Life or Death

Referring back to the book The End of the Modern World by Romano Guardini:

Guardini, in this deep and penetrating analysis of human civilization, ends up making a distinction, not peculiar to himself, between two contemporary ages or worlds, the Modern World and the Post Modern World of Mass identity. The Modern World, which actually began centuries ago, during the Age of Enlightenment, Post Renaissance, Post Reformation, transferred mankinds perception of the "infinite" from God and His dwelling place, to the material universe of possibilities. The Scientific Revolution broke the shell of the Middle Age perspective most definitively and the "Modern World" gradually came to birth, flowering in the age of technology, which of course is upon us at present. According to Guardini, this technological wash has unrooted man from his contemplative and reflective traditions. Appreciation of abstract and "revealed" truths has been supplanted by material utilitarianism....a focus perhaps almost exclusively on material things for practicality and purpose. In a summary paragraph, Guardini writes:

"The modern era was fond of justifying technology and rested its defense upon the argument that technology promoted the well being of man. In doing so it masked the destructive effects of a ruthless system. I do not believe that the age to come will rest with such an argument. The man engaged today in the labor of technology knows full well that it moves forward in final analysis neither for profit nor for the well-being of the race. He knows in the most radical sense of the term that power is its motive...a lordship of all; that man seizes hold of the naked elements of both nature and human nature. His action bespeaks immense possibilities, not only for "creation" but also for destruction, especially for the destruction of humanity itself. Man as a human being is far less rooted and fixed within his own essence than is commonly accepted, and the terrible dangers grow day be day. Once the "autonomous" state has broken all bonds (with inherited wisdom?) it will be able to deliver the last coup de grace to human nature itself. Man's relations with nature have reached the point of final crisis: man will either succeed in converting his mastery into good....then his accomplishment would be immense indeed....or man himself will be at an end. "

Sounds heavily weighted towards pessimism. For me, it is probably an accurate analysis. Afterall what we have in the world which portends mass destruction is not a matter of science fiction, but reality with a capital "R". At this point one can reflect upon the words of the Gospel concerning the narrow path which leads to life, and the broader path which leads to destruction.

As with Guardini, I personally believe that the proper outlook is not an unrealistic romance for earlier, simpler times, but a melding of the mentality of earlier times with a frugal and measured interaction with practical life in our modern and technological age. This requires discipline and asceticism for which much Grace is given.