• alvvayson@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    I, too, thought a lot about this.

    Having kids now and reflecting on my childhood, it’s extremely obvious that my parents truly had the best intentions and tried their best.

    But they, too, are fallible and made mistakes.

    Some of those mistakes were due to a lack of knowledge or bad advice they received. I think that nowadays, thanks to the internet, it’s quite feasible to get much better advice. On the other hand, there is also a lot of disinformation.

    I am optimistic that each generation will get better, because knowledge tends to accumulate and humanity tends to improve over time.

    But perfection is still far away in a distant future.

      • alvvayson@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Yeah, but that’s not because of generational progress.

        Many civil rights in the USA weren’t properly arranged for through democratic laws, but by Supreme Court decisions.

        They were always at risk. Once you achieve the same level of progress through electoral majorities, they are much more stable and secure.

        As for workers rights and inequality, there is a similar story. Between the great depression and globalization there was a time of great progress, but it was never sustainable.

        It only occurred because two world wars and a great depression left the world in tatters and destroyed the power of the wealthy, while the Western world still fully enjoyed the fruits of colonialism. Western Middle classes suddenly had all the power for a brief moment in time.

        Now, we will have to figure out how to create real equality, without exploiting other countries and without relying on war and depression to break the power of the rich.

          • alvvayson@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            With humanity, it’s always two steps forward, one step back.

            The USA ended slavery, then introduced segregation and share cropping.

            They ended segregation, then started the war on drugs to imprison minorities.

            They elected a black man, then a fascist.

            Similar things can be seen in other countries. Russia got rid of communism, then elected Putin. China opened up, now they have a dictator.

            But, in general, the direction is forward.

    • YellowBendyBoy@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I’m convinced that the intentions you have don’t mater that much. It’s how well you’ve managed to solve your own problems that determines how fucked up your kid is going to be.