Our Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist translates to spirit and time, in essence a word that captures the mood, attitudes, behaviour and beliefs of a certain civilization at a certain point in time. What is our zeitgeist? And what has to happen for a zeitgeist to change?

Any belief must be backed by evidence, which is why our current zeitgeist is quite easy to see. Our zeitgeist consists of consumerism, environmental damage, poverty and insecurity of energy and of peace. Whilst these signifiers connote much larger meanings and perhaps debatable logical reasoning, there is no doubt that the current epoch consists of overarching issues across all countries, defining the zeitgeist of people who have lived on this earth within the last 50 years.

Periods of time have had different problems, whether it be conquering neighbours during middle english or trying to survive during the time of the neanderthals. Our current zeitgeist is inescapable and one that is quite different to other notable periods of time. The actions we take now will not only affect other humans, but they will effect nature and wildlife as well.

The spirit of the time is often identified by the attitudes and actions of human beings. Whilst I cannot speak for all of humanity, I can tell of particular actions which I feel epitomize the current time we live in. Some examples:

 - We use money as a way to distribute resources, thus valuing everything we have gained from nature.
 - Humans will act so as to gain for themselves, and do not always act for the greater good. This is worringly true when looking at acting sustainably.
- We have seperated into countries and strict borders, making it harder to get people out of poverty.
- For some reason, we value products greater than the land we live in.

Everyday I see evidence of our current zeitgeist, of our collective moods and attitudes. What has to happen for them to change? How can we change the beliefs of many from one thing to another? How can we change the behaviour and values of many from one thing to another?

HOW CAN WE CHANGE OUR ZEITGEIST TO BECOME MORE SUSTAINABLE?

 

 

A change is needed to help correct many of our current problems. We cannot change if we are lead by those that got us these problems in the first place. We need a catalyst to help provide this change.

 

A thought that I shall leave you with: Are our current problems a result of the leadership from an ill-informed generation?