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Where were we before the internet?
Where were we before industry, before television, before radio, before some dipshit got up and said "Hey guys! Money equals happiness!" and the world went down burning?

Where were we before we discovered we could eat the cow, and not only could we eat it, but we could enjoy it by slicing it into different pieces, and charging premium on the muscles that were less used?

Where were we before we discovered that we could say just about anything, and provided there's a grain of truth in the absurdity, it would be eaten like grits?

Where were we before we discovered we could talk in sentences longer than five words, and whoever was listening wouldn't lose interest?

Where were we before we knew what causality was, and why it was broken?

It astonishes me how far we've come, and yet at the same time, it makes me realize that our progress has become a bent, boomerang shaped chart of progress. Instead of growing up, we've grown out, and all of our progress has come back to serve us in our basic wants, rather than expanding on itself and developing a higher sense of achievement. Instead of developing new means for transportation, all we do is build cars with bigger engines and flashier tail-lights. Instead of developing new spacecraft, we patent the technology and sell it in cars, beds, and even fishtanks.

The fact that I'm writing and pondering this is a testament to our society's decay on a creative and emotional basis. Despite so-called claims towards equality, we really have only taken our first baby-step on a journey to the moon, and already people are patting themselves on the back. Yes, it was difficult, but don't rest. Keep working. Racism, despite being repressed, still exists. A woman's role, while expanded, is still restricted by prejudices spanning back decades. Mental illness, despite new research, and new developments, is still a black hole in society, and even admitting to be in treatment is seen as a major failing for an individual... even if their illness is beyond their control.

Compassion, as I've seen it, seems to be selective... and usually involves an expectation of return. If you have nothing to offer, then it is a safe bet that many people will not hesitate to leave you by the wayside, given that they work hard for their inane existence, and can't be bothered to spare a minute for those who might be on harder times than themselves.

This, of course, excludes myself and many others, whom I look to for reassurance that there are some things in life beyond money, sex, and self-absorption. You all know who you are, and you all know what I talk about when I say that we've cut through the surface, and seen the ugly and sometimes beautiful guts of this world we live on.

We should keep on living, before somebody asks where we were before we knew anything.