Present day United States of America society as a whole has degraded too far. It's an easy opinion to have. Decades of success and superpower has made us complacent and smug, self assured at the top. Comfortable as a nation we took the laurels from our grandparent's brows, and placed them squarely beneath our fundaments. We coasted our way to the moon, and stopped. Pride and security in doing things for ourselves is lost. We rely on the goods and economies of other nations, and they're coming to realize that America isn't just a power to reckon; it's a cow to be milked. Like Romans, we're still sitting unaware with our bread at the circus, in front of a plasma TV with a "Budweiser" (now foreign owned!), while the looters approach the city gates. Honestly, it looks grim.
There are among modern USA folks, those who do NOT fit the stereotypes listed above. They ignore the zeitgeist's tendencies, and work with ideals that certainly serve them well. Frugality, ingenuity, self sufficiency, and working hard to productive ends will still occur here and there. It is easy to be jaded and live the easy "throw away", handout life, and there may be no "greater good". However, unless people act like they want to live and thrive, likely they will not. Sadly, the group that does realize these things is a minority, but it's a minority which may do well in the down turning times to come.
In regards to the USA as a whole, it may be time for it all to come down. Things have been too fat for too long, and there's no other good way to sort out the useable bits from the flammable chaff. Burn it. Slow or fast, but let it all feel the fire for the sake of letting whatever is left work its way back up without all the bloat. Or if nothing worthwhile is there, then the ashes will be nothing worth crying over. One can never really appreciate food, heat and security until you've been hungry and cold with the wolves closing in.
Those who have a mind to prevent this might, if enough time is left, and the sentiment spreads far enough. Even if it's too late, those who would embrace better principles will only ensure that they or their descendants will be the ones left to make "American" a term worth a damn once more.
Author's note:
That's the rantish part. I'm not advocating sitting down and waiting for the collapse or hording canned goods and firearms (thought it never hurts in moderation). This is more about living constructive, pragmatic ideas, acting smart where possible, and trying to get others to do so.
Much to like, here.
* Title: A riff on the Wicked Witch? "How about a little fire, Scarecrow?"
* Whole first paragraph strikes me as win, esp. the bit about Budweiser. That bit might really sink in to a more resistant brain.
* "One can never really appreciate food, heat and security until you've been hungry and cold with the wolves closing in."
* Last sentence is powerful.
In the spirit of constructive criticism, I observe that the first sentence of the second paragraph seems weaker than the surrounding rantiness.
Very nice.
:mittens:
This reminds me a lot of Klaus Nomi's "After the fall" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTLzQP9J-n8)
QuoteWell I told you about the total eclipse now
but still it caught you unaware
But I'm telling you hold on, hold on
Tomorrow we'll be there
And even though you went to church upon Sunday
you thought you didn't even have a prayer
But I'm telling you hold on, hold on
Tomorrow we'll be there
After the fall we'll be born, born, born again
after it all blows away
after the fall, after the fall
after it all blows away
We'll take a million years of civilization
We're gonna give it the electric chair
But I'm telling you hold on, hold on
Tomorrow we'll be there
I see a hundred million lonely mutants
they are glowing in their dark despair
But I'm telling you hold on, hold on
Tomorrow we'll be there
Well the freak shall inherit the earth now
No matter how well done or rare
But I'm telling you hold on, hold on
Tomorrow we'll be there
We'll build our radioactive castles
out in the radioactive air
And I'm telling you hold on, hold on
Tomorrow we'll be there
are you with me, you hundred million lonely mutants?
fuck yeah!
But see, there's nothing to wait for. It's already happening. It's the Strange Times, and each of us get to make our very own country to live in, nestled snugly in the middle of something big and chaotic and dynamic. And every man is an island, but every island is pleasure island or Riker's island or fireball island or
whatever you want. ...Sorta.
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old giving Uncle BadTouch a Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
I took the liberty of fixing that for you.
Thanks all!
Quote from: Contessa_Ugolino on August 15, 2008, 08:23:03 PM
In the spirit of constructive criticism, I observe that the first sentence of the second paragraph seems weaker than the surrounding rantiness.
Very nice.
Good point about Par. 2, Sen. 1. I tend to jump around as far as levels of rantiness in conversation too, playing off the contrast. No idea if this is effective in print form, but I'll know to try playing with / without it now!
Also, yes, Wicked Witch of the West quote :), and indirect nod to "Straw Men".
Quote from: Professor Cramulus on August 15, 2008, 08:24:35 PM
But see, there's nothing to wait for. It's already happening. It's the Strange Times, and each of us get to make our very own country to live in, nestled snugly in the middle of something big and chaotic and dynamic. And every man is an island, but every island is pleasure island or Riker's island or fireball island or whatever you want. ...Sorta.
I need to go listen to more K.N. now...
Also, a response to your "Strange Times" will eventually be it's own bit, but this clarifies a good bit about it. As I'll likely say again, I'm finding myself growing more in favor of making life into 3 Miles Island for the sake of pushing things forward. Treating yourself (not others) to a horror or two for greater diversity and perspective in the long view, so to speak.
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
That's the kind of shit I'm on about. It just seems like another senseless opulence. I won't even go into comparing the military / civilian toybox versions...
Quote from: East Coast Hustle on August 15, 2008, 10:15:58 PM
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old giving Uncle BadTouch a Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
I took the liberty of fixing that for you.
:coffeemoniter:
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
All I have to do is watch the average shithead snowbird blissfully driving along, unaware that I will hunt, kill, and EAT them the moment it all goes to shit, either through no oil, or by Russia getting all stupid and fucking with Poland.
I will eat them because THEY did this shit, THEY created this situation, when there was still TIME to do something SMART.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on August 16, 2008, 05:29:48 PM
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
All I have to do is watch the average shithead snowbird blissfully driving along, unaware that I will hunt, kill, and EAT them the moment it all goes to shit, either through no oil, or by Russia getting all stupid and fucking with Poland.
I will eat them because THEY did this shit, THEY created this situation, when there was still TIME to do something SMART.
Roger, may I be your assistant when the time comes? IRL I am bearable.
Quote from: wgeorgew on August 16, 2008, 07:29:35 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on August 16, 2008, 05:29:48 PM
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
All I have to do is watch the average shithead snowbird blissfully driving along, unaware that I will hunt, kill, and EAT them the moment it all goes to shit, either through no oil, or by Russia getting all stupid and fucking with Poland.
I will eat them because THEY did this shit, THEY created this situation, when there was still TIME to do something SMART.
Roger, may I be your assistant when the time comes? IRL I am bearable.
Say yes, then eat him first.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on August 16, 2008, 05:29:48 PM
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
All I have to do is watch the average shithead snowbird blissfully driving along, unaware that I will hunt, kill, and EAT them the moment it all goes to shit, either through no oil, or by Russia getting all stupid and fucking with Poland.
I will eat them because THEY did this shit, THEY created this situation, when there was still TIME to do something SMART.
THEY didn't create this situation any more than you did. It's OUR responsibility, it's OUR problem. WE are the ones we've been waiting for. WE are the only ones that can do anything SMART.
But chances are, we'll sit and watch it burn, because we keep thinking that someone else is going to save us. We keep thinking it's THEIR fault, and THEY need to fix it. But THEY won't, because there is no THEY. There is only US, and the sooner we recognize that, the better off WE will be.
Quote from: Requiem on August 16, 2008, 07:46:43 PM
Quote from: wgeorgew on August 16, 2008, 07:29:35 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on August 16, 2008, 05:29:48 PM
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PM
I think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
All I have to do is watch the average shithead snowbird blissfully driving along, unaware that I will hunt, kill, and EAT them the moment it all goes to shit, either through no oil, or by Russia getting all stupid and fucking with Poland.
I will eat them because THEY did this shit, THEY created this situation, when there was still TIME to do something SMART.
Roger, may I be your assistant when the time comes? IRL I am bearable.
Say yes, then eat him first.
I just wanted to avoid being eaten by him.
he's like a human Cthulhu.
even if you're his right hand man, it just means that he'll eat you last.
Quote from: East Coast Hustle on August 17, 2008, 10:42:13 PM
he's like a human Cthulhu.
even if you're his right hand man, it just means that he'll eat you last.
I thought he wanted to be killed first?
Quote from: Kai on August 18, 2008, 02:44:47 AM
Quote from: East Coast Hustle on August 17, 2008, 10:42:13 PM
he's like a human Cthulhu.
even if you're his right hand man, it just means that he'll eat you last.
I thought he wanted to be killed first?
Fuckin' A.
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PMI think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
me too. it's why i'm gonna learn me some martial arts. i figure when the time comes there's not much need for an IT guy, i know how to brew booze and grow vegetables, apart from that i'm afraid im pretty useless.
funny thing is my gf totally understands this, she said "hey you think about that too? :)", like, she actually surprises me sometimes by saying in the middle of a conversation, "... yeah but what about when society collapses?"
Quote from: triple zero on August 28, 2008, 01:16:14 AM
Quote from: Rabid Badger of God on August 15, 2008, 09:40:29 PMI think about the downfall of civilization a lot. I know that every generation thinks it's witnessing the death of society, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that the End is Nigh. All I have to do is watch a 16 year old driving her brand new Hummer.
Seriously, it's just around the corner.
me too. it's why i'm gonna learn me some martial arts. i figure when the time comes there's not much need for an IT guy, i know how to brew booze and grow vegetables, apart from that i'm afraid im pretty useless.
funny thing is my gf totally understands this, she said "hey you think about that too? :)", like, she actually surprises me sometimes by saying in the middle of a conversation, "... yeah but what about when society collapses?"
:lulz:
Sheer genius.
Ooh! Ooh!
We're freaking DOOOOMED!
....ahem....
sorry. about that. I do tend to get worked up about societal collapse a bit.
So do any of you guys actively 'prep' for collapse (on any scale)
Guns, Grub, Gold? or Beans, Bullets, Bullion? or whatever those crazy paranoid people that actually subscribe to that nonsense about how an engineered destruction of our economy is right around the corner as a pretext for creating a regional currency that will create a NAU that will be more explicitly subservient to global governance that will be a bad, bad thing....
Actually, I just put my faith in the Free Market Economy, and the Libertarian ethos. That should take care of everything.
After all, if small government is good, shouldn't no government be even better?
Quote from: LMNO on August 28, 2008, 01:51:19 PM
Actually, I just put my faith in the Free Market Economy, and the Libertarian ethos. That should take care of everything.
After all, if small government is good, shouldn't no government be even better?
There's no such thing as 'no government', just the strife of a collapsing power vacuum.
you can put your faith wherever you want (its certainly unbecoming to carry it around with you all the time, after all), but i wouldn't recommend putting it in anyone having your best interests in mind, especially those in authority.
I had no idea the Free Market was considered an authority, or even a single entity.
Your trolling is weak. Please to increase the Polemic value by 8.92%.
Quote from: Iptuous on August 28, 2008, 04:03:50 PM
Quote from: LMNO on August 28, 2008, 01:51:19 PM
Actually, I just put my faith in the Free Market Economy, and the Libertarian ethos. That should take care of everything.
After all, if small government is good, shouldn't no government be even better?
There's no such thing as 'no government', just the strife of a collapsing power vacuum.
you can put your faith wherever you want (its certainly unbecoming to carry it around with you all the time, after all), but i wouldn't recommend putting it in anyone having your best interests in mind, especially those in authority.
You mean, we should question authority? Why didn't I ever think of that?
Quote from: LMNO on August 28, 2008, 04:09:06 PM
I had no idea the Free Market was considered an authority, or even a single entity.
Your trolling is weak. Please to increase the Polemic value by 8.92%.
Hmmm. I must have stated something wrong. Because i wasn't referring to the Free Market as an authority....
Your needling on the minimization of govt, it seems to me. That's all i'm supporting.
Back on topic, do you think our current castle is crumbling, and are you doing anything to prepare for it?
I totally agree with you that my trolling is weak though. I've never attempted it.
LMNO puppies.
OSAR
CMPN?
I didn't think he was trolling.
sounded more like talking sense.
anyway, I don't give a shit what anyone thinks about it, I have a large frame backpack called "the zombie apocalypse bag" right by the front door, the contents of which (along with my guns) will keep me alive and fed long enough to find somewhere unpopulated to make camp, and provide the tools to make a permanent shelter and the means to provide myself with potable water, fresh fruit and vegetables.
Also contains a fair amount of speed. Do never be unable to go 72 hours without stopping or sleeping when the zombie apocalypse happens.
Quote from: Iptuous on August 28, 2008, 02:52:57 AM
Ooh! Ooh!
We're freaking DOOOOMED!
....ahem....
sorry. about that. I do tend to get worked up about societal collapse a bit.
So do any of you guys actively 'prep' for collapse (on any scale)
Guns, Grub, Gold? or Beans, Bullets, Bullion? or whatever those crazy paranoid people that actually subscribe to that nonsense about how an engineered destruction of our economy is right around the corner as a pretext for creating a regional currency that will create a NAU that will be more explicitly subservient to global governance that will be a bad, bad thing....
I have a neighbor who is set for the end of the world. He likes me. I plan to take him out, come armageddon. Plan set!
My day to day bag IS my zombie apocalypse bag. I can certainly improve what I have with access to car or dwelling, but I'm OK with the idea that I may have to improvise a good bit.
Quote from: Hoopla on August 28, 2008, 04:49:00 PM
Quote from: Iptuous on August 28, 2008, 02:52:57 AM
Ooh! Ooh!
We're freaking DOOOOMED!
....ahem....
sorry. about that. I do tend to get worked up about societal collapse a bit.
So do any of you guys actively 'prep' for collapse (on any scale)
Guns, Grub, Gold? or Beans, Bullets, Bullion? or whatever those crazy paranoid people that actually subscribe to that nonsense about how an engineered destruction of our economy is right around the corner as a pretext for creating a regional currency that will create a NAU that will be more explicitly subservient to global governance that will be a bad, bad thing....
I have a neighbor who is set for the end of the world. He likes me. I plan to take him out, come armageddon. Plan set!
TITCM.
I'm also opposed to putting too much resource - wise into prepping for this sort of thing.
As fun as the idea is, a zombie apocalypse is one hell of a remote possibility.
I'm ready for minor trouble or natural disasters, (living in a hurricane prone area with small earthquake possibility), and am confident that things won't go Mad Max overnight.
In the end, I'd rather work with un-fucking the political and social problems we have now than starting over from dark ages tech.
it surprises me how many people on this board seem to lack the desire to become a warlord.
Quote from: East Coast Hustle on August 28, 2008, 05:23:19 PM
it surprises me how many people on this board seem to lack the desire to become a warlord.
You
want to get stabbed by one of your concubine's offspring?
Quote from: East Coast Hustle on August 28, 2008, 05:23:19 PM
it surprises me how many people on this board seem to lack the desire to become a warlord.
I'm more of an Auntie Entity... "Ain't we a pair, Raggedy Man?"
Quote from: East Coast Hustle on August 28, 2008, 05:23:19 PM
it surprises me how many people on this board seem to lack the desire to become a warlord.
It should be fairly obvious that the Warlord's
adviser holds all the cards.
LMNO
-call me Rasputin.
you can hold the cards if you want.
I'll be busy holding the shorties, the biscuits, and the cheddar.
WHO RUN BARTERTOWN??
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