Chronosynclastic Infundibulum

Alvin Toffler talks about future shock as what one experiences when the rate at which changes take place overwhelm you and you are no longer able to cope with it. It seems like a problem that is seen acutly in the US (Not future shock, just rapid change). It is not that pronounced in some of olders cultures like India, but its only a matter of time.
The most fascinating thing about it is the alacrity with which changes are accepted. It is sometimes hard to discern between acceptance and apathy, then again silence is approval. On the other side of the spectrum is India a few decades ago. It had almost become the epitomy of stagnation. Interestingly, if one sees closely, even europe is fairly resistent to change. The far east have changed within their own paradigm, but are yet to ready themselves towards a global society. America is probably one of the most dynamic among the scieties. This propensity has been referred to as lack of values, moral decline, lack of culture or even as progress, future looking and prosperity. Be that as it may, the fact of the matter is that changes come faster and are imbiobed faster in the american society and any other. India, being the other case in point is the stark opposite. Changes are often thrust upon the society and the acceptance of this change is more due to absence of any other alternative than by choice.
The older the society, the more mature(?) and richer(?) the heritage, the more resistant it is to change. The way I figure it, culture and heritage are like a ballast, and the change is a force trying to move the device. The ballast’s job is to provide inertia in order to be able to control the movement. If the ballast it too light, the movement is chaotic and often requires compensation and is susecptable to overcompensation. If the ballast is too heavy, then it simply refuses to move and requires an even greater force to effect anything useful from it.
I guess it would be wrong to merely use the age as a factor. It is possible to have long surviving societies still willing to accept changes. I guess it is a matter of how much baggage of the past one is willing to carry. In India, we still brag about inventing the concept of ‘zero’, but refuse to invest a penny in research. That is the baggage we choose to carry. In the US there is no baggage, hence no lessons learnt. People make the same mistakes in different ways. Hence the dynamism.
A society needs guidance and free movement, not limitless freedom or unshakable bondage. Its a fine balance that few have managed to achieve.
Utopia…. I’m still looking.