Any time we bubble over with resentment about the state of our neighborhood, country, or world, we must realize that we are inextricably tied to these conditions. If there was not a fascination with the celebrity lifestyle, we would not have celebrity gossip, or celebrity reality TV, or any other variation of the glut of celebrity ephemera we are now perpetually exposed to. When you lament aloud about the decline in intellectualism or people with substance, you must all the while look at your own expenditures of time. If you watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians and complain about the inherent shallowness of the world around you, you're not only spinning your wheels in futility, but also furthering the lifespan of the problem you squawk about.
The good news is change on the micro level is the only way to incite change on the macro level. If you truly do resent certain characteristics about the present day, then if would be in your best interests to adopt worthwhile habits and thrive on them. Every time you turn off the TV and read a book, it is a small victory. You issue a small impulse to the book's author saying, "Hey! I'm reading out here! Keep it up!". Before long that author would become more successful, and other potential authors will see that there is a way to live well as an author after all. This is how it starts.
In the end, I can only project so much. I know what is in my best interests. It involves finding meaning in being alive in various capacities. For you, this may be different. Life is book ended by birth and then death with an unknowable time in between. What you do in that time will define your legacy and ultimately, you should do what makes you happy. Just know that if the world at large is making you unhappy, you should make an effort to see if you're contributing to the problem.
Rest day today. Back at it tomorrow.
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