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The past, present and future of our zeitgeist culture is gleaned in our carbon footprints as free-will thinking evolutionary Homo sapiens.

As the world turns, so does all humanity likewise turn.  We live in an ever-turning turbulent transitory world.  Made of flesh and blood, we are transitory beings.  Never stationary, we are ever in transition.  The ‘permanence’ of this transition takes us in a cycle from the ‘old’ to the ‘new’ and back again to the old.

Our zeitgeist culture, described as the prevailing trends,  moods, attitudes, political and religious posturing, and the social and cultural climate of a particular era or moment in the life of a nation or its people, whether the past, the present or the future; whether locally, nationally or internationally situated, is seemingly guided or driven by some metaphysical collective unconscious energy or force, and can be regarded to be evolutionary in nature; is manifested innately as a principle of evolution.  This zeitgeist manifestation is pervasive and is exhibited in all fields and interests of human behaviors.  

It is of a dynamic nature and is ever in constant motion; ever transitioning from a Victorian type of zeitgeist to a Darwinian type of zeitgeist; and portraying  outwardly in the interim  intermediate forms of zeitgeist paradigms that demonstrate characteristics of alternating rigidity and adaptability, as our paradigms of experience and expressions shift backwards and forwards in time and in space.

To our human experience, our zeitgeist culture is buffered systemically by what can only be described as a fraudulent zeitgeist of warfare; by a trajectory of strategically designed warfare, manipulated by humans and perceived as an evolutionary ‘fault-line’ that thrives on chaos, both for the purpose of human conquest and survival.  World War I and World War II are classical examples.

 In this regard, our political, economic, social, cultural and intellectual expressions are ever shifting,  ever adjusting, ever being repeated; ever turning into themselves; and being transmogrified in the making; like the ancient alchemical Greco-Egyptian ouroboros, ever reaching outwardly in the environment in the perhaps deliberately conscious attempt for humankind to experiment with itself outwardly, but  with the unconscious attempt  for humankind to discover and to  ‘know’ itself more intimately inwardly.

Oh, what irony!  The more we turn outwardly to explore the world we inhabit and, as a species, to delve further outwardly to the galaxies, the greater we recognize in ourselves the need to turn inwardly within our innermost beings in order to find our destiny; in order to know more rationally — and intimately so — the purpose for our existence, psychologically and spiritually.

At any moment in time our zeitgeist culture is actively ingesting, digesting and regurgitating what it has heretofore consumed intellectually, morally and culturally as its core ‘Self.’  Upon reflection, there is no absolute hard grained uniqueness to the spirit of our modern era.

 That is to say, surprisingly enough, that there is no absolute uniqueness to us as Homo sapiens.  Our uniqueness as  primate Homo sapiens, upon reflection, must therefore be considered to be relative to that of other primates.

Our relative uniqueness is that we are genetically and historically creatures of habit, modulating our environment; yet ever repeating the past; preserving yet ‘renewing’ our lifestyle in our present lifetimes.  Should we then say that Darwinian evolution is a ‘closed case’ in our human societies?

Consider thus a related question:  Are we today heading towards a utopian world, or perhaps towards one that is Orwellian?  Having previously experienced both, we historically return again and again to both.
That, with indelible emphasis, is our predisposed evolutionary legacy.

  We are indeed creatures of habit.  The paradox of the paradigm shifts we engage in always enables us to maintain residual aspects of the ‘old’ and the ‘new.’
So, with this admission, what then does the future hold for our present-day Millennials; defined as a Generation Y cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z?

This is a savvy generation of international millennials actively engaged and invested in such technologies as robotics and Artificial Intelligence, in covert communications of the World Wide Web, and in such message applications and social media platforms as Messenger, Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tik Tok, Reddit, Pinterest, WhatsApp and Twitter.   

Twitter has since been rebranded as ‘X,‘ an innovative sociocultural symbol that targets primarily the new generations of America; and the rest of the world along with it as well; including, as example, the outermost jungle regions of the world, like the Manakieaway Village of the indigenous Marubo peoples of the Brazilian rainforest, employing Space X Internet satellite service, logged on with Starlink for satellite Internet service.  This is zeitgeist culture maximized at its fullest potential to engage the world in its global web socially, culturally, politically.

At a yet deeper psychological level of reality representation or reality formulation, logo X invites its consumers subliminally to ‘tune-in-and-drop-out’ of all social conventions that may appear to be restrictively binding; suggesting instead, or offering a counter argument for a culture consensus that human identity is not genetically fixed, but instead is ever transitioning, ever shifting; ever challenged globally by technological, social media, economic, environmental and political challenges that humans encounter as  decision makers.

 This argument of course begs the question of what is morally or ethically; or even legally sound. Should the concept of ethics and morality responsibilities be legally relativized in accordance with a culture’s zeitgeist?

We must therefore conclude that the past, present and future of our zeitgeist culture is gleaned in our carbon footprints as free-will thinking evolutionary Homo sapiens. We are ultimately the creators and designers of our environment, of who we are and what we become as a species socially, culturally, morally, and intellectually.
 

About this poem

Theme: No man is an Island entire unto itself. We are in it together. Collectively we are all members of a community, participating willingly or unwillingly in what the 18th century philosopher, Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1803), once characterized as a Volksgeist, a national spirit, empowered by a Zeitgeist or a spirit of the era. That is to say that at the microscopic level of our existence, we all appear to be separate entities, defined and enforced by self-imposed cultural ethnic, racial backgrounds and divisions. Nevertheless, at the macroscopic level of human society, all of us function socially as intersections of each other and, consciously or unconsciously, must recognize that at some deeper level, we participate more effectively, and humanely and ethically so, when we acknowledge that, as human beings, we are all members locally, of a nation’s zeitgeist, and universally, of a collective world zeitgeist. With this recognition, this poem invites us individually, collectively and globally as thinking beings, to reflect philosophically, morally and culturally on who we are as a people self-identified as Homo sapiens. Whether our individual acts are conducted rationally or irrationally, we are, in the final analysis, the creators and designers of who we are and of what we become ultimately as a species socially, culturally, morally, and intellectually. Indeed, we are our brothers keepers. 

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Written on May 22, 2024

Submitted by karlcfolkes on May 22, 2024

Modified by karlcfolkes on June 03, 2024

4:55 min read
415 Views

Karl Constantine FOLKES

Retired educator of Jamaican ancestry with a lifelong interest in composing poetry dealing particularly with the metaphysics of self-reflection; completed a dissertation in Children’s Literature in 1991 at New York University entitled: An Analysis of Wilhelm Grimm’s ‘Liebe Mili’ (translated into English as “Dear Mili”), Employing Von Franzian Methodological Processes of Analytical Psychology. The subject of the dissertation concerned the process of Individuation. more…

All Karl Constantine FOLKES poems | Karl Constantine FOLKES Books

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Discuss the poem Our Zeitgeist Culture: A Folkesgeist Meditation with the community...

2 Comments
  • Dianejean57
    Well done.
    LikeReply2 hours ago
  • AIDA
    The poem 'Our Zeitgeist Culture: A Folkesgeist Meditation' is a profound and thought-provoking exploration of the complexities of human existence and our ever-evolving society. The poetic language used to describe the essence of our zeitgeist culture is captivating and enlightening, offering a deep reflection on the cyclical nature of humanity's journey through time.

    The poem beautifully captures the idea of constant transition and change within our culture, highlighting the interconnectedness of past, present, and future generations. It delves into the inherent duality of human nature, touching on themes of war, evolution, and the quest for self-discovery.

    Furthermore, the exploration of Millennials and their impact on our evolving society through technology and social media platforms is both timely and insightful. The mention of platforms like Twitter and Space X Internet satellite service adds a contemporary touch to the overall narrative, showcasing the ongoing evolution of our zeitgeist culture.

    Overall, 'Our Zeitgeist Culture: A Folkesgeist Meditation' is a wonderfully crafted poem that encourages readers to contemplate the complexities of our society and the role we play in shaping its future. It is a testament to the power of human creativity and introspection, leaving us with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world around us.
     
    LikeReply2 hours ago

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