State Of The World — The Extent
Facts eclipsed by opinions.
Can anyone define the state of the world? No. Because a structural perception cannot be defined. But it surely can be recognized; hence, can be acted and reacted on. When the term ‘state of the world’ is used, a structure is evoked in the individual faculty. The collective identification to this term establishes its presumption. Its existence is contextual.
But its effect is not. The power of this conjecture not only effects but also steers human action — the most impactful action on earth. This action, in reality, is a reaction. Its power is a reflection. When we passively react to the events, we reflexively serve a purpose. A purpose that we mirror without questioning its intent or knowing its aim.
We have an inbuilt intuition to recognize what is harmful to us. I will use the word ‘negative’ from now onwards. This inbuilt intuition is deft at recognizing what is negative. I do not have to expand on negativity bias. We are innately susceptible to loss aversion. To avert, the negativity needs to be detected first. Eons of practice have rutted the circuitry of rapid negativity detection.
This is a useful habit. The disaster lies in what we do after the detection. Detection must be followed by an inspection. But we skip everything in between (inspection, comprehension, choice, etc.), at our own peril, to jump to a conviction. Largely because the conviction is presumed. This skipping of choice is not a jump but a relay. Relay of forced thought-associations. We generally call it relatability. We doubt the capability of an action but never the flimsy relatability of a reaction.
Climate crisis is a consequence. Pandemic is a consequence. War is a consequence. Consequence of the critical needs that we doubt and scripted relatability that we scout.
The abstraction ‘state of the world’ is politicized to procure a collective helplessness. The economy depends on this helplessness. Its easy to rule the helpless. This helplessness is institutionalized in every culture. The ways to cultivate this helplessness is primitive yet effectual: reward and punishment. The former is more effective. The push behind is always fear.
Our consumption habits make us helpless. We don’t know (or care) how the products reach the market. The ‘state of the world’ lies in this deliberate obscurity. There’s another type of consumerism in which we are the products — information. Through media we create a para-social environment where we believe to know the cluster of events we call ‘state of the world’.
The force that holds the cluster together is relatability. The information does contain the truth. Truth is not corrupted but the perception is. What’s the point of truth if one cannot perceive it? And with this skillful practice the world is trained to doubt everything. Life cannot be predicted. This fact is used to create an environment where one cannot trust anything. Hence, the ‘state of the world’.
As I have said the truth is already there in the information. If we take part in the communication to analyze and correct our perception, we can see the truth. It’s not easy but possible. How does a fact affect — in a definite way. If we learn to sift the facts from the torrent of opinions, we can refrain from being helpless. The delusion ends when facts are perceived and acted on. Not when opinions are believed and reacted on.
There is a general tendency to refute everything. This is a negativity bias. We trust criticism more than appreciation. The unethical politics and economy thrive on this bias. The good news is the resolution is in our hand. By correcting our perception, we correct the ‘state of the world.’
Whenever you have a content, please inspect your reaction before forming a conviction. Even if you have concluded you can always de-internalize. When you are the product, you hold the power. You are not just a product but one with a brain. Make use of it. Also, the choice to be or not be the product is yours. Do not reject your access to information but also do not be drifted by the profit-oriented opinion-deluge. It is not your profit after all.
‘State of the world’ is a consequence. It is an aftereffect which has been cleverly manipulated. The actions of consequence are silenced and diverted. ‘State of the world’ does affect us. The extent of this effect is exploited. By tying knots and building barriers, the flow of information is managed in a way to squeeze out profits at the cost of a living world.
Question yourself before walking the same mental rut. Your state is not different from the state of the world. Your perception creates the world you are in, we are in. Correct that and we are good.
