POst-what society?

Postmodernism, postindustrialization.. Sigh, I'm beginning to think we're in a postmorality, post-ability to see beyond the rational. HA, maybe I am romanticising the past. But I seriously think our society is heading in a terrible direction. Maybe we are a generation which places more faith in science than arts, maybe we believe it is better to rely on our head than our heart. We get a lot of brain washing that we have the ability to change our future. Make it better. Look ahead. Look ahead. The past? It's just some nightmares we've gotten over. Pity those people who had to use candles in the past. Look how much we've progressed.

But I think the idea of historical progress is a dangerous idea we all buy into. It took World War I and II to shatter the enlightenment project, and brought the idea of the 'modern'society into question. That technological 'progress' should unleash such devastating loss of life should have made us 'post-modern' generation all the more cautious of the word "Progress". But we are not, we buy into it hook , line and sinker. What do we assume when we say humanity has progressed? Should it be a wonder then that the greatest scientific ideas of the 20th century contributed to the nuclear bomb. In our eagerness to look to the future, we have forgotten to look at the past. And this is perhaps the saddest and scariest of all.

Post-modernist theory have created a group of people who are skeptical of the present. We apply relative standards to everything. Everything can be questioned now. Even the idea of good and evil. Religion, justice, all the major frameworks of society now become meta-narratives we can choose to disregard. But will this post-modern project much like its predecessor end in misery? Maybe it would not come in the form of wars, but perhaps, we might wake up one day to find that the most important things which make us human. Things which make life still worth living lost due to our endless questioning. In an age where skepticism, and relativity is celebrated. Do we wonder if even they have limits?

Once in a while, I get sick of the mentality surrounding our present society. But maybe my protest is futile. There is no way back. But still, maybe we should have a limit to where our questions should end. Maybe it is time, we stop asking and start believing more. But then, I contradict myself. Because the next question comes: What to believe in? Should i then, take back everything i've said earlier and start buying into the idea of the great leap forward of the human race: Progress you say?