[PenultimateManStanding]

We aren't there yet, but give it another 10 years or so and we may see a new ethos emerge in populist politicking. The shrill overt appeal to hatred, clear demagoguery, wicked calls for violence done in the style of the early 20th Century Europe will make a comeback. This failure of education is going to take its toll. Stupidity and a disgusting glorification of vile sentiments in popular culture are setting the stage. Peak Oil is not occurring in a vacuum. Shrieking, hysterical speechifying will win adherents and enthusiastic supporters amongst a population traumatized to regard hypocritical phony politeness of the past as discredited. Savage days of politics, right ahead. Call it the Revenge of the Nazis.

[Jake_old]

A sad and scary prospect. As the opponents in a democracy get closer and closer together in their moral stance, lead by the US system but being replicated across the world, along with the increasing power of private interest groups unparalleled in history, the movement towards totalitarianism is all but inevitable.

We are powerless to stop this. Our education system teaches the most thinking individuals to pass exams, not to learn about specific skills or processes. No one knows what fascism is, no one in the developed world knows the true horror of war, no one thinks they can make a difference and maybe they cannot.

Many people would rather die than loose this ultra consuming way of life. Surely death is the worst event to happen, so a little oppression may seem preferable to the taking of ones own life. We are choosing the path of least resistance, nothing is being forced upon us.

This is doom. A collapse into anarchy, survival of the fittest, for a shorter period of time is preferable to the relentless growth of centres of power, emerging it seems to manage the process of transformation to a sustainable way.

It can be done by individuals albeit confusedly, often violently or it can be done mechanically, devoid of moral courage, the politics of a cold hard logic.

We do not even know that we have a choice.

[AmericanEmpire]

Most Americans don't give a shit whats going on as long as they can watch their TV. Take away the entertainment and you got problems. They might start to take notice of the real world instead of what the TV tells them.

Thats all the people in charge are doing anyway now. Washington is all about putting on circuses and shows for the masses. Campaigning on issues like abortion and gay marriage are just to keep the sheeple distracted from major issues like the fact the ship is getting ready to go down due to peak oil and dollar crash.

If you can keep the masses arguing amonst themselves over petty issues, they won't rise up and go after the real culprits.

I don't expect anything to change in this country. People have been too brainwashed and are too comfortable living their industrial lifestyles. We'd have to hit rock bottom before most people will sit up and take notice. By then it will be too late.

[Novus]

The world is already too far gone to be helped. Maybe subconsiously people know what is going on. They may not consiously know the details but somehow they know something is not right. I notice how people have gotten ruder and angrier in the last two years. The people just seem to want to yell and scream and pick fights at the drop of hat. It is like how your whole body hurts because you have a tooth ache and your whole mood turns sour because of the pain. That pain can even spread can even spread to other people around you even if they have no idea of the source of the pain. The human race seems to be in serious pain right now. Entire nations want to start wars at the slightest provocation. The whole situation is not good and it is only going to get worse as people get more desperate and pain threashold increases.

[Atlantean_Relic]

2 Timothy 3 I think sums it up nicely.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Or to sum it up simplely, We're F@#&ed

[duke3522]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', 'T')he world is already too far gone to be helped. Maybe subconsiously people know what is going on. They may not consiously know the details but somehow they know something is not right. I notice how people have gotten ruder and angrier in the last two years. The people just seem to want to yell and scream and pick fights at the drop of hat. It is like how your whole body hurts because you have a tooth ache and your whole mood turns sour because of the pain. That pain can even spread can even spread to other people around you even if they have no idea of the source of the pain. The human race seems to be in serious pain right now. Entire nations want to start wars at the slightest provocation. The whole situation is not good and it is only going to get worse as people get more desperate and pain threashold increases.

[Z]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('duke3522', 'W')hat I don't understand is all the anger out there. Just about anyone reading this post is living better than 95% of the people who have ever lived. Think about that. I am in the bottom 10% of income here in the US, but I still live better, and have already lived longer, than most 8th century European nobles.

[Novus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('duke3522', '
')Hey Novus,

What I don't understand is all the anger out there. Just about anyone reading this post is living better than 95% of the people who have ever lived. Think about that. I am in the bottom 10% of income here in the US, but I still live better, and have already lived longer, than most 8th century European nobles.

[JayBee]

Oswald Spengler anyone?

Oswald Spengler and the Crisis of Western Civilisation

Oswald Spengler - Wikipedia

The Decline of the West

[SinisterBlueCat]

In an effort to bring this thread back to the original subject and away from its current trajectory of we hate people (especially americans) because they are fat, lazy, stupid and doom, doom doom...

I will say, I agree PMS, and I am not sure we will have to wait 10 years...in fact I will say it is with us now.

In this very transient socity in which we live, people are not able to form bonds with people that live near them and that share common obstacles and views because they do not stay in one place long enough. So, people turn to TV for news, information and strangely enough companionship. I read somewhere that oftentimes people view famous as acquaintances or even friends. This can be confusing obvious reasons.

So a person can see bill orielly night after night and agree with what he does and says on TV...but it is very likely if they saw or knew him in real life, they would not be so quick to agree with this ideas.

Think about TV news even 10 years ago...it was very different from the way it is today. News controls people and they are substituting real education (the kind that finds critique a positive thing) with "news" and people call themselves educated. This is the real failure and danger.

I found the article on the front page about the rolling black outs in Denver strangely comforting, because TV would be the lifeline for the shrieking, hysterical speechifying...without electricty, there is no TV.

[rogerhb]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Atlantean_Relic', 'T')here will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.

[Odin]

It's sickening nihilism. God is dead and the Dollar has become the new God. Not that I think religion is a good thing, I am an atheist after all, but consumerism is not a good way to fill the gap. The West is dying.

[UIUCstudent01]

The West's culture isn't dying.

It's just going to get poorer.

Massive consumerism will end. From the continual recession.

I expect religion to make a massive comeback - I think we'll see more growth in Evangalism-The-Mega-Church-Kind and maybe Mormism (because they stock up on stuff) than any other...

It might take 2 decades for this to manifest at least...

I don't think populist movements will take-over in the United States... that would be way too surreal... that's the day when I pack my bags my bags and get a homestead in the middle of Nebraska or Washington or whatever to spend the rest of my days...

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('UIUCstudent01', '
')I expect religion to make a massive comeback - I think we'll see more growth in Evangalism-The-Mega-Church-Kind and maybe Mormism (because they stock up on stuff) than any other...

[UIUCstudent01]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('UIUCstudent01', '
')I expect religion to make a massive comeback - I think we'll see more growth in Evangalism-The-Mega-Church-Kind and maybe Mormism (because they stock up on stuff) than any other...

[Atlantean_Relic]

rogerhb no change in type just degree