I was reading a question that I had to answer...this question really made me start to make me ponder...hmmm.....does anyone have hope for mankind? Enlighten me here people....because I find no hope in mankind....

Without hope all is lost.

So yes of course, there's always hope.

I see there's no hope for mankind but I see a future for it. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

I can better explain in chinese;
you qian tu ke shi mei you xi wang. [img]graemlins/laugh3.gif[/img]

Hope? Other than the changes in technology, and the adaptations that have occurred as a result of it, people are pretty much exactly the way they were millenia ago. We still butcher each other over religion and skin color. We still let greed drive us. That's why I laugh at the Star Trek premise: some aliens show up and help us into space, and all of a sudden there is no hunger, no money, etc. Bull$#!@. It's a part of our nature. And with the technology getting better and better (and thus, better and better at killing each other off), it's only a matter of time.

Without Faith, there is NO Hope...

Actually, I do believe there is hope for this world. But, as Ronn_Bman said, without Faith there is no hope. We've really destroyed the world. We've corrupted so much, twisting it and changing it into something so different. The music, the entertainment, the way we worship, the way we act, the way treat each other. And none of us can take the blame. We try to blame material items, saying "Oh yea, money is what screwed things up, money is the root of all evil" Oh yea? It's not. We just made it that. We've really messed things up, but things can change.

<font color=lime>May I input on the issue of faith?
I have none. Unless I can say faith in humanity, and the hope that we all will get it together and stop the insanity. </font>

I think Ronn has it completely wrong, Without hope there would be no faith... the essence of most peoples faith is hope for mankind and that we can be saved... but you can have hope without following a believe... like my man Kathen... [img]smile.gif[/img]

Hope this post isn't in violation of the Religious ban....

just out of curiosity, how old are you?

Of course there's hope. I have hope. I have to... I've seen some horrible things, and I'm still relatively young, but logic must follow that hope exists. If it didn't, I would have stopped getting out of bed in the morning years ago.
Faith sometimes links itself with hope, but not always. My personal beliefs have little to do with hope, though that's just me. I know plenty of atheists who have hope... And a few that don't. I know religious people with hope, and some without. Therefore, my view is that hope is something you find within yourself.

I hope I get a wrapped up Jenny for my birthday [img]smile.gif[/img]

While there is life, there is hope!
Tyr Anasazi, Andromeda [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ok, I assume you arn't here to debate the semantic definitions of hope? Ie: is there actually such a thing as hope at all?
So, what do you mean by 'hope for mankind'? Hope for mankind to do what? Fly to Pluto? Develope a nicer-tasting potatoe chip? Be more specific with your question and I shall answer you with my absolute and inexhaustable wisdom ;)

"The only way to fix it is to flush it all away"

faith in what?

I have no faith in a god per se but i suppose i have faith in other things and that gives me hope for a happy fulfilling life

Smoothie, it seems to me you've answered your own question. ;)

Was the accidental(Freudian slip?) capital F in faith that confusing? [img]tongue.gif[/img] :D

Ok, I assume you arn't here to debate the semantic definitions of hope? Ie: is there actually such a thing as hope at all?
So, what do you mean by 'hope for mankind'? Hope for mankind to do what? Fly to Pluto? Develope a nicer-tasting potatoe chip? Be more specific with your question and I shall answer you with my absolute and inexhaustable wisdom ;) </font>[/QUOTE]Heh heh...I'm only 16...Don't say that I'm to young and didn't experience life long enough, but if you weren't going to say that...just ignore me. Anyway, what I meant about "hope for mankind" is that will we really exist long enough to year 2100? We all have to admit...humans are by far the most pathetic things that walked the Earth. I say that there is no hope for mankind because I have no faith. I also highly doubt that humans will reach Pluto...ever...due to how slow technology is developing. Probably another Cold War might help give it a boost and maybe we might even reach Mars.

On the contrary humanity is one of the more remarkable species ever to walk the earth. We by manipulating things around us are almost infinately adaptable. The fact of the matter is we just have a harder time adapting to living with each other. We're working on the environmental issues. The progress is slow but still there. Is there hope for humanity? I say yes, because to say no makes my life and the life of humanity as a whole effectively worthless. At that point whats the use of waking up tomorrow, what the use of saving someones life, and whats the point of procreation? Will we exist in 2100? I'd expect so. Things aren't so volatile as to generate humanity's self-destruction in that period of time.

P.S.What would be the point of reaching pluto?

P.P.S. The definition of faith as one of my mentors defined it: faith is belief in something otherwise intangible.

P.P.P.S. My definition of hope: desire for something. That's the short of it. I'd try for more depth, but I'm getting a touch fatigued now. 1:13am and all that.

Of course there's Hope. I remember Hope Bradey from Days of Our Lives, don't you? She was a hottie. [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

Ahhh, nothing makes me go all warm and fuzzy like unrepentant youthful nihilism [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

And no, we don't "have to admit that humans are by far the most pathetic things that walked the planet". If you want to think that, then by all means do so. But I'm curious as to why you've come to that conclusion? What is it about the people around you, and the images you see of the world itself, that makes you think so disdainfully of your own species? Is this something you have thought alot about? Or are you merely parroting the words of your favourite heavy metal musicians? ;) Nothing wrong with that of course, but I need to know whether you are a genuine thinker or not if we are to get anywhere with further philosophising [img]smile.gif[/img]

Oh, and I would say that technology is developing at break-neck speed! We may not reach Mars in your lifetime, but in all honesty your lifetime isn't all that important. The important thing is that it CAN be done, and so long as political, environmental and economic forces can be sufficiently balanced, our species WILL achieve any goal it collectively sets.

Before we go any further though, I suggest you remove any notion of self-importance that you may have. Forget your immediate needs or wants, forget any ideas of how you think the world should be, and try your hardest to see the world as it is. Truth doesn't actually exist, you will never actually see the 'real' world, but trying to see it is a good way to align your mind and get rid of any egocentric confusion you might have...

*sigh*...wait...let me check the dictionary....

Right.... I wouldn't really be a nihilist…I don’t want the destruction of mankind and I do have loyalties to those I do respect and those who respect me. Hierophant, I respect what you are asking me since it is making me think. You asked me why I don’t like humankind that much…well maybe it’s not all about humans, but life. Life is quite boring, I don’t mean boring as there is nothing to do, but boring as it’s very simple. Everyone wears the same style of clothes in certain communities. They all have somewhat the same personality and they always follow what goes with the flow. Barely anyone in this public, in front of school or businesses acts like how they are in front of their parents. They all act differently so that they can be popular. People are quick to judge whether you are good/smart or bad/stupid just by looking at what you wear. My inspiration of my philosophy is not inspired only by the music I hear, but also what I learn at I grow older. Do you really think humans will reach Mars…the environment here is pretty bad. With all the pollution, global warming, idiotic politician like Bush. Maybe I’m just not as wise and smart yet due to the fact I’m only 16, maybe I’m still blinded by the truth and my stubborn opinion is just blocking it or am I just a problem teenager that’s going through this dumb phase in life.

Let me ask everyone here…are you inspired by religion such as God created everything and set things in motion OR do you believe in science, that the universe was created by the Big Bang and that humans were once tiny organisms that morphed to adapt its surroundings? Look, I use to be a Christian, but a lot of questions formed in my mind if God truly exist or not. Was there any proof that God existed? Does anyone ever wonder how the Bible ever came to exist? Is there is even Heaven or Hell? If God still exist, why doesn’t he talk to his people. In the Bible it says He talked to his people and that during that time, it was a time of miracles. Like Jesus healing the blind, Moses staff turned into a snake, Goliath and David. I just find it hard to believe that those things ever existed.

LOL, that she was. I remember Days of Our Lives well. Marlena as the devil had me in absolute hysterics - she had bright white eyes and the deepest voice ever. That show was just too much [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Our world is like the Matrix IMHO. We are not free. We are trapped in this system of rules. What kind of rules? Rules like behavior,freedom of speech etc. No one can do what he wants. Why? Becuase the society put rules into our lives and our parents inforce those rules into us. So we aren`t free and therfore I see no hope for mankind. We live in boxes. Do that or else sanctions will follow.

I could be mistaken but your last paragraph is relatively unanswerable due to a ban on religious discussion in these forums. I'm pretty sure that is the case at least at the moment. This is largely due to the inability of many people to discuss things in an objective manner. I have to admit I'm typically one of those people. If I'm wrong about this someone correct me purty please [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ask anyone who plays the lottery.

Yes there is hope,
There are people like you everywhere including where it counts to make the changes needed, think about how far we have come in such a short time. As an example we are destroying nuclear weapons and the war in Iraq was based onthe search of weapons of mass destruction (i'll overlook the other reasons for the purpose of argument).
Basically what i mean is that mankind is trying to get there, there is still a long way to go but there is a possibility, so yes in my opinion there is hope.

And therein lies a huge mistake. If you "overlook the other reasons" then you deliberately blind yourself to parts of the world that you wish wern't there. Just because you can't cope with something doesn't mean you can wish it away. If you continue down this path of 'overlooking' then you doom yourself to make the same mistakes over and over again.

It's all a matter of perspective, shadowspecter. If you choose to view the World as boring and generally a crappy place, then there's plenty of things around to support that view. The opposite is also true, if you choose a more positive perspective you'll see it's not all doom and gloom. Whatever your beliefs are, choosing to view the World as hell on Earth will do you no good at all.

Besides, why wouldn't we be able to reach Mars? Even the most pessimistic sceptics think we may be able to land there within the next few decades.
Unfortunately there's a ban on any religious discussion, so I can't discuss these matters with you.

Well, let's see... A few responses to you, Shadowspecter.

First off... I've got to disagree with your description of life. Everyone wears the same style of clothes in certain communities, has the same personality, goes with the flow, and spends their time trying to be popular? Sorry, but my own experience has been more or less nothing like that.

I can't remember knowing anyone who's actively tried to conform to some sort of "cool" dress code, possibly because we don't really have one around here. You see quite a few different things, and comments on it, at least that I've ever heard, are rather rare.

People having the same personality? Sure, in the way that everything is kind of similar. I mean, at a basic level, a person and an amoeba and a brick are all made of atoms... But saying they're the same seems quite a bit farfetched to me. Although some people are similar, most that I've known are pretty distinct.

And of course, popularity... I don't know, maybe my school's just odd, but we don't seem all that popularity-driven. I mean, people have friends and all that, so we're not just a bunch of angry loners, but since I assume you mean popularity in the clique-ish sense... Nope, I can't honestly say I've seen it.

Now, I'm sure all of what you said is the case in some places... But all over? No, certainly not. The world's not that badly off. I don't see why there can't be hope for humanity to reach Mars, since that's the example you've been using. In our lifetime, even. Yes, we might not, but technology is advancing, and I think that overall we're making some progress. Everything's not perfect, and it's never going to be, but is there hope that it'll get better? Yes, I'd say there is.

I can't answer the religious section of your post due to the ban on religious topics that apprently exists, sorry.

Also, Bush is cool, darn you. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[ 03-15-2004, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: Encard ]

And therein lies a huge mistake. If you "overlook the other reasons" then you deliberately blind yourself to parts of the world that you wish wern't there. Just because you can't cope with something doesn't mean you can wish it away. If you continue down this path of 'overlooking' then you doom yourself to make the same mistakes over and over again. </font>[/QUOTE]I overlook these factors because i have hope [img]tongue.gif[/img]

This topic has been very interesting and enlightening. Thanks everyone for those who responded, most of you have change some of my perspective towards life.

If I offended anyone by posting the religion question part, then sorry.

Glad to hear this post has proven productive for you.

I don't think anyone was offended, just that we are not permitted to carry discussions on the subject matter at this time.

[ 03-17-2004, 02:34 PM: Message edited by: Firestormalpha ]

Just going by the subject title, in a word-NO have a nice day

Well that's fine. As a future politician I'm glad that your definition of hope makes you so vulnerable to manipulation.

Hierophant, if you want to exchange philosophical jabs with Intrepid take it to pm's.

No, Intrepid is fine. We have different ideas, but nothing irreconcilable. YOU on the other hand are someone that I will 'take it to pms' with...

Yeah there is hope people have made it this long with some problems, I don't see why we can't make it another 96 years without much trouble. What you said about life being boring and simple, life is what you make it, I can't say i'm the most positive person in the world acctually i'm quite pesimistic. I used to have some simular idea's about life as you. So I can see where your coming from but if your judging all this from what you've seen in highschool, not saying thats just what your basing these idea's on. But if you are your wasting your time don't read to much into what you see in school.

BTW- who wants to get to mars anyway we landed on the moon forever ago, and whats that got us.......