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It is no longer recommended to eat fish from the ocean, because they have toxic levels of heavy metals.
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There was a point in the history of humanity where it wasn't possible, logistically, to eat fish in the first place.
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It is no longer recommended to stop your car in over 1/3 of the average American or European city, because crime is so out of control.
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There was a time in history where we didn't have cars at all. There was also a time in US history, not too long ago, where blacks couldn't stop their cars, or themselves for that matter, in a whole lot more places than that.
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It is no longer recommended to send smart children to regular schools, because the schools are designed to make dumb children feel accepted.
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There was a time in the US not too long ago where "smart children" didn't attend any kind of school, but instead worked the fields or toiled in factories.
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It is no longer recommended to drink water from rivers, or to eat fruit from trees grown in the suburbs.
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Instead, we drink water that is pumped into our houses through a filtration process and food that is inspected for problems. Hmmm... methinks I'll take this tradeoff, quaint as it might be to go apple picking down by the Mississippi.
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It is no longer recommended to live in cities, because the pollution is so strong.
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As opposed to when and where? Cities of the industrial revolution that were burning coal and had no watchdog organizations or health standards?
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Today, seven billion... in ten years, nine billion. The average IQ is 85-92. Each one of these people produces a bag of garbage a day, and needs food that leaves more heavy metals in the water, more pesticides and fertilizer in our waterways.
Our politicians approve those things that make many people happy because it's what they think they want, but those things never turn out well, and problems remain. These are not problems like war, poverty and inequality, which are universal and will never go away, but problems like corruption, bad leadership, and the results.
Most cities are ugly places lined with advertising. Whatever is popular sells. Whatever sells is good, by most people's definition. They consider themselves successes if they make money and own things, but never think of the condition of their souls or minds.
Where does this course end? Nothing opposes it. It is popular. But who is thinking of the future? And most of all, who is thinking of making great art, great architecture, great music, great thinking? None of these things exist, only an incessant stream of pretty good alternatives.
Is the future of humanity doom, to fade out with a whimper and not a bang?
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*yawn*
These sorts of things (generally in the trite medium of "email forward") are tiresome. It isn't particularly difficult to cherry pick a set of factoids and then preach doom and gloom. Most people swallow up this kind of sophistry as well, without giving it much further thought (I'm not accusing you of doing this - I don't know your posting style well enough). But there is no theme or common cause linking these things together.
I could just as easily cite a bunch of factoids to tip the scales in the other direction: increasing human lifespans, increasing global standard of living, the ability of children to communicate, practically for free, with children in other countries from their home desktops, increased racial/ethnic tolerance in many places, etc.
There are problems to be addressed, and you could certainly make the case that some things are getting worse, but I'd advise sticking to a specific theme with a traceable cause that can be discussed. Every time I read one of these general "hell in a handbasket" type things, it makes me think of people out there screaming "ohmygod the sky is falling!!!"