz optical discs with femtosecond lasers are good for 360TB for 100K years (claimed) in a similar footprint. See also M$ sitting on ‘Project Silica’ for most of a decade.

Shame corpos don’t want the CD burning revolution to happen again, just imagine what sneakernet would be like if you could fit all of Netflix in the palm of your hand burned on a USB peripheral.

I really like the utopian possibilities currently available, just needs a bit of capitalist kicking to flower.

The global south is developing and rising, and imperialism is crumbling. The birth of a more equal world will not be clean or even, but it is happening, a world where all nations are soveriegn.

I'm more interested in what the people on the street have to say. They are closer to keeping or abandoning hope than keyboardists could ever be. Whether federated or not. That being said, the elections in eastern Europe and South America turning leftwards gives me hope that the North American elections, soon to come, will turn the same way. The whole world needs a bit of a breather and way less noise.

Developments in green technology.

The most obvious is, of course, solar power (it ABSOLUTELY ROCKS) and new, eco-friendly batteries, but there's so much more:

• Organisms that eat plastic
• Novel recyclable materials
• Reusing industrial waste to produce tons of useful products (personally working on that!)
• Novel eco-friendly fertilizers
• Actually nutritious plant meat and milk substitutes

And so, so much more!

Also, there are a lot of organizational changes that help:

• Recycling is getting more widespread
• FOSS and hacky folks allow electronic devices to live way longer than they otherwise would
• Bans on petroleum-based plastics in many applications propel cleaner alternatives (including clean, renewable plastics like PLA)
• And more again!

We have all it takes to build a sustainable, almost solarpunk world. With enough political will, we can make it happen. It's not "futurism" anymore - it's a reality we can forge here and now.

Every day I learn a little more about the world and that generally fills me with optimism, depending on what I learn. If I learn about history, it helps make sense of the current situation. If I learn about psychology it helps me understand myself and others. If I learn about science it helps with my job and all of the above. If I spend a lot of time in news stories and politics it seems to have the opposite effect and I become pessimistic and negative. I'm limiting my exposure to those things. I stopped using mainstream social media 10+ years ago. I go out in nature, do exercise, sleep, eat vegetables and cook food with my daughter. We make fun of each other and share jokes. If I can do all of those things consistently, I can be optimistic. It's not always possible and that's also to be expected.