Judging 2020 by 2520 Standards
Stepping Into Our Future
Just playing, here, but go with me. It will be reasonably painless, perhaps even enjoyable or eye-opening.
Here’s something I don’t see anyone considering. Let’s step 500 years into our future — it’s now the year 2520. What are our values, our tech, our standards of behavior & morals in 2520?
One thing you can bet is that they’re not at all what they were back in 2020. They’ve moved on to become significantly different in ways we can’t now know or understand.
Now, what if those living in 2520 look back on us here in 2020? What will they see?
Will we be in line with their values? How could we be?! Impossible, right? It’s not a question that even makes sense to ask. How could we be when we live in a vastly different, a more primitive time, when they have things in their history that hadn’t yet happened in 2020?
Things happened after our time that morphed values from those of 2020 to those of 2520. Well, duh, right?
Yet, is not this precisely what we’re doing, here in 2020— judging those living centuries ago who did not & could not possibly live by our 2020 standards?
Someone tell me, where is the simple common sense in this application of one set of values to a time when those values were nonexistent, when the lived experience of the people was hugely different? How can we hold them responsible for unknown values they couldn’t have even imagined?
They were living true to the values of their day & time.
Well, what’s wrong with that? Are we so myopic that we believe everyone living in every age must uphold our set of values? WHY are we judging them by values that were irrelevant, were nonexistent then? Shall those in the future judge us by their values, values unknown & unimagined by us? Is that fair or just? Does it even make sense?
Why are we letting ourselves be bullied by these violent, rioting, Marxist types?! Can we not step back & apply some logic, some common sense?
History is what it is & we’re not going to change it by tearing down statues of other times. We change history by learning from it, making better & better choices as we go. Are we so small, so self-righteously arrogant that we judge those who came before us by values they couldn’t have lived by?
History will laugh at us over this nonsense — that’s my bet. This is akin to expecting a 2-year old to know & live by the values, standards, & wisdom of an 82-year old. It’s not just unreasonable, it’s ridiculous, it’s laughable — so let’s have a good laugh & move on.
~♥~
