“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ.”
Philippians 1:9-10
Returning to the start of the 20th Century, you’ll discover many concerns relating to national security, social challenges, political ambitions, and more. It turns out that the First World War was not the war to end all wars but instead paved the way for a second and more destructive testing ground ranging from the systemic devaluation of human life to weapons of mass destruction. From blitzkriegs to the Battle of the Bulge, the 30s gave way to the 40s, which set up Woodstock and the rise of the free spirit.
Indeed, the seeds of unshackling from the tyrannical imposition of “authority” produced flowers and fruit whose blossoms and nourishment lacked their intended beauty and vitality. Consequently, drugs, sex, and access to indulging the latest desire advanced at rates of incomprehensible proportions. Previously, those desires hidden in the dark and shadowy corners were issued to the forefront of public life. What was once taboo became tantamount to living life to the full. A generation bent on rejecting the established “authority” and offering its full hedonistic expression gave way to Timothy Leary and Marilyn Monroe. A new generation arose with a self-expressing ethos that was colonized into Gen X and the rise of Kurt Cobain.
As the 90s arrived, a sigh had settled on the landscape. Now, the conversation was dominated by 401(k)s, Y2K, and the schedule-constraining pursuit of an ever-improving athlete. Moving from Dewey’s experiential proclamations to Frankfurt’s critical pedagogy, the education system embarked on the quest of rejecting Absolute Truth and the suspicion of every perceived power structure. See also the rising influence of the social and political activists: Greta Thunberg, MeToo, Occupy [enter the name of your city], BLM, and more. Are they wrong? Are they right? Says who? Who cares? Just a hundred years prior, these voices would have faded into the trill of the laboring man, woman, and family’s quest to survive.
With the rise of YouTube and the Influencer, every voice can find an audience. And so, here we are today…the year 2024. What is next? Looming in the background of these social phenomena is a power brewing. A profound, illusive, and more mysterious than any civilization had ever imagined or expected is poised for appearance.
We should have known that when Johnny 5 made us all cry, we were positioned for a cataclysmic change. The robot has become human…like.
Enter A.I.
Stay tuned. We’ll have more on this topic as we unpack human identity and the rise of artificial intelligence.
— March 7, 2024