You can gear the future in the right direction only if you believe that there is any

In response to my email, Francois asks: "what violence?" (Apparently, he has not realized that it is he who brought the word "violence" into our conversation). He also continues painting a gloomy caricature of our industrial civilization, saying "chidren nowadays just know frozen fried chicken sticks, they have never seen a chicken alive", etc. My reply:

"You had brought up violence in your email. Violence is something I am not interested in. I don’t have it in me.

What is this caricature of industrial life that you are painting? Do you know people who work in the industry? Why make this parody, this caricature? You remind me of a Charlie Chaplin movie. What is the point spitting on the food you buy? Go live in the countryside and grow your own vegetables, if it will make you happier!

People who work in the industry are heartless monsters who only think about their profits, this is a well-known fact… Why do you carry in yourself so much hatred towards those who strive to build the economy, to be of service to society by producing the goods that she needs? Why are you angry about this natural fact that it is easier for a society to share its tasks (economies of scale), rather than everyone doing everything for themselves? This is actually a measure of the STRENGTH of a society (or a group, or a couple). Why is it bad? Why are you upset at this world which is ours, which is the only one there is? Why, once again, do you refuse reality? (…)

If man had not burnt down the first tree to warm himself up, humanity would probably not have survived very long. That’s THE WAY IT IS – it is evolution. Why negate 2 million years of human history? What do you think is the point of criticizing the evolution of our species? You cannot change anything to the past, and you can gear the future in the right direction only if you believe that there is any. Here, all you do is convey cynicism, violence and rage. I wonder where you picked this all up!"