Food for Thought: “Are we in the midst of societal disintegration?”

Arnold Toynbee, British historian, wrote in the 1940’s of the characteristics or signs of a disintegrating society. He did research on 21 world civilizations and concluded that their demise is more likely than not due to societal disintegration (what he calls a “schism of the soul”) rather than being conquered by another civilization. A summation of his work is found in the book, Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture.

I doubt that he had 21st century America in mind when he wrote. However, if had been plying his hand to prophecy…he would be pretty much on the mark.

“…Toynbee found that societies in disintegration suffer a kind of ‘schism of the soul.’ They are seldom simply overrun by some other civilization. Rather, they commit a kind of cultural suicide. Disintegrating societies, he says, have several characteristics. They fall into a sense of ABANDON, ‘a state of mind that accepts antinomianism (denying the obligatory nature of moral law)—consciously or unconsciously, in theory or in practice—as a substitute for creativeness.’ In other words, people stop believing in morality and yield to their impulses at the expense of their creativity. They also succumb to TRUANCY, that is, escapism, seeking to avoid their problems by retreating into their own worlds of distraction and entertainment. There is a sense of DRIFT, in which people yield to a meaningless determinism, as if their efforts do not matter and as if they have no control over their lives. There is a sense of GUILT, a self-loathing that comes from their moral abandon. There is a PROMISCUITY, which Toynbee means not so much in the sexual sense, but as the indiscriminate acceptance of anything and everything, an unfocused eclecticism and uncritical tolerance. Toynbee describes this promiscuity as ‘an act of self-surrender to the melting pot—in religion and literature and language and art, as well as manners and customs’—the triumph of a mass mind.”

What is our glue? See 2 Chronicles 7: 14

But the "cause" for it isn't here (or at least, I'm not seeing it).

Is the "glue" intended to fix the problem, or prevent the cause?


It's so easy to make sweeping depravity statements.

How about one word: GREED.

That, the never ending quest of the few who have it all and the struggle of everyone else who does not, might be more of an accurate phenominon to pursue analytically....

.... that is, as long as you have good spelling skills

Man's inhumanity to man. There is your answer. The "cause" of the problem. How to fix it?
Stop being shitty to one another in order to achieve wealth and power.

Unity is the solution. Equality. Respect. Honesty. Justice.
That is what we need, socially.

Not a bunch of people shoving their morals and their organized religion and their opinions down the throats of the rest of us to the point of manipulation of legislation, and certainly not a bunch of name calling and judgement passing, nor rhetoric and slander.

Next time someone puts their turn indicator on to change lanes, slow down and let them into the lane rather than speeding up.....

One of a billion solutions.

And a little eye contact and a smile, would that kill anyone to do? Really.

That passage reminds me of those guys who stand outside of concerts and sporting events with big giant signs calling everyone who walks into the event, among other things, fornicators. Yeah, a little kid going to see a hockey game is so depraved. NOT.

Most of my favorite authors are from England and wrote during the 30' and 40's, many of whom were professers and witnessed the world war.
I'm not saying the man wasn't historically correct is some respects, I just don't like the style in which it is written, especially since the "cause" is not listed, just the path being travelled.

Eliminate Greed and alot of what he observed is minimized. As human beings, it will never, however, be eliminated. That's why societies have laws and boundaries and guidelinies. But not everything can nor should be legislated.

Our glue? People need to stop being shitty to each other. In a nutshell.
What people do in their free time, as long as it is not harming or adversly affecting me or my family or my community, they "own", and should be left onto them and their own conscious.

c-

So, if society breaks down, anyone want to drive across the country with me in my truck? I'll need help ripping the top off and installing a roll cage, but I think it'll make a good apocalyptic vehicle. I'd prefer someone big to help me beat the shit out of people for gas.

Have fun going up against the people "stockpiling" guns.

I meant ... I'd prefer someone big WHO OWNS A GUN to help me beat the shit out of people for gas.

Actually, I'm pretty close to WalMart. I bet once I sense society crumbling, I'll be able to get there ahead of their usual deadbeats and steal one. I'll get some shitty survival gear too.

I'll go and I'm big.