The xXx Gloom & Doom Report

[moolie]

My post was in direct response to i_am2bz in post #158 about "doom and gloom", thus the mention of terrorism.

Believe me, I know about the world economic issues. The thing is that very few people around remember what happened in 1929 and all of the economic forces which precipitated the crash. That perfect storm took over 10 years and a world war to reconcile, and in some places it was never reconciled, thus why the eastern bloc countries emerged from behind the iron curtain 10-12 years ago in much the same state they are in today, their entrance into the EU notwithstanding.

The EU as an economic union is not sustainable (never was), because too few are carrying too many. For that matter the US is not economically sustainable. But again, we're talking macro economics and the fact that everyone is so tied together. Far better that the system crash and be re-built from the ground up than we continue on as-is.

That does mean that things will change, and for Americans I know your greatest fears involve not being on top.

eta: Oh, and framing fowl, I totally agree that personal responsibility will do great things toward making the system better in the short run--the only thing is that you need to convince every human being, or at least every single American, to take that personal responsibility. And that is working against human nature in many cases.

 

[i_am2bz]

The average person in the US does not fear terrorists, but we do fear the consequences of what we have allowed to be done to us in the name of social programs.
No the sky isn't falling... yet. But when you have an increasing chorus of world financial and political leader telling us that we have a better than 50/50 chance of a world wide economic meltdown and depression, it's time to start preparing for the chance that the sky may indeed fall. YMMV

I agree, Mark. It's not terrorism from outside sources that scares me much, it's the terrorists within. "I have met the enemy and he is us."

And it scares me how unprepared most people are for what's coming down the pike.

 

[moolie]

The average person in the US does not fear terrorists, but we do fear the consequences of what we have allowed to be done to us in the name of social programs.
No the sky isn't falling... yet. But when you have an increasing chorus of world financial and political leader telling us that we have a better than 50/50 chance of a world wide economic meltdown and depression, it's time to start preparing for the chance that the sky may indeed fall. YMMV

I agree, Mark. It's not terrorism from outside sources that scares me much, it's the terrorists within. "I have met the enemy and he is us."

And it scares me how unprepared most people are for what's coming down the pike.

Again, from and outside point of view, that's not what you as a nation put across.

All we ever see on your network news is fear. You shut down the longest undefended border in the world (with Canada) on pretenses and now both our nation's citizens need passports to travel to each other--I remember other times. You've got a system that lets your population know what "security level" you're at--when I was younger that was the stuff of Wargames and other similar movies, not everyday life and the 6 o'clock news. Airport security measures are at an all-time ridiculous level, which just irritates people and doesn't actually stop guys like your underwear bomber from potentially doing damage, and yes inciting terror and fear.

And I honestly don't truly see that your average citizen is more concerned with what they've become or what they need to do to survive than with terrorism. Do you really see this in the average American? The credit-card toting up-to-their-eyeballs in debt to get the things they want average American citizen? Truly?

 

[2dream]

Do you really see this in the average American? The credit-card toting up-to-their-eyeballs in debt to get the things they want average American citizen? Truly?

Every single day!

 

[i_am2bz]

Sorry Moolie, I sure didn't mean to give the impression that any of this has to do with terrorism (in the Jihadist context, anyway). I'm nowhere near an international border, & rarely fly, so none of that affects me personally. And I can guarantee that when my family gets together, al-quaeda is the very last thing we talk about!

It does worry me that The Government uses terrorism as an excuse to mess with personal freedoms, but that's a conversation for a whole 'nother thread.

The "doom & gloom" came from Mark's header, The Doom & Gloom Report. I just branched off to include other non-financial issues, like crime & personal responsibility.

Unfortunately, I have no personal control over the Main Stream Media & the nonsense they spew every day for the world to see.

 

[moolie]

Do you really see this in the average American? The credit-card toting up-to-their-eyeballs in debt to get the things they want average American citizen? Truly?

Every single day!

I'm thinking that you've missed my question, I'm asking if you think that those deeply indebted Americans are more concerned with taking personal responsibility than with outside influences like the threat of terrorism. 'Cause I don't see it.

People are all to apt to place blame on outside influences than on themselves.

 

[colowyo0809]

My post was in direct response to i_am2bz in post #158 about "doom and gloom", thus the mention of terrorism.

Believe me, I know about the world economic issues. The thing is that very few people around remember what happened in 1929 and all of the economic forces which precipitated the crash. That perfect storm took over 10 years and a world war to reconcile, and in some places it was never reconciled, thus why the eastern bloc countries emerged from behind the iron curtain 10-12 years ago in much the same state they are in today, their entrance into the EU notwithstanding.

The EU as an economic union is not sustainable (never was), because too few are carrying too many. For that matter the US is not economically sustainable. But again, we're talking macro economics and the fact that everyone is so tied together. Far better that the system crash and be re-built from the ground up than we continue on as-is.

That does mean that things will change, and for Americans I know your greatest fears involve not being on top.

eta: Oh, and framing fowl, I totally agree that personal responsibility will do great things toward making the system better in the short run--the only thing is that you need to convince every human being, or at least every single American, to take that personal responsibility. And that is working against human nature in many cases.

I agree with you, to a point. However, what you see on the news isn't necessarily what we as a nation, or as individuals, truly care about. Granted, by watching specific shows and/or specific channels as consumers we are giving our passive support to that, but it isn't necessarily something people think about. I believe that a lot of people do think about terrorists, but that is in part because the media and the government keep it foremost in our thoughts. Cut out the news and I have a much harder time focusing on terrorists, mainly because they don't really directly concern me. I'm more concerned with keeping my family fed, clothed and warm. It's funny, when we were signing the papers for our rental, I asked the community manager if we are allowed to put in a vegetable garden (we had just been discussing that we are not allowed to put up a fence, but we are allowed to plant trees, shrubs, bushes etc as long as we get their approval based on where buried lines are located). He said that it was the first time it had ever come up, but that he didn't really see why not, again provided we made sure we didn't dig without first checking with them. To be honest, I plan on planting on top of the grass, using raised beds but I digress.

Have you spoken with the average american? What, precisely, is an average american? Or, for that matter, what is an average canadian? I'm not attacking, I truly want to know. Apparantly, none of us here who are Americans are average, so I would like to know who the average american is. I used to think I was average, but now I find out I'm not? I gotta say, most people I know have stopped worrying about terrorists, and are more worried about/focused on their families, their jobs, and their lives. They only worry about the terrorists in regards to when they have to deal with increased security measures and such. And then they aren't worried, they are irritated and pissed off.

I suppose I should be grateful I'm not viewed as average

 

[k0xxx]

I agree with you, to a point. However, what you see on the news isn't necessarily what we as a nation, or as individuals, truly care about. Granted, by watching specific shows and/or specific channels as consumers we are giving our passive support to that, but it isn't necessarily something people think about.

<snip>

I suppose I should be grateful I'm not viewed as average

That is about the best explanation that I have seen. Generally, in the US, the news and programming comes out of the big cities in the states on east and west coasts. While this may reflect the view and lives of those areas, it's nowhere close to reflecting those of us in most of the "flyover" states, small towns, and small cities.

It may be what the world "sees" from the US, but it's sorta like around the turn of the 20th century, when scientists could see the canals and cities of Mars. When they actually saw things close up, it was something entirely different.

 

[Wifezilla]

Great post Matthew!

 

[i_am2bz]

Generally, in the US, the news and programming comes out of the big cities in the states on east and west coasts. While this may reflect the view and lives of those areas, it's nowhere close to reflecting those of us in most of the "flyover" states, small towns, and small cities.

That.

To think the rest of the world judges us based on what they see on TV just makes me cringe.