tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15128836.post112942711695364082..comments2023-11-02T10:46:06.389-04:00Comments on A Prince of the West: What's Wrong With The World?PrinceOfTheWesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14593584223371937648noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15128836.post-1129577319893182792005-10-17T15:28:00.000-04:002005-10-17T15:28:00.000-04:00For my part, my husband and I stopped to look at t...For my part, my husband and I stopped to look at the stars only a few nights ago. Star-viewing used to be a favored pastime of my rural youth, but living in the urban setting we do now, the lights, buildings and trees largely preclude it. We also stop outside to enjoy (rare) truly quiet moments at night.<BR/><BR/>As for the problems of the world, I agree one of the biggest currently is anthropocentrism. Any approach to correcting this would have to be multi-pronged, because some people are too far gone down that path to respond to the appeals of philosophers and theologians. I agree with Arwen's post in many ways. On a more secular level, I think that increased familiarity with nature and the natural world may help to drive men to see themselves as less significant than they had previously thought. <BR/><BR/>I have lived in parts of the country where there was really no doubt about who was in charge: nature was boss, and the men who lived thereabouts respected the forces of nature because disrespect or an overestimation of one's own abilities generally meant death. For all our technology and knowledge, it doesn't take much to end up on the wrong end of an avalanche/bear attack/blizzard/weather-related accident/etc. It's a shallow way of becoming less centered on one's own importance, but it can be effective. It has been my experience that people who have contact with the natural world forced upon them daily rarely develop into raving ecological extremists. Typically, they include man as a part of the natural order, and see a kind of balance therein. More would need to be done to get man out of his own head (thanks a lot, Descartes), but it might be a good starting point for people with no religious interest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15128836.post-1129502495258573002005-10-16T18:41:00.000-04:002005-10-16T18:41:00.000-04:00Unfortunately, I've never been too good at ideas a...Unfortunately, I've never been too good at ideas about how to solve the big problems in the world, and this one stumps me as usual, especially because I believe you're right in naming it as <I>the</I> problem of mankind. <BR/><BR/>I guess my one idea about something we can do is to keep turning our eyes heavenward - to study theology and philosophy in spite of the comments, to immerse ourselves in the things of God so that we might forget ourselves. <BR/><BR/>Of course, it's easier said than done, but at the same time, I've noticed that - just as He promised to give holiness to those who seek it - He is always willing to draw me out of myself when I ask him to. And although my experience is admittedly limited, I've already learned that being drawn out of myself makes ripples in the world around me, drawing others out of themselves as well.<BR/><BR/>As I've been growing from a girl to a woman, I've felt strongly a vocation to take care of the little things in life - as Mother Teresa said, small things with great love. So my idea for a solution to this problem is, perhaps, in accord with that vocation. Little, but it's all I can think of.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com