The New World Order
As a result of mass education, we now have a mass of half-awakened minds, highly opinionated and angry about conditions that they feel have been foisted upon them, not merely against their will but also to their detriment. No longer satisfied to accept the directions of the experts or persons in authority, they are clamorous in making accusations. The immediate result of this ferment is an epidemic of scapegoating, and also myriad proposals that are neither well thought out nor constructive. The experts themselves are at least partly to blame.
After Freud's views of childhood development were taken seriously, succeeding generations found it easy to blame their parents for the problems with which they were saddled, in a reversal of the old style thinking of respect for one's parents and ancestors. The change was considered modern and even enlightened. Science went further and declared that we we were thoroughly conditioned by biology and environmental influences, and that free will was only an illusion.
Science of course has never declared anything. These conclusions, although made by scientists, were not scientific; they were and are religious in character, in so far as they illustrate a belief system relating to the ultimate reality, which is not supported by evidence. In this context, theories are often taken as facts, just as theologians have ever seen their theologies as being explanatory of spiritual facts.
The materialism of science was naturally joined to the materialism of business and finance, economics and development. Whether one was a capitalist or a Marxist, the underlying materialism was taken for granted. Limited government was no longer possible, as there was so much to organize and direct. Huge bureaucracies became the norm, along with global corporations.
Was everything under control? It seemed so in the latter part of the 20th century. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the embrace of capitalism by China, it even seemed as if the prevailing order was established globally. Even before the Iraq War of 1991, which brought together a global coalition, George Bush spoke confidently about a New World Order.
These words are also found, in Latin, on the Great Seal and on the back of the one dollar bill: NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM. Together with the symbols that adorn the seal, the words refer to no established order. They refer to the fact that there is always a new world coming into being. As the world's first modern democracy, the USA enshrined the political aspect of this idea, that the government was the creation of the people and subject to the will of the people.
Moreover, the majestic idea that there is always a new world coming into being refers to more than just the government, since human creativity touches all aspects of life. The words IN GOD WE TRUST also appear on the same bill, suggesting that the kinship of God and humanity is found in this human free will and creativity, not in a blind obedience to law. Yet, no particular religion is emphasized; since, under this idea, a man is free to formulate his own religious beliefs and live according to them.
That means that the current state of the world is everyone's problem. Everyone is to blame, and everyone has a responsibility for finding the better way. It is easy to tear everything down. Soon, we will all be living in the rubble, if we don't find the constructive side of great change.