There’s Something Missing

[Beebop27]

I apologize in advance for this off-topic post. There’s no other place I trust to go with this.

During these crazy times of shutdowns, looting, political craziness, etc. I haven't paid a lot of attention to much of anything outside of growing my business.

That said, after reading a little about the political weaponization of CV19 on this forum and pondering systemic racism... I’ve found myself feeling like a puppet.

I mean... reading Unscripted opened my eyes to indentured servitude. But everything going on today has me fighting this habit of getting caught up in conspiracy theories while trying not to get in a political argument since everyone in the world wants to force their beliefs on each other.

What does a 28 year old white man trying to build a business do at a time like this?

I have my beliefs. I like to think of myself as open-minded. But damn, there’s oceans of bullshit out there. I don’t have time to research a well-thought out stance on any of it.

Besides, how do we know who is right and who is wrong? Does any of it really matter? Will any of it really make a difference? Or are we all just along for this ride of history repeating itself over and over again?

My two cents...

In life...there will be forces that you can control, and those that you can't.

Russian election results? You can't control.

Making a steadfast savings plan? You can control.

In times of political and social unrest, I think it's good to keep your emotions in check, through realising that these things are relatively out of your control.

That being said, if you are interested in the mechanisms behind what's going on, I'd recommend educating yourself on these issues to help form your own opinion. "Hoover institute" on YouTube us a good place to start.

That being said, I think there is a lot of noise and bullshit on the net these days, so you need to use your own judgement and pick your media source carefully. Bullshit like 5g is causing covid19, and shit like that.

Best way to find out if something is true or not is by looking at its results. (Ie.. communism is a noble idea, but through looking at history and its results, it can be concluded that it doesn't work in practice).

My personal view (which I'm reluctant to write here), is that the current mess is a manifestation of many forces...frustrstion, opportunistic people, criminals, and the trump administration. Trump gets off on division and conflict and feeds off it.

 

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[Runum]

Now that I'm planning to start a family in the next couple years, I find myself pondering, "what am I gonna teach my kids?"

I have been through several world catastrophic events since the 1960's. It never ends and the press and internet has made it all worse. Your kids will be exposed to it from the internet, news, and other kids and their parents.

As others have said you have to focus on what you can control. Your kids need to see how you do that. If you are focused you don't have time for noise and that is all that other stuff is, noise. I took a page from Rich Dad(I know he is not popular here) and made the 3 plans. 1 for shot for the stars, 1 for everyday is OK, and 1 for SHTF. One day in 2008 my kid came home from high school really freaked out about economic collapse and the world ending. After hearing her grief and worries I pulled the written plans out and discussed them with her. It comforted her to know that we had a plan no matter what. That was 12 years ago and we never used the SHTF plan. She is grown now and has her own plans. I didn't always teach her how to think. I gave her tools and resources to find her own way. Your kids need to hear and see how you think and how you solve problems. You need to enable them and applaud them when they solve problems as well. Teach them to focus and tune out the noise. It will make them better, stronger adults.

Good luck.

 

[WJK]

Between this thread and a couple conversations with some friends, I've accepted that humanity hasn't changed much from other historical civilizations. I remember reading this book called Collapse for an environmental science class that delves deeper into that.

I think it's best for me to resign from the fight, mind my own business, work on changing myself instead of changing the world, and impact people through my actions.

You're right. The way to change the world is to change yourself and clean up your little corner of the world. People who are trying to create change by huge gestures are just engaging in mental masturbation. They make a lot of noise and then they get left on the curb burping and chirping. Life just goes on around them without anyone paying them any mind. Change starts with one person changing their paradigm -- and then using that new frame of mind to recreate their immediate surroundings.