Every once in a while I look around at what we – Americans – have become and I can’t help but think that maybe an economic crash wouldn’t be that bad a thing. We’ve become a nation of self-absorbed, fat, lazy, video game players and I’m not so sure that putting the games aside and getting out in the garden would be a bad thing. I think a lot of people these days need a lot more exercise and a lot less time in front of the wide-screen TV set, not to mention eating fresh vegetables from their gardens as opposed to pizza delivered right to their door step.
We’ve had to learn a whole new set of skills in order to survive in today’s world. When I was a kid I worked at a local grocery store and the owner – a guy named Clayton, but who everybody called Klate – put me to work and taught me how to count change. I can still remember counting change the old fashioned way, by using math in my head. I haven’t seen many people count change that way in a long time. However, they can run a bar code across a scanner faster than you can blink an eye and count out the change the computer gives them with reasonable accuracy.
Instead of reading a map these days you have to know how to use a Tom-Tom. Instead of hiking in the mountains or playing tackle football on the weekend kids now play Xbox. Instead of reading a book you have to know how to run a remote control or a Kindle. Here’s one indicator – at least in my mind – of how pathetic we’ve become. I saw a news program the other day about how wonderful the Wii is because it causes you get up and move around in front of the tv instead of sitting in front of it. Hello? Did I miss something??
It seems like it’s getting harder and harder to have a conversation with the younger folk without having a cell phone buzz, beep, chirp or sing during the course of our talk. What really gets me is when they stop talking, grab the phone, and start texting someone right in the middle of our conversation. Is it that important to reply to your friend, “LOL! OMG THATS SO FUNNY!” than it is to have a real life conversation? I’ve been known to grab my daughter’s cell phone and put it in my pocket until we were done talking because she couldn’t keep her fingers off the keypad. Hey, if it’s an important conversation go ahead, but most texting isn’t that important or at least something that couldn’t wait five minutes.
Preparedness? Most of the people I know wouldn’t last a month if TSHTF. I’ve been in people’s houses where they might have had two days worth of food on hand! They liked to eat out a lot and didn’t feel it necessary to stock any groceries.
I know I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but I’ve got to admit that on more than one occasion I’ve actually wished for something like an economic crash to happen so that we could get a “do-over” on our society. The rise of the Phoenix if you will.
Of course I really don’t want something like that to happen, but I would like to see something that would wake us up. America used to be the greatest country in the world, but these days I feel like we’re slipping and I’d like to see us get back on track. Unfortunately, short of some catastrophe I don’t see that happening.
The good old days?
But hey! Maybe I’m being too harsh on today’s generation. Maybe I’m just an old fashioned guy living in a newfangled world ready to get passed by. Maybe I only focus on the bad and not enough on the good. I’m sure there are a lot of good people raising their kids right out there and like everything else in the media we don’t hear about them because it’s not newsworthy.
What do you think?
-Jarhead Survivor
My sentiments exactly. I just hope we haven’t devolved so far that our culture will crumble if the Something Hits the Fan. In some countries around the world, military service is mandatory and they develop a basis in self-sufficiency as a result. Here, there isn’t much that is mandatory except to keep one’s electronics fully charged.
You make some great points. We have become a nation of ‘watchers’ vs. a nation of ‘doers’. When I was a kid (born in early 60′s), we didn’t have cable TV. We had two channels, with a very fuzzy signal on the upper bands. So TV was not much of an option.
We hunted in nearby orchards and fields for bird and rabbit. We fished the canals for bass, catfish, and bluegill. We rode bicycles, played football, basketball and baseball. Kids mainly resided in a place called OUT, and we didn’t come back until it was suppertime. Electronics did not exist – probably to our benefit.
I will point out that the E readers do make it convenient to keep hundreds of volumes of books available very easily. I have a lot of books, but the space they take up is pretty considerable.
I think if there is some sort of collapse, most people will starve rather than change their lifestyle.
I have often said that I think I was born in the wrong century!
I know I am getting old, and I know I sound old sometimes, but I just turned 29 a few months ago… I don’t own a digital camera, except the one that came on my phone…. I didn’t know what the hell a “kindle” was until I saw someone mention it on this site a few months ago… I STILL can’t program the clock on my VCR (yep still use it to! my dvd player is built into my computer! I think I have used it about 6 times in 3 yrs, most of those was for some “electronic owners manual for my JEEP)! But I digress…
I agree that something to knock the electronics out, even if it was just a couple days, would be a MUCH welcome change, at least to me! It would be nice to pull some of my buddies away from their PS3′s and whatever other video games they are obsessed with! It wasn’t that long ago that I simply mentioned fishing/hunting and it seemed like everyone magically had their pole/rifle in their hand, and now it’s like pullin’ teeth just to get them to walk out of the house for a smoke! I just don’t get it, it’s impossible for my brain to comprehend what the hell is going on anymore.
I have to say that the BIGGEST thing that drives me straight up-a-wall these days, is the complete and utter lack of respect/simple manners most folks have these days! It seems like I am the only person I know anymore who still says maim and sir; or holds the door for somebody who is walking into a place behind me. It seems like everyone these days is only out for their own self-interest, *almost* nobody does anything because its THE RIGHT THING TO DO anymore… it’s all about what they can get out of it! When was the last time you saw somebody help an elderly woman carry her groceries to her car, or help somebody that is stuck somewhere and all they need is somebody to help change a tire/give them a quick jump? I don’t know about anyone else, but I try to help ANYONE I can every chance I get. BECAUSE IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, the fact that you feel pretty awesome after helping somebody out, and that it tends to make them more likely to help somebody in the future, so you are even helping people you may never meet (or it might end up being someone you really care about like wife/girlfriend/mother/father/etc./etc./etc.) IS A BONUS!
Sorry guy’s… I’ll jump off my “soapbox” now!
it’s not your imagination. our country is in a world of trouble.
(who benefits from this situation?) i hope reality tv isn’t really.
i don’t expect anyone else, who isn’t already awake, to wake up in time. (pray for them) we’re on our own… prep (and pray) harder.
I think a major problem is we have to be entertained 24/7. How many people do you know who will actually drive a car without some sort of “noise” to distract them (radio, talk radio, cell phone).
You go in any house, and in many cases a TV is on regardless of whether someone is watching it or not.
There is always some sort of distraction (usually technological) going on in people’s lives.
This is just my theory, but I think all this stimulation around us has driven us to become nervous wrecks – unable/unwilling to silence the distractions and finally be alone with our own thoughts. We’re able to really feel the tension created by our “luxuries” when we silence the distractions, which makes us want to be distracted even more.
It’s a vicious cycle. Our younger generations are being born into this, and are going to have greater difficulty adapting since they’ve never experienced the other side of the fence.
I remember staying outdoors literally all day when I was a kid, but eventually fell victim to technological paralysis as I graduated high school. It’s an addiction just like alcoholism, but luckily I remember and crave the “silence” from my childhood so I’m able to wean myself from the grips of our modern society.
Now that I have children of my own, I owe it to them to maintain balance in my household beginning with myself.
did i write this and submit it in my sleep? i feel the same way.
although based on past results and comparisons to the rest of the world i feel the stranglehold by “government” will never be broken – unfortunately for too many – as long as they get the government handout and can play xbox all day – that is their perfect existence.
maybe if the phoenix does rise, many of us who feel the same way will hopefully survive and start one of those extinct things called a “community”
Great Article, I do enjoy your thoughts and agree with most of them. I raised my kids to work and it has paid off for both of them. My son still recalls his friends laughing at him for moving rocks in our yard. They laughed at him but now he knows why I had him do it. He feels the same about his kids now. I also believe that even my generation of baby boomers has become very soft. I remember my dad, a WWII vet recall the depression and the war with almost a fondness for the efforts people made and the sacrifice and sharing that took place. I do not believe our society could survive a situation like world war II let alone the great depression. We do not have the resourcefulness or willingness to sacrifice, struggle and make do like our ancestors did. We all admire those that blazed the trails but could any of us walk all day to get somewhere make camp and still be able to see where our morning fire was? How many of us could do without to provide for the weak and less fortunate? Could we kill and eat a rodent if we are hungry? Could we make a cabin in the woods if need be.? Could we make our clothes, plant and raise a garden, skin a deer, sharpen a knife, make a bow and arrow, of cook on an open fire? I agree that the possibility of an object lesson is a terrible thought and the only good that might come of it is that should it happen, those that survive will learn and those that don’t will perish. Would that be darwinism? Survival of not only the strongest but the smartest. I am not sure that being able to program a computer or win at a video game makes one smarter than the person who can milk a goat or build a fire without lighter fluid . I admire talents of all kinds and especially those with a great deal of intelligence but there is a fine line between being intelligent and having intellect. All the intellect in the world will not feed you if you are hungry, protect you if you are threatened or shelter you in a storm and and I believe there is a heck of a storm coming. Our area just went thru a heck of a spring storm, 70 mph winds, down trees power lines and power outages and the next morning the very same people who said they were not going to be caught like they were the last time we had a storm were out trying to buy charcoal and groceries in stores with no power and pump gas and do everything they could not do every time there is a power outage. Will they ever learn? What will it take. I hope we never really find out.
Thanks for the work you do
Semper Fi
As to the constant distractions –
I turn the TV on when I’m home by myself (don’t have a TV at school,though) for background noise. It actually helps me concentrate – most of the time. when it doesn’t I turn it off. When I drive alone I turn on the radio to help keep me focused, if someone is in the car then I’ll talk to them. Course, I have to have distractions (well…keep my mind thinking that is). Falling asleep at the wheel is bad – different story for a different time.
***
I would like to think that my parents found a pretty good happy medium with me. I love outdoors and I love technology. I remember being told go outside (in 100 degrees, blech) and play. I also remember DOS. XD Anyway…Nowadays my exercise is limited to running back and forth across campus all day. By the time I get done with classes I’m too tuckered out to go and work out….30+ lbs book bag and several miles of brisk walking is plenty for me!
Seriously though, your post makes me think of listening to my grandpa talk about when he grew up on the farm. Dang. I wish we still had that farm.
I am with you on those thoughts. I wish there was a way to thin out the herd. Just 20% or so. Preferably what I consider the bottom 20%. Harsh as it would be, I think an emp or solar flare may be the only way a real do-over could be done.
357,
Why thin the herd? They are fun to watch & will need some entertainment post SHTF – if that ever happens.
I’m not so positive about the behavior of the bottom segment of the herd. They may invade my neighborhood for food… As for me and my house, we will be prepared (and serve the Lord) :-)
Jason, I like to people watch and laugh, but most of the time they just get in my way. They are too slow and stupid. If there was some magical way to thin out the population I would be all for it. I don’t like urban sprawl and I think the world and this country are over populated. I am in my mid 30′s and I am just tiered of putting up with people.
You look around and see an ocean of zombies and sheep. They are everywhere and they are loud, obnoxious, self absorbed, greedy, rude, stupid, slow, misguided, uneducated, ignorant, arrogant, lazy, immoral, unethical and selfish.
The masses, the horde, the herd, the leaches –whatever you want to call them- they have no imagination, no purpose, no drive or inspiration, and they have nothing to contribute to society or the world. They are here for themselves and nothing more. Which in itself would be fine if they took care of themselves, but their problems affect others. Costing other people time and money. What they do affects other people and then other people …..
I think Jennie misunderstood me. Yes I would like the bottom 20% of the world to magically disappear. But I didn’t mean by way of EMP. I meant that something as catastrophic as a massive emp or solar flare is one way this world/country could start over, to have the do-over he talked about in the article. An emp is the worse thing I could think of beside WW3. And I don’t think a third of the population would survive long term.
My .02. Have a good weekend.
While I agree with most of what you said, I think our nature is to remember the best parts of the past. I think that is part of the nostalgia, and I think we would be wise to consider that each generation looks at the faults of society in the next generation and remembers the “good old days.” Etiquette is learned, we aren’t born with it, so if you see a lack of etiquette, or laziness, or what have you remember that for the most part it was instilled by the parents. Those that harken from the “good old days.”
If you think your daughter doesn’t have her priorities straight when it comes to texting, cancel it. She can learn to vocalize. Better yet cancel the cell phone all togeather and have her go back to the “Original Texting” she can write a letter just like in the “good old days.” Maybe it is just for a month, say you are switching carriers… The point is – as a father of a teen myself I get what you are saying. I see what you are talking about, but certainly not in everyone. There are families all over just like yours and mine trying our best to instill what we feel is important in the next generation. Just like our parents did. And there are lazy, rude, and ignorant families raising lazy, rude, and ignorant kids just like in the “good old days.”
“I think our nature is to remember the best parts of the past.” I agree.
It’s not our nature, it’s a survival mechanism.
It might not be that great a mechanism though. Every once and a while I think, “Man, my ex-wife wasn’t that bad.” Then I’ll have a conversation with her over the phone and say to myself, “Oh yeah. That’s why we got divorced!” :-)
Maybe it’s the same thing as how women forget about how tough childbirth is? So far I’ve watched two of my children being born and thought, “Damn. I can’t believe women want to do this more than once!” They’re a lot tougher than us guys I’ll say that.
You know l ask myself this very question everyday! Here’s some very real conversations with “kids” lately. ” mom, if the power goes out and the SHTF,l would just rather they kill me than have to go without my phone,and computer.” “l don’t really want to have to pump water from the well or gather wood for a fire that’s too much like work they can just take me” I wanted to cry. When l try to explain to them things that are happening around us they roll their eyes, and hold up “the hand” and tell me they are not interested,
At work there is an 18 yr old girl who boasts she is an honor student. l had heard about U.S. people not being able to answer questions from the citizen test so l thought l would ask the “honor student” some basic questions. Question 1 who was the first president? her answer George H.W. Bush? l followed with who is on the one dollar bill she said l don’t know. I thought she was kidding she is our cashier! Then l asked her, well who is on the 100 dollar bill? She had another IDK. l was speechless. However she COULD tell me Lincoln was our 16th president. The following week l gave the same girl 3.25 for a 3.17 bill and she said how much do l give you? l told her to keep it.
When my sister was in school, (she’s only 27 long time between drinks mom always says since l’m 44) she was not taught to spell correctly, she was taught to spell phonetically. They figured spell checker would handle it l guess. l remember her writing a letter when she was 16 and having to ask how to spell almost every 3+ letter word.
Another girl where l work, also 18, has a GPS and when it quit working had to go home because she couldn’t find anything the rest of the day. Our town is all numbers but she just couldn’t understand the system so therefor was unable to finish the day.
Thank goodness l was blessed to have grandparents who survived the depression and they were kind enough to teach their “city girl” grandchild how to clean fish, skin rabbits, clean chickens, and to pick and shell her weight in peas! My father took me fishing and camping (since he didn’t have a boy) all the time. l remember the first time l took the kids camping and their wide eyed look when l could gather wood and make a fire. (thank you girl scouts and dad) So now in the last 3 years l have went from a full time well paying job to being as self sufficient as possible and working a minimal job to get by so l can prepare myself and my house to be ready for whatever comes down the pike. (except nuclear though l am practicing kissing my butt goodbye LOL)
Waking up others? Good luck unless we can make an AP for their phones or a game they can play that teaches the truth to what is going on around us most of us will be screwed. l guess the only hope is now that the government wants to handle our healthcare, we won’t have to worry about our kids making our decisions about our nursing homes! lol But l can tell you be ready to lose people trying to help them. l recently tried to “wake up” a very good friend of mine and have had no contact since. Same with my cousin. No contact. So attempt because you love them, but prepare for the “you just grew a third head look” from them. Good luck out there everyone my prayers are with you.
That is exactly why I believe that every kid should be sent to some sort of military youth program at age 14. Basic Cadet Training and some ‘counseling’ by former Drill Sergeants sure corrected those traits in me. I even went on to become a Cadet Ranger; 14 hours of video games a day to 4 mile rucksack runs.
unfortunately this can also be abused depending on “who” is in charge.
google the hitler youth corps – also known as the werewolves.
IF we could be sure such a program was adhering to the constitution and the basis of what our country was founded on – it could be a good thing. if not, well then, we really don’t need another hitler, do we…
considering Obama has a civilian youth “military” in his ultimate goals… i’d say we are halfway to the unwanted side. there used to be lots of videos on youtube with him saying these things among other less constitutional views – of course good luck finding them now… they bury that stuff fast. (there are a few videos on youtube i found some with other junk edited in them)
here is a link to one i saved in an email from december 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHmecy94z
yup – imagine that… ever seen that error before on youtube? me neither – nice way to help bury the truth. (note google founders are big obama supporters)
but here is a link to a story about it from july 2008
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/07/obamas_civilian_national_secur.html
I am so glad that someone else feels like I do. I can’t stand that my step-son played video games all weekend. I took them away from him and now he rides his bike more often and now he has gotten really interested in fishing and shooting his .22 (given to me by my dad and I gave it to him). I really enjoy the time outdoors with him. I am concerned about our country. I don’t like the far left or the far right. I hope and pray that there are no disasters but I/we continue to prep. The wife still pokes fun at me! Heck, I poke fun at myself! Keep prepping and stay safe all!
Ok, woah now old people.
Woah.
First off, thank you Primal Cane, I agree, there’s the same mix of good folks and lazy folks that there have always been. I’ll grant you that maybe the lazy folks aren’t getting “thinned out” as quickly as they may have been in days gone past, but they are certainly nothing new.
I’m 26, so let me explain the view from my side of the hill.
Y’all have no idea how easy you had it. You grew up learning to fish and hunt and farm, and now you fish and hunt and farm. People of my generation grew up in cities, we learned to play video games, and were babysat by tv’s while both our parents worked. It was expected that we would not only complete the 12 years of schooling to graduate high school, but go on to do at least 4 years at University. I know in my grandfather’s generation, most of his siblings counted themselves lucky to graduate high school. Schools don’t encourage careers in rural activities, even here in Iowa. Anyone showing an once of intelligence is heavily encouraged to pursue tech fields. I was one of those.
So, not only do we have WAY more we have to learn, a lot of the new stuff is pretty worthless in a meaningful I-can-feed-myself way.
Now, those of us in my generation who see the broken and see the problems, we have the unenviable position of straddling. I HAVE to keep up with new technology because I’m a computer programmer and my team keeps 6 pet food plants running 24/7 with all their fancy automation equipment. Which on a calm week means a 44 hour work week and on crazy weeks can mean upwards of 65. And now, in all my *snort* free time, I have to learn (usually by book, or youtube, or internet research) all the sh*t that my parents so calmly abandoned, the same stuff that my grandparents learned growing up and most of y’all too.
So don’t be posting about how lazy my generation is, when I feel like I’m running twice as fast as any human has ever had to run.
I can’t stop growing food, (and I grow quite a bit if I can say so) or sewing cloth diapers or canning neighborhood fruit, anymore than I can stop going to my “day job.”
All that adds up to an actual work week that’s literally 5 or 6 times what historical averages for labor were for everybody from hunter gatherer tribes through the pioneers.
Compounded by the fact that big monotonous tasks that were done communally in past times, eased by the company of friends or relatives, are now done solitary as the mobile and small family unit has drifted families further and further apart.
Needless to say, I don’t own a tv, or play many video games. And in that I am an oddity in my generation.
But, can you really blame them? I wouldn’t wish this work load on my worst enemy. Of course they aren’t lining up in droves to spend the 3 hours of down time they get per day preserving or making clothing or weeding a garden. Especially when every “expert” tells them that’s a waste of time and drudgery best left to others.
By wishing for a wake up call, wishing for a culling of the bottom 20%, well nothing cuts that nicely. Quite frankly the 20% we’re likely to lose in such an event is closer to 50% of the population, and how many of those would be your sons/daughters/grandkids?
Great post! I have hope for my kids now!
I love the line, “… the view from my side of the hill.”
Jennie – I love your spirit. But how many of your generation do the same things you do? There aren’t that many go-getters in any generation – not just yours.
I went from the Marine Corps to working in construction, then on to a job in manufacturing running some lousy machines in a rope factory, to scuba diving for urchins all through the winter here in Maine in 38 degree and sometimes lower temp water, and all while going to college off and on for years. Now I work in an IT department at a hospital keeping the networks running.
I once asked a friend I work with if he’d like to help me on a boat (I was doing some backup diving for a friend) and the guy looked at me like I had two heads. Manual labor? Ha!
So when I wrote this article I wasn’t just pointing my finger at your generation – although they seem to be into the technology more.
Jason thinks I missed something by suggesting theWii is just another electronic addiction, but I don’t think so. True, it gets kids off the couch, but only by two feet, so I’ll give it an extra star from the other gizmos out there.
And I don’t think technology in and of itself is a bad thing. I love Skype and connect with my family regularly that way. I have an mp3 player that rocks. But how many people out there are addicted to their computers or whatever? The number is growing and I don’t think it’s really an age thing because my mother loves something called Farmville.
Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed everybody’s comments on this topic.
Yea, I’m an oddity. Freely admit it. :-D
And yea, I know you weren’t singling out any particular generation, but some of the commenters seemed to coming down hard on their “kids.” I just wanted to show that not all are lost. And show how hard it is as a younger person to navigate both modern expectations and the desire to survive.
Ugh, the farmville. Yea, that one and something called Angry Birds have penetrated pretty far up the age range. Don’t even get me started on those time wasters. :-P
One of my brother’s-in-law (a certified genius) once said in the late 70′s “computer’s are a passing fad”. We, to this day, give him no end of “S” for that statement! It is especially funny because he owns a large tax business & is into digital photography & editing software.
Jarhead, it’s a brave new world & it is here to stay.
So much of what you wrote rang true & is the condition we live in today. One thing you may notice with this increase of available knowledge, is the capacity of human beings to learn & at a rapid rate is phenomenal by comparison to 50 years ago. While many wonder & are fearful as to what the future holds – and rightfully so – I tend to like it because I feel like I am waking up to a fantastic set of possibilities.
Years ago Burger King had a short lived commercial with the mantra “same day, same thing” touting their “have it your own way” freedom of choice premise. That was very representative of the times & we as a culture/world became lulled to sleep with uniformity & convention.
We then enter into the age of information & like most significant social influences, the pendulum swung far into the other direction except this time it has remained suspended at its apex – well beyond conventional thought, and we all sit & wait to see if it will swing back to what we consider “normal”. It will not go back, in fact, we are in this new “normal” for good because of dependence even to the minutest levels of daily function(s).
So what do we do, dream the world will implode via an EMP driven by some solar flare so we can retard & be seemingly (more) comfortable again? And if have a “do over” as you stated, we will start from where we are today & not some mythical 19th century world because the vast majority will simply refuse to go backwards & will accelerate the rebuilding process.
I say embrace the changes because the benefits far & away exceed any downside BUT, fully agree there must be balance. Part of the newness of information age has fragmented us & pushed us into a world of separatism & some feel forced to hunker down & hang on to our precious past because of the fear of the present unknown.
Advanced computer technology saves many lives – every minute of the day. We also have the unbalanced side of excessive gaming, Internet surfing, blogging, chatting etc & have fallen into & traded a cyber reality for real life.
The friction that has been created with these new technologies is it is counter to the natural flow of our design as people because we are ALL relationship driven. As some have stated here, the freedom of riding a bike, hunting, hiking, going for a swim in a body of water, simple exercising, camping is quite refreshing to the soul and is vital for longevity. Fortunately or unfortunately – depending upon your point of view, technology is equally as vital.
I saw this information expansion coming from the very early 90′s & decided to become very hands on parent & develop interpersonal communications early on (normal conversations without handheld devices), limit TV exposure & coerced my now teenage kids into using language that does not contain the popular 4 letter words because, as I explained it, the use of 4 letter words is the mark of a lazy thinker. Make your point with relative elegance & punctuate strong positions with well chosen words – in other words (ha, ha) don’t talk like a rapper.
On the flip side, I dove into technology & guided them the same way but encouraged it from becoming an all consuming vehicle, it’s just a tool & that’s it.
As for the rest of the world, they are & will wake up because they will have no choice – technology has permeated nearly all aspects of everyday life – even in the remotest parts of Tibet.
PS
What you missed with the Wii was significant. It took gaming to a more social level, created physical movement through interactions with a highly intuitive program and the ripple effect can bring kids out of the cyber world into the real world.
We have a Wii & my 6 year old plays tennis & bowls – believe it or not. He asked me to take him to the tennis courts and he can actually hit the ball over the net AND loves it probably because it gets my fat butt or should I have said, keitser, chasing the balls. Although he cannot successfully roll a bowling ball, he understands how the game works and loves being out in that environment.
Great post! I totally agree…although I have to admit-I’m glad they invented calculators-and I do love skype since I now live on the other side of the world from my family..hehehe. But, yes-people have become waaay to self absorbed and dependant; the western world needs a wake call for sure!
Very interesting article and even more interesting comments. As much as I think that our society is doomed and as much time and money I have spent the last thirty years preparing for this problem, one might think that I would look forward to the sheeple getting their just desserts. I must admit that as this disaster gets closer and closer, I am getting quite nervous. If you think that the fall of western civilization is going to be painless, you are quite mistaken. Sure, our society will eventually recover and rise once again like the phoenix but the scene between now and then will be nothing short of cataclysmic. I envision famine, disease, lawlessness, incredible government oppression and eventually all of this leads to a nuclear WW-3. I have spent the past forty years in emergency services and have seen every possible suffering that can be visited on man. I expect that the upcoming collapse will exceed all of that by a factor of four. Remember, be careful what you wish for as it will probably be much worse than you can imagine. And remember, The future belongs to the prepared!
Boy are some going to lambast me. I just red GW Bush’s autobiography.
What struck me throughout the book wasn’t anything political, it was what I consider to be absolute normal behavior by a person growing up when GW Bush did.
It struck me that our culture has become soft. With all the connotations that implies. It’s not about do’ers vs non-do’ers, it’s about being acculturalized to do NOTHING that isn’t exactly within the boundaries arbitrarily set by someone we don’t even know, for reasons we are always told are “for our own good”.
Parental responsibility has been supplanted by governmental intrusion.
Personal responsiblity has been usurped by the “legal system”. Think this aint a problem? OK, lets say you get assaulted and you actually call the police…
Let’s say the person gets arrested, charged and sentenced.
YOU the victim, get nothing. The STATE gets whatever fine money the person is sentenced to pay (up to a 1000 bucks for a simple assault in this state), the SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEM then gets their hands on him/her for classes in “anger management” and “substance abuse” to the tune of 1 to 2000 dollars in classroom fees. The probation department of that city now gets fees from the offender for “supervising” them during their sentence.
Oh, and what do YOU the victim get to know about how the classes went, or the probation appointments? By law you are entitled to know NOTHING about what happens after he/she is sentenced. Your usefulness is at an end. The state needs victims, it doesn’t need citizens.
They’ve used your victimhood to turn a profit. Pure and simple. Will you get reimbursed for medical costs? MAYBE, a very big maybe, and most jurisdictions in this state can waive restitution that’s already been ordered, by cannot waive fines or court costs. Again, the victim suffers – the state profits.
Everywhere you look there’s not one endeavor that a governmental agency hasn’t gleaned for “revenue stream enhancement” (taxes). A kid cant even sell lemonade without a city permit.
We’ve looked to “law” to solve all of our problems, and about all it’s solved is the unemployment problem for thousands of lawyers and associated professionals.
Recently I was notified that a class action settlement had been reached having to do with bad sheetrock sold by a national chain. The settlement indicated that the FIRST thing paid was the legal bill of 10.1 million dollars to a law firm. The total of the settlement fund was 26 million. Again, the “law” usurps the damages incurred by a victim, and the rape of the victim begins anew. Worse yet, just because the class action was certified an unknowning victim who may not discover the damage to his house until some years later now has NO rights.
We are dependent on our government, even those of us who wish to have nothing to do with ANY government cannot live without their intervention at nearly every level.
We will wake up exactly when we are without food, without resources and without the will to fend for ourselves. And those that “emerge” to help us will simply supplant the former tyranny with the one they will create to replace it – once again, turning us into a resource for their social plans.
Interesting post Jim. I think what you describe here are symptoms of a bigger problem, which in retrospect I’m doing the same thing in my post – just describing symptoms of a bigger problem.
I think it would take an entire book to figure out what the root problems is.
Very well put Jim & I agree that we’ve been lulled to sleep or more accurately – distracted to a zombie-like state.
I’ve used the quote from Julius Caesar – “divide & conquer” and it’s apparent to me that’s what our government is trying to do. Keep us confused & fragmented, create infighting while quietly but diligently working to eliminate every “perceived” threat.
It seems that the definition of domestic terrorist keeps getting broader & broader to a point where we will be divided into 3 groups:
The sheep – those who are frightened & will comply regardless of right or wrong.
The voices that question & challenge – the group to suppress, beat into submission or make look like lunatics. These are the new domestic terrorists.
The government – The single purpose puppeteer whose sole goal to is to circumvent the constitution, then crush it & everybody else.
The battle is far from over and we all need to step up to the plate and say enough – through voting, speaking out, cutting through the distractions & informing others of the black and white facts.
I will disagree with your last paragraph because I believe we will wake up long before that point because we, as a culture, react to injustice which is a several steps before the elimination of food.
We may be dumb but we certainly aren’t stupid.
And so I think we might be starting to realize WHY the founders of the USA did what they did.
It wasn’t about taxation without representation
It wasn’t about being “subjects” to a king
It wasn’t even about fair trade
It was about the INDIVIDUAL and the rights they felt were inherent to that individual. It’s WHY our “Bill of Rights” addresses the rights of an individual. It’s why we HAD a republican form of government, to limit the power of the collective.
Scanning the memoirs of the founders, you find several references to an absolute fear that we would become a “democratic” form of government. They felt the best way to avoid this possibility was the multi-part federal system that was never meant to grow into what it did. Then the depression happened, and the congress, then Hoover, then Roosevelt started dismantling the constitution.
Ask anybody out there HOW senators were first elected? And I don’t think you’ll find anybody who actually knows that the Senate was a vital part of the check and balance system. The senate was once appointed by state legislatures to serve the interests of that particular state. They could be recalled and fired at any time if they didn’t carry out the wishes of the state legislature that sent them. The power inherent in the Senator was meant to be the power of the State Legislatures, not another extension of the popular vote. To this day ANY senator can forestall a vote simply by refusing to relinquish the gavel – representing, again, the power of a SINGLE state legislature to overrule the federal government.
I, too, hope for a swift fall – but not so that anarchy can reign, but because without a swift fall we become “boiled frogs” and what is considered outrageous today, is accepted practice after five years of incrementalism. Starvation and deprivation becomes the NORM over time and everybody is so used to it, they simply don’t care.
What will keep any fall from happening is the gigantic welfare class we have created, not only out of citizens who are single-parents, but out of our own parents (senior citizens) who have become a deft tool of the welfare state through greater and greater control of their lives through entitlements.
Argh, time to go to sleep, pet the dog, drink a beer while it’s still legal to do…