The World Today...

[1813mdw]

As I am only 27yrs old I have no grasp on how the world used to really be. Is our country really in as bad of shape economically and in foriegn policy as many make it out to be? Or have we been through this already? Does a 3rd World War sound realistic to any of you? Total economic callapse?

[cygnus x-1]

As I am only 27yrs old I have no grasp on how the world used to really be. Is our country really in as bad of shape economically and in foriegn policy as many make it out to be? Or have we been through this already? Does a 3rd World War sound realistic to any of you? Total economic callapse?


The thing is, if you look at any point in human history, you can always find problems. There are always things going on that other people think are wrong. There is always someone predicting the impending doom of society, or the human race, or the solar system, or whatever. The actual state of the world, is what it is. But whether it's as bad (or good) as anyone says it is, depends entirely on your perception. Because this is such a subjective thing you really have to make up your own mind about it. Certainly it's good to listen to what others have to say, but you have to be careful to not let that become a substitute for making your own decisions. Listen to what EVERYONE has to say, not just the doom and gloom types, but also the head in the clouds optimists, and everyone in between. Then evaluate things for yourself and decide for yourself whether something is worth worrying about or not. When things don't work out, you will always be happier if you got there by your own choice, as opposed to someone else's choice.

I personally chose not to worry too much about the future. I understand that there could be some calamity waiting just around the corner. If the signs of disaster are strong enough, I'll make preparations. And if something bad happens that I didn't prepare for, I'll deal with it when it comes. But then again things might work out just fine. So I'm not going to stress myself out worrying about something that may or may not happen. Worrying is not a productive use of my (or your) time.


To answer your specific questions:

Economically we've got some issues. I don't think total economic collapse is likely but we are probably in for some more pain in some form.
Foreign policy I'm not really sure. We need to do some serious thinking about why we keep messing around with the middle east. After 60+ years we don't seem to be getting much out of it. Maybe it's time to give up, or at least drastically reduce our presence?
There will always be wars but I think another world war is unlikely. World wars are crazy expensive, and I don't think any countries economy at this point could handle it.


C|

[gp02a0083]

IDK the state of things does not look all that great IMO. I agree we have spent far too long over in the sand box since desert storm. I still cannot really understand why the US had to be involved with almost all the worlds issues when we have plenty to worry about here at home. It really disgusts me that I see homeless soldiers and other government workers getting the cold shoulder when they have put in the time. Also this whole immigration thing thats been going on is another problem. on more local fronts, its really sad that I cannot live in the city i grew up in due to tax inflation and other economic problems. I've had thoughts that there may be a new age "civil-war" that may be brewing, we are seeing many many individuals that are going literally insane. Too many people going awol with shootings, bombings and other similar acts. i'm only 29 and ive seen things get noticeably worse over the last decade. Man how I wish i was ignorant and a child again ......

[2oodoor]

Aint that the truth gp02, children have no conception of the reality of economics and the curse of responsablity to others or to one's self.

All the talk of doom and gloom, lack of hope; its the workings of an evil entity which would have it no otber way than for one to die with that state of mind rather than happiness and hope. We should pass with a joyfull soul and not an eternity of torment and chaos.

It is true if you read up on some history this shit repeats itself century after century. Now, the big differnce, as far as we know anyway, is the technology that gives us god like powers like looking in on somebody thousands of miles away....from the sky. Or knowing all, such as googling.
If the devices and storage were destroyed, there would be very little evidence what details of this current civilization exactly were.
Cars, theres too many figgen cars on the earths surface. Planes, probably the single most detriment to the atmosphere and creator of conditions that cause climate change (GW) BUT do we see anybody regulating air traffic, nope, blame it on the cows, little bit of freon escaping, bullshit.

[Accordtheory]

I imagine that the perspective I have at 32 will change as I'm older, but I was in my late 20s when I first started learning about all the shit those people in "positions of power" don't want us to know.

I had a really hard time with it all at first, and still do, as any decent person should of course.

I'd guess most people start out focusing on one thing, and go from there. Like starting out with conspiracies. Thing is, by doing that, they often can become trapped, and lose perspective on everything overall. I always try to focus on the big picture, and then use my understanding, or interpretation of that, or of the patterns I see in it, to explain or understand the smaller things.

I also do not discount much of anything as "too evil" or "impossible because it would be too evil", like the project for a new american century having planned 9/11, etc.

I think it's somewhat subjective, how good or bad it is now. I think people have been screwing each other over as long as they've inhabited the earth. I also think it goes in cycles. Here's an interesting link on that idea. The Tytler Cycle (http://www.commonsensegovernment.com/article-09-15-03.html)


I think the american government is more corrupt now than ever, but then again, when this country was founded "all men are created equal". Tell that to a black slave back then.

Research as much as you want, but know this shit can and will drive you insane if you let it!

I think one thing to keep in the back of your mind is that positions of power create and attract evil. Those people who crave that power do not value us, or our lives, they think of us as cattle, or sheep, and will kill thousands, if not millions of people. They're not worried about heaven or hell, to say the least. Keeping that in mind, to me it is amazing that people don't question fluoride being in our water, for example. The nazis did that to the jews in the concentration camps in ww2. Surely those nazis weren't concerned about the health of the jews. Yet the average propaganda says flouride is all about preventing tooth decay. Fluoride is a poison, a neurotoxin, and they did it to make the prisoners "complacent".


The "economy", well, I have a sticker on my fridge that says "paper is poverty, it is only the ghost of money", quote from thomas jefferson. What that means is a currency created out of thin air is poverty. An unbacked currency is designed to do only one thing, enrich those who create/inflate it. Money backed by gold cannot be inflated, since gold cannot be created out of thin air. The federal reserve system is one of the biggest deceptions in the modern world. It is a private bank that creates money out of thin air and "loans" it to the government at interest. So we have a "national debt". That's how they want us to think of it, as a debt. What it really is, is every time they get a "loan", they're paying for it by taking the Value of the money we already have. In that system, we do not own our money, since they can devalue it at will. It is an "indirect tax", and the biggest tax of all, if you look at how much the dollar has been inflated. They use inflation to pay for wars, and any fucked up thing government wants to do. Why do they do it that way? How much success do you think those politicians would have at getting us to pay for their evil, wasteful, destructive, greedy, self serving crap if we had to pay for it through a direct tax? No way would that fly! So they do it the deceptive way, calling it a "loan", and "debt". "We have to be responsible and pay off our debt"
The term for people living under fiat currency is "ameliorated slavery", since if it takes effort to sustain our lives, and we are not allowed to own the product of our efforts, then we do not own our lives. We are in effect slaves to those who create/inflate the money. Our work gives their worthless money value.

Thing is, that cannot last, looking at a graph of inflation. The dollar will crash, and those same bankers, the rothschilds, etc, will bring in a new currency, also backed by nothing. There are people who argue with that, but look at the Euro. There are also people who say they are going for a world currency, as one of the steps along the way to a world government. The world currency would stop the exchange rate difference though, one of the primary ways those on top control what country is 1st world and what country is 3rd world. But now it's like they want the whole world to be a 3rd world country, with those on top incredibly rich and powerful, more than ever before in history.

Another thing you'll notice over time researching this shit, very little is done by accident. A lot of people think problems are a result of incompetence in government, stupidity, etc, but that's not really true. Sure there is incompetence, and they do overplay their hand, as with obama's constantly backfiring attempts to disarm the people, but to me it seems like even incompetence is designed in from above. Those people in the council on foreign relations, the big bankers, the international corporations, they all have a common goal, and they are very good at achieving. It's not like letting immigrants into america illegally is some great problem that can't be solved, it's being done on purpose. Divide and conquer.

Same with everything in the media. The media is controlled by a very small number of people, and is designed to distract, misinform, control the debate, and turn people against each other as much as possible. Do you think all this money worship is about black people in the ghettos shaking off their chains of poverty? Fuck no, it's all about promoting selfishness in our culture overall. Selfishness, greed, no concern for others, competition instead of generosity, all part of that divide and conquer strategy. Same with feminism. Leave it to government to create financial incentives for divorce. Same with all the trash on TV, how is a society with no morals or ethics in their personal lives going to hold politicians accountable? You can bet all those shows with promiscuous girls sold as "female empowerment" and "feminism" are looked at with knowing approval from those on the top of society.

Good luck in your quest for "enlightenment", if you choose to take the path. It can become almost addicting learning about this shit, in a way. Just try to spend the minimum time needed on 9/11, waco, world wars, etc. Researching things like that can really get depressing.

Going back into our own lives, the "nwo" would have us believe that there is a conflict between being good and successful, but there doesn't have to be. And "good" doesn't necessarily mean legal either, in a world where those who make the laws are some of the most evil criminals. I think what's important is to have knowledge, and be able to do something to support what you believe. I absolutely can't stand when a person sees some fucked up shit going on, and they pull out their "smart" phone and record it, instead of Doing something about it. What's that going to accomplish, showing a bunch of other people who won't do anything about it. According to a figure I've encountered repeatedly, it only takes about 3% of a population to create change, be part of the 3% that actually does something!

[Dr_Snooz]

What I've really been noticing lately is how many people have this nagging sense that something is very, very wrong in the world. Everyone understands it in a different way. I understand it in the economy and banking because that's where I worked for a decade. On the surface, things are...okay. Joblessness is high, but not terrible. Consumer sentiment is okay. Houses are still selling. Yet I still have a nagging unease about it all. It's only when I start digging into those numbers that I realize how bad things are. For instance, official unemployment is 6.1%. That's high, but not awful. However, if you calculate unemployment in the same way they did in 1970, it's actually an astonishing 23%. That's Great Depression territory, except that we've been at these levels for longer. Thus, unemployment is worse now than in the Great Depression. And that's only one example.

What compels you will be different. A lot of people are now saying, "the NSA is gathering what kind of info about me?" Others are asking, "Monsanto is doing what to my food?" "Obama has a kill list??" "My cell phone is spying on me?" The questions go on and on, and they are the point at which you should start digging. If you're happy believing the media's version of events and doing what all your cool friends are doing, then by all means, continue doing so. There's nothing to see here. As long as there's food on the table and a job to go to, you'll be fine. But I believe AccordTheory and I have both arrived at some very difficult places because that simply wasn't enough for us. We had to ask questions, dig deeper and learn more.

Here's my bottom line. If you take a very, very, very broad view of things, every civilization collapses, typically in a giant maelstrom of criminality and violence. There's no getting around it. I believe without any doubt that we are witnessing the collapse of Western civilization. Right now. The signs are all there. The real question is what to do about it. I don't think despair is the answer (been there, done that). Instead, we need to think about what's likely to happen and plan accordingly. I've been doing that for a few years now.

I certainly don't advocate a Pollyannish attitude about things. My family fled Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. All the Pollyannas stayed there and died horribly. Research carefully. Think critically and act rationally. After you've done that, then give it to God or whatever you do.

Oh, as for WWIII, I've noticed that the cycle of history is for the rich to steal from the poor in gradually greater amounts. Eventually, they steal everything and the poor are ready for revolution. At that point, the rich start a giant war, burn everything down, send all the troublesome poor off to die in the war and start the cycle over. The US has been desperately trying to start WWIII. First in Syria and now in Ukraine. Unfortunately, they can't seem to find anyone else who wants to play along.

[gp02a0083]

As long as there's food on the table and a job to go to, you'll be fine. But I believe AccordTheory and I have both arrived at some very difficult places because that simply wasn't enough for us. We had to ask questions, dig deeper and learn more.

Oh, as for WWIII, I've noticed that the cycle of history is for the rich to steal from the poor in gradually greater amounts. Eventually, they steal everything and the poor are ready for revolution. At that point, the rich start a giant war, burn everything down, send all the troublesome poor off to die in the war and start the cycle over. The US has been desperately trying to start WWIII. First in Syria and now in Ukraine. Unfortunately, they can't seem to find anyone else who wants to play along.

I agree, i've been somewhat content as long as I've had a job. At least im working in the energy field so i hope one day this technology im working on or something like it will be used in the future. I've learned that as an individual in today's world you cannot JUST specialize in one field. You have to diversify and broad some horizons or in my opinion you limit yourself. Who knew i was gonna end up as an electrical tech after I got my B.S in chemistry? Adaptation IMO is your best shot and biggest asset these days.

yah don't it seem like we are trying to instigate a war either on local or foreign fronts? Like I said before , we have way too much involvement in world politics and issues when we really need to concentrate on issues at home. It is sad that things are this way, and we have a notion of demise at our own doorstep. I really try not to think of it and turn the other cheek to it, however shying away from the issues at hand also is not a wise choice. All I can say is keep chugging away at what you want to do and try to achieve that "American dream" by at least reasonable costs.

[cygnus x-1]

The Tangent - A Place In The Queue (2006) - YouTube (http://youtu.be/hHQz7AlGA-w)

This is one of my recent favorite songs. The lyrics are great and quite appropriate.

C|

[Dr_Snooz]

Man, I think the last band I heard use an organ was Boston. Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.

@OP, what's your answer to the questions you raise?

[cygnus x-1]

Man, I think the last band I heard use an organ was Boston. Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.



Lots of organ still being used in progressive rock. :) The Tangent has a lot of songs with some pretty biting commentary on modern society.
Good stuff.


C|

[Accordtheory]

Or for a completely different style of music: Mac Mall - Rebellion Against All There Is ft. Ray Luv - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4K6mmhhMlc)

[1813mdw]

From what I see our country is doomed, though I've only really been paying attention for the last 5 or 6 years. I don't know about the rest of the world as I only get to see what our media wants me to see about foreign countries. Our corporate bought government is a joke(not the funny kind). People are too busy arguing over being Dem or Rep to realize it don't matter; it's all a crock of shit. As for our foreign policy, also screwed up. I'm tired of the "regime changes" and "spreading democracy." Health care in this country is ridiculously overpriced. I don't know enough about economics to have an opinion or be able to predict whether or not our system/dollar will collapse. I often wish shit would hit the fan and an uprise would occur. I'm done ranting.

[lostforawhile]

What I've really been noticing lately is how many people have this nagging sense that something is very, very wrong in the world. Everyone understands it in a different way. I understand it in the economy and banking because that's where I worked for a decade. On the surface, things are...okay. Joblessness is high, but not terrible. Consumer sentiment is okay. Houses are still selling. Yet I still have a nagging unease about it all. It's only when I start digging into those numbers that I realize how bad things are. For instance, official unemployment is 6.1%. That's high, but not awful. However, if you calculate unemployment in the same way they did in 1970, it's actually an astonishing 23%. That's Great Depression territory, except that we've been at these levels for longer. Thus, unemployment is worse now than in the Great Depression. And that's only one example.

What compels you will be different. A lot of people are now saying, "the NSA is gathering what kind of info about me?" Others are asking, "Monsanto is doing what to my food?" "Obama has a kill list??" "My cell phone is spying on me?" The questions go on and on, and they are the point at which you should start digging. If you're happy believing the media's version of events and doing what all your cool friends are doing, then by all means, continue doing so. There's nothing to see here. As long as there's food on the table and a job to go to, you'll be fine. But I believe AccordTheory and I have both arrived at some very difficult places because that simply wasn't enough for us. We had to ask questions, dig deeper and learn more.

Here's my bottom line. If you take a very, very, very broad view of things, every civilization collapses, typically in a giant maelstrom of criminality and violence. There's no getting around it. I believe without any doubt that we are witnessing the collapse of Western civilization. Right now. The signs are all there. The real question is what to do about it. I don't think despair is the answer (been there, done that). Instead, we need to think about what's likely to happen and plan accordingly. I've been doing that for a few years now.

I certainly don't advocate a Pollyannish attitude about things. My family fled Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution. All the Pollyannas stayed there and died horribly. Research carefully. Think critically and act rationally. After you've done that, then give it to God or whatever you do.

Oh, as for WWIII, I've noticed that the cycle of history is for the rich to steal from the poor in gradually greater amounts. Eventually, they steal everything and the poor are ready for revolution. At that point, the rich start a giant war, burn everything down, send all the troublesome poor off to die in the war and start the cycle over. The US has been desperately trying to start WWIII. First in Syria and now in Ukraine. Unfortunately, they can't seem to find anyone else who wants to play along.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NASicF9yTI