I don’t see progress, I feel like we’ve gone too far.
I see the weather shift its focus, floods in places that don’t flood, snow where the earth is too hot to take it, fire in the middle of the ocean.
I don’t see progress I just see more gadgets. Shinier, newer models to keep you glued to them, upgraded systems to keep your brain numb and your eyes happy.
I hear talk about migrating to Mars or outer space when the people in the street multiply by the day, the wounds on their arms and faces getting deeper.
I see people preaching online about justice and change but all they do is post a million infographics about other people’s thoughts and use language that discourages anyone who might want change.
I’ve had people accuse me of things I never did from behind their screens, cowering in their rooms, unwilling to talk things through, to hear a different opinion. I’ve seen talented, open-minded, and creative individuals be shut down because someone, somewhere thought they said the wrong thing in 2009 when they were nineteen and depressed. Their words taken out of context.
I see a mob mentality, a beehive thought process, performative activism.
I see friends no longer speak to other friends or family over trivial things. I’ve seen siblings fight over nothing and never speak again. I see people create big problems where there are none, I see sheltered people not admit or see how sheltered they really are.
I see small businesses get a lot of attention, but these same businesses are just a brand. In the past year, I’ve seen actual small businesses, run by a family or older folk, shut down completely and the popular, Instagramable small businesses multiply their brand and turn into small chains. I’ve worked for the latter, their greediness matches that of a billionaire CEO.
I’ve seen billionaire CEO’s double their income, take over everything, reach their grubby hands out into the universe and try to take more.
I’ve seen pictures of animals with masks wrapped around their bodies.
I see addiction run rampant, medicine absolute, pills administered thoughtlessly as a blanket solution to everything.
I see people dismiss their shadow, ignore the importance of our planet, paint the world in black and white conveniently forgetting the color gray, run wild with theories and forget the action, weaponize everything that doesn’t go with their narrative, turn a blind eye to what is actually wrong.
I don’t see nuance anywhere.
It may have always been like this or it may not have, I wouldn't know. This is the world I was brought into.
Every day I see, read and hear a lot of things.
None of these things make me think about progress.
