Do you fear the future?

[alfredo]

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. No but it will be interesting.

With the march of fascism in America rising. I might be excited a chance to fight it!

[BeHereNow]

2. Anyone who doesn't is deluded.

So yes, I do.
I am fully conscious of what is happening.
BHN

[mikelewis]

24. I too am fully conscious of what is happening yet I am not afraid... Think of it...

"There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it - always."

"Fear is not the natural state of civilized people."

"We’re always going to have our political differences. We’re always going to have things we can do, and I must say, this has been brilliantly executed, and enormously both moving and entertaining moments. But we’re in the house of the Lord. And most of us are too afraid to live the life we oughtta live because we have forgotten the promise that was made to Martin Luther King, to Coretta Scott King, and all of us, most beautifully for me stated in Isiah, “Fear not, I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine.”
We don’t have to be afraid. We can follow in her steps. We can honor Dr. King’s sacrifice. We can help his children fulfill their legacy."

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value."

"Don't be afraid... just as you have lived you will die. In hope or in fear... you have the choice to decide your own fate. I am not afraid... sad, angry, overwhelmed at times, outraged in others, yet not afraid... the world has always been a dangerous place, life has always been precarious but we forge ahead... we live because remember, eventually we will all perish from this Earth. To fear the manner in which we expire or the day or the pain involved occupies needlessly the hearts of all mankind. I personally pretend I will live forever in a glorious kingdom with an imaginary God who loves me in spite of my failings and who leads me to be a better person... some say I'm delusional but it helps ease the terror. If that fails, there's always heroin."

And lastly to quote a fool...
"The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them."

[alfredo]

39. We also have to reject those who have sown fear and who are

trying to gain power by playing on our fear.

[Mojambo]

3. Only when I think about it. n/t

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. absolutely.

things are getting downright scary.

[bdamomma]

20. but we should not be paralyzed to do something whatever they

plan to throw our way.

[daninthemoon]

5. If my kids weren't grown, I would be terrified. As it is , I'll do what I

can, but if things go as bad as they just may be going, at least I won't have to fend for them.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

10. I'm always worring about my children's future... it doesn't look to good for them.

[Canuckistanian]

6. I fear other people's realization of the future

I know what's coming.

[mcscajun]

7. Oh, yeah.

Particularly about getting old in this America, so unlike the one I was raised in. :scared:
Nevermind the accelerating impacts of global warming, peak oil and the coming water wars of the 21st Century. :scared: :scared:

[Wiley50]

8. I Won't Succumb To The Fear They Cultivate, But I Do See What's Coming n/t

[Earth_First]

9. Honestly, we do...

So much so, that we've given considerable thought on having a second child based on the uncertainty that the future brings.

We've managed to head so far in the wrong directions, that we are quite concerned about the economic forecast, health care, job stability, and the state of the environment.

Geopolitical events surrounding water rights will make the petrochemical wars look like 'conflicts' in the future.

Hardly a world that my wife and I would care to raise another child in.

[alfredo]

11. We can live without oil, but water...........

[Cleita]

12. I do a lot because I'm afraid that in order to fix this, we might have to have

to have a revolution. If we don't fix this, an occupation of nations, who don't like our version of Adolf, might happen because starting a war with nukes involves the whole world and those nations who want to preserve themselves and the planet may feel forced to take action.

A revolution or occupation means that old people like myself could be cut off Social Security and Medicare, not to mention all the people dependent on the myriad of social programs that keep them afloat because government would be suspended. Even what's left of our shell of a government kind of keeps things in place that people depend on like the above, roads, fire depts. etc.

Everybody young and old will have to worry about lawlessness that would be the result of social and military upheaval. This time it would come to our shores I fear. I hope I'm dead wrong, but the dread is there when I think about it.

[alfredo]

19. I think by the time people figure out the fix they are in, it will be

too late.

Humans always exploited their land until it plays out. They move or die. Now we are to a point where we are playing out our resources but there is no where to move.

It's got to be a revolution of thought. A revolution of the heart without a revolution of the mind will turn violent and self destructive. Without the heart the mind will act with efficient brutality.

[Double T]

13. What future?????

Overpopulation and everything that results from it will lead to extinction.

[alfredo]

14. The herd will be culled. those who can live on the land might be

the lucky ones.

[Anywho6]

15. Only if another Repuke President is elected in 2008 n/t

[AtomicKitten]

16. no but I can smell it

[Vilis Veritas]

17. No Fear.

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain

Paul Atreides, Frank Herbert's Dune.

Peace

[nyrnyr1994]

26. Great line from one of my favorite series of books

Started reading through the Dune Chronicles again, I came across this interesting quote:

Governments, if they endure, always tend increasingly toward aristocratic forms. No government in history has been known to evade this pattern. And as the aristocracy develops, government tends more and more to act exclusively in the interests of the ruling class--whether that class be hereditary royalty, oligarchs of financial empires, or entrenched bureaucracy.
--Politics as Repeat Phenomenon: Bene Gesserit Training Manual
Herbert, Frank. Children of Dune, pg. 190

[Vilis Veritas]

52. Frank Herbert did have some good points.

Your quote is one of the more salient ones for these times.

Peace.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

18. Not for myself..

But I have grandchildren.. :scared:

[Rydz777]

21. Ancient Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times," and

the Chinese are doing their part to make our times interesting. I do not fear the future, but I think we will necessarily be less consumption driven and lead simpler lives - which may be a good thing.

[bemildred]

22. Heck no, I'll be dead. nt

[tech3149]

23. I don't fear the future, but I understand the problems we face

For myself, I'll do OK whatever happens. If not, well shit happens. I don't have a wife and kids to worry about and my family is in pretty good shape. I do worry that too many people will be blindsided by the coming crunch. I don't think they know how much it's gonna hurt or that those of us paying attention can help them get through it.

[alfredo]

25. In some important ways we are survival illiterates. Sure we know the ins

and outs of our technology, but what will these persons do if there is a break down of society? How many know about the wild foods growing along the road to the grocery with empty shelves? Can they make fire?

I'm a few steps ahead of many because i was raised in the country, and learned how to eat my way across the fields and woods.

Al

[baby_mouse]

32. Time to start spreading this information about a bit, then? NT

[alfredo]

36. It's at the library, bookstores and online. An old Boy Scout manual

can give you some important pointers. Simple things like building a fire, navigating by the stars, first aid are covered.

If you can't cook, you will have a hard time eating the foods you find. Simple "domestic" skills can be of use if the economy goes south. How many can sew?

[baby_mouse]

44. All very good points...

In light of the recent "Let's have a Green Living Forum" I'm wondering if I should adopt a more proactive approach. Would a Green Living Forum on DU help, in your opinion? Would you contribute?

[alfredo]

45. Or maybe a simple living forum. We need to turn away from

materialism. Consumerism is killing us.

[baby_mouse]

46. D'accord.

We waste far, far too much. My grandparents would be shocked at the way I spend my money.

Time for a change.

[alfredo]

48. It won't happen. Too many people measure their self worth by possessions.

[baby_mouse]

53. Well, it doesn't have to "happen". I can DO it.

For myself, if no-one else.... :D

[alfredo]

54. My injury has forced me to live simple. I was never much of a consumer.

Still living on Soc Sec has taught me how to live low impact.

[AuntPatsy]

27. For my childrens future, and their childrens, not my own and the future generations to come

[KillCapitalism]

28. Constantly.

Right now our civil rights are being eroded, we are becoming a plutocracy, and the majority of the general population is either ignorant of it all, doesn't care, or is on the side of those advancing it.

[Kelly Rupert]

29. Not one bit.

What happens happens.

[NuttyFluffers]

30. nah, i fear existence. but i gotta face my fear everyday, no?

kinda puts everything else in perspective and makes death a reprieve. :D

[H2O Man]

31. No.

Not at all.

[Kip Humphrey]

33. Just the potential of Bush and the RNC.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

34. i fear that we will eat the dem candidate alive.

and let the republicans win because in the last 8 years we still havent learnt that there is a real difference between dems and repubs

just because the dems are not as liberal and progressive as i would like them to be, does not mean that these people are the same.

[cali]

35. No. I prefer the cultivation of hope over the cultivation of fear n/t

[alfredo]

37. Then we need to address those fears to help find ways to lessen them.

I fight fear by becoming active in local and national politics. I fight fear by being versed in simple survival techniques.

[Beelzebud]

38. "If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."

The above quote from George Orwell's 1984.

And now something from a genius from Canada.

Leonard Cohen - The Future


Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant

You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I'm the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going
any further
And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil's riding crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder

Things are going to slide ...

There'll be the breaking of the ancient
western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
and the white man dancing
You'll see a woman
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the lousy little poets
coming round
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
and the white man dancin'

Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder

Things are going to slide ...

When they said REPENT REPENT ...

[Generic Other]

40. Here's Leonard Cohen's vision of the future

Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!

Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant.

You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I was the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going
any further
And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil's RIDING crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide ...

There'll be the breaking of the ancient
western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
and a white man dancing
You'll see a woman
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the lousy little poets
coming round
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
and the white man dancin'.

Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide ...

When they said REPENT REPENT ...

You Tube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_drEFOaPaK8

[alfredo]

43. Boy, that cheered me up.

[Romulox]

41. We are in denial. Our future looks bleak. nt

[blues90]

42. I fear the present , it this continues

I have the skills to build just about anything and my wife is good at growing plants and gardens so we will be able to rough it if it comes to that .

However if nukes begin flying then that's a different story .

[hunter]

47. I'm optimistic we can build something better when the bottom rots out of this USA.

I have a compost heap, and there's still a lot of nutritious good in this nation that will make the next season's garden greener.

Be friendly with your neighbors, share resources, oppose tyrants, and make something good of what you got.

[alfredo]

49. Eat low on the food chain, try not to leave your mark on the world.

[Bluerthanblue]

50. no, but i'm often haunted by the past, and

overwhelmed by the present.

I'd prefer to die peacefully- trusting that the people who live on, are able to embrace hope, and still believe, (without needing chemical help) that there is a better world for all. And it is worth reaching towards.

The future will come regardless.

[ThomWV]

51. I know that its not going to get any better because nobody is doing anything about it

I am old and 20 years from now I'll be dead. The chain of events that has become unavoidable for this country is going to leave my son and his children living in a world that will be much harder than the one I have enjoyed.

[alfredo]

55. there are some who are doing something about it, but their

opponents are rich and have the power of the government behind them.

[MrSlayer]

56. No. I don't live in fear.

I don't really see what there is to fear. Washington D.C. might be insane but my life is quite good.

[chefgirl]

57. YES

I refuse to 'live in fear', but I do fear for the future of the country, the future of my son and his children.
I'll never capitulate, but I do fear the eventual repercussions for refusing to.


http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/


Bob Altemeyer's - The Authoritarians

... take the following statement: “Once our government leaders and the authorities condemn the dangerous elements in our society, it will be the duty of every patriotic citizen to help stomp out the rot that is poisoning our country from within.” Sounds like something Hitler would say, right? Want to guess how many politicians, how many lawmakers in the United States agreed with it? Want to guess what they had in common?

Or how about a government program that persecutes political parties, or minorities, or journalists the authorities do not like, by putting them in jail, even torturing and killing them. Nobody would approve of that, right? Guess again.


Don’t think for a minute this doesn’t concern you personally. Let me ask you, as we’re passing the time here, how many ordinary people do you think an evil authority would have to order to kill you before he found someone who would, unjustly, out of sheer obedience, just because the authority said to? What sort of person is most likely to follow such an order? What kind of official is most likely to give that order, if it suited his purposes?


-chef- :scared:

[TahitiNut]

58. Dirt nap. Worm buffet.

Death. To die. To expire. To pass on. To perish. To peg out. To push up daisies. To push up posies. To become extinct. Curtains, deceased, Demised, departed And defunct. Dead as a doornail. Dead as a herring. Dead as a mutton. Dead as nits. The last breath. Paying a debt to nature. The big sleep. God's way of saying, "Slow down."

To check out.
To shuffle off this mortal coil.
To head for the happy hunting ground.
To blink for an exceptionally long period of time.
To find oneself without breath.
To be the incredible decaying man.

[alfredo]

59. Pass through the reeds Was how the Egyptians described death.

So when Moses and the Jews passed through the (parted) sea of reeds were they escaping or did they die?

One big problem is the death rate is not keeping up with the birth rate. That is key to our problems. There's just too many of us.

[Bigmack]

61. To sing with....

the choir celestial. (Parrot sketch, Monty Python)

[BlooInBloo]

60. Worry? Sure. Concern? Sure. Fear? No.

[mmonk]

62. Based on the present, absolutely.

I'm not asleep.

[Javaman]

63. Anyone that fears change will be in trouble. As for me, not so much. nt

[alfredo]

64. The older you get, the harder it is to change. Knowledge is essential.

Know how to survive in all situations. Develop skill sets that were cast aside as we urbanized our society. Us old farts from rural backgrounds have a head start, but lack the physical strength hard times demand.