Things are Better than You Think

[Koolau]

to your point, it seems to me that many government policies these days are based on incorrect facts and assumptions.

That and s government which is not accountable to the people makes a witches brew.

I can get as upset as anyone about the apparent intractability of the gummint. BUT that's like blaming a tiger for biting off the arm of the kid who sticks his arm in the cage. WE (citizens) have immense power over gummint, but IMHO we've quit wielding it effectively. People don't even know USA history, so we don't know what power we have. "Man on the street" interviews abound which show our pathetic lack of knowledge and understanding. I find them hard to watch, but we need to watch. We need to know what has happened to our country. SO, yes, I get PO'd at gummint, but we get the gummint we deserve.

And just in case (like me) you are completely demoralized, I'll throw in this one to add a bit of humor (well, maybe not.) In any case, YMMV.

 

[ncbill]

Dad went from college to active duty Army & spent his last couple of years in Vietnam.

Then came home to the 1973-74 stock market crash (~45% loss for the DJIA) followed by inflation rising to double digits.

And still managed to build a life for his family.

Bad times actually helped...dad bought a business back in the mid-1970s that had gone through bankruptcy multiple times & the bank that got stuck with it financed it for him on very generous terms since they wanted to be rid of it.

 

[ERD50]

... People don't even know USA history, so we don't know what power we have. "Man on the street" interviews abound which show our pathetic lack of knowledge and understanding. I find them hard to watch, but we need to watch. ...

I don't trust any of those 'interviews'. How many people did they ask that gave good answers before they found someone who was clueless? And how many of those apparent' clueless' people just gave a stupid answer for a laugh, knowing it would get them on TV. With editing, anything goes.

But there are a lot of people who seem to have no idea what the three branches of government are about, how checks and balances are supposed to work, etc, and it upsets me that these people get to vote.

-ERD50

 

[clifp]

I'm a big fan of Bill Gates Gatesnotes.
https://www.gatesnotes.com/

He has an occasional podcast, but mostly its email newsletter.

Bill is an optimist but one grounded in reality, so you'll read about the good news about the improvement in health care in developing countries, and promising new development in things like toilets. Technologies that can be used used to help mitigate climate change.

Plus more than anybody person in the world, Gates has both the brains and resources to turn these ideas into reality.

 

[CaptTom]

But there are a lot of people who seem to have no idea what the three branches of government are about, how checks and balances are supposed to work, etc, and it upsets me that these people get to vote.

I was going to make the same point you did, about selective editing to show just the stupidest replies in those man-on-the-street videos.

But it's your second point I wanted to add a small tidbit to. More important even than the three branches of government is the fourth branch, a free and independent press holding those in power to account.

That's where we've really fallen down. Too many "news" outlets are just the propaganda arm of one political party or fringe group. Their viewers/readers live in a bubble where they only get one side of the story, or sometimes outright lies. They're overwhelmed by hatred and fear of "the enemy" on the other side. There is no attempt to hold anyone in their own party to account. This can't be a good thing.

 

[Aerides]

But there are a lot of people who seem to have no idea what the three branches of government are about, how checks and balances are supposed to work, etc, and it upsets me that these people get to vote.-ERD50

Ah, but if there were some rule about "who gets to" and who doesn't, then whoever controls that rule controls all the voting, and the whole thing goes in the toilet.

 

[ERD50]

Ah, but if there were some rule about "who gets to" and who doesn't, then whoever controls that rule controls all the voting, and the whole thing goes in the toilet.

Well, sure. It could be abused. I guess I'd have to preface that with a "in a near perfect world...".

But the whole thing pretty much is in the toilet already, and the issue I mentioned is part of it.

I shall not go further, lest we enter the land of the pig.


-ERD50

 

[Brook2]

Thanks for all the great resources

I am the OP and I'm so happy to have a bunch of new podcasts, videos, blog and books to read.

 

[11522914]

That's where we've really fallen down. Too many "news" outlets are just the propaganda arm of one political party or fringe group. Their viewers/readers live in a bubble where they only get one side of the story, or sometimes outright lies. They're overwhelmed by hatred and fear of "the enemy" on the other side. There is no attempt to hold anyone in their own party to account. This can't be a good thing.

Sadly this is what "news" has become. It's truly disgusting.

I was becoming so cynical that I had to stop reading news. Besides it being hugely negative, I couldn't figure out fact from fiction. I don't trust it anymore. I've literally given up on it.

And you know what. My life is much, much better because of it.

Sure I'll vote for who I believe is the best candidate but that is the extent of it. I'm done with any type of political news. Done!!

And most of my friends on both sides of the aisle feel the same way. They're sick of it.

I realize that we can't all respond this way or I guess the whole thing collapses. Thanks to all of you who can see through the BS, keep a clear head and persevere through this rough patch in current times and continue to work on improving our lives through our political system. I currently can't deal with this and have removed all political news from my life. For now.

To each their own.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

We have it better than any generation has before us. In all of history.

Citizens of the United States in 2023 have never had a standard of living that can come close to compare.

I'm not saying a better life, just a better standard of living. No comparison........

 

[11522914]

We have it better than any generation has before us. In all of history.

Citizens of the United States in 2023 have never had a standard of living that can come close to compare.

I'm not saying a better life, just a better standard of living. No comparison........

+100

 

[marko]

Here's how I look at it:
I'm 71 years old and have heard the most incredibly negative things, horrible predictions, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it, comments over my lifetime.

Yet.....I'm still doing exactly what I have been doing for the last 50 years: eating out, traveling, boating, skiing, sitting on the beach, doing errands, and generally living my life uninterrupted.

My life and lifestyle hasn't changed one iota in all these years. In many ways life is better, but as far as our daily routine, nothing has changed despite all the endless warnings, hand wringing and attempted guilt-tripping imposed upon me every day by the media.

Sometimes you need to take a step back and ask "What's that got to do with me?" (the answer is almost always: "nothing")

 

[arcyallen]

"Man on the street" interviews abound which show our pathetic lack of knowledge and understanding.

I these types of videos are exactly what the OP is trying to counteract. They show concentrated negativity/stupidity with the purpose of showing you how stupid "those other people" are. Cherry picked responses are highly entertaining, and likely highly misleading.

 

[CaptTom]

I was becoming so cynical that I had to stop reading news. Besides it being hugely negative, I couldn't figure out fact from fiction. I don't trust it anymore. I've literally given up on it...

This is part of the plan. Stoke mistrust in the news media and you remove the last checks and balances on whoever is in power.

Another strategy is to paint all the "other" news outlets with words like "fake" or "main stream" so that any time they try to hold you accountable for your actions you can dismiss them as "the enemy."

...Sometimes you need to take a step back and ask "What's that got to do with me?" (the answer is almost always: "nothing")

I'm sure you know how dangerous that position is. Democracy requires an educated electorate. It requires effort. Freedom isn't free.

We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the issues. That means actually listening to all the different voices, not just those which agree with you.

 

[dixonge]

I'm sure you know how dangerous that position is. Democracy requires an educated electorate. It requires effort. Freedom isn't free.

We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the issues. That means actually listening to all the different voices, not just those which agree with you.

I disagree with the premise(s).

First, news media is a horrible way to educate yourself. It's 90% propaganda, 10% information. (see Noam Chomsky on 'Manufacturing Consent')

Second, if you *do* educate yourself, well good luck on finding a place to live where the vote is actually close enough to shift back and forth between parties according to how they are doing. More often than not your vote won't really matter. We vote in Florida. This last election put Republicans in a supermajority in both House and Senate. Basically you can't win dogcatcher if you're a Democrat in most of the state.

So how does educating myself make one bit of difference if I happen to lean Democrat in Florida? And just reverse that scenario if you live in California and lean Republican.

There are exceptions, of course, but I am no longer so enamored with the concept of 'representative democracy' in a democratic republic with only two entrenched parties.

 

[razztazz]

Originally Posted by 11522914
I was becoming so cynical that I had to stop reading news. Besides it being hugely negative, I couldn't figure out fact from fiction. I don't trust it anymore. I've literally given up on it...

CaptTom This is part of the plan. Stoke mistrust in the news media and you remove the last checks and balances on whoever is in power.

Another strategy is to paint all the "other" news outlets with words like "fake" or "main stream" so that any time they try to hold you accountable for your actions you can dismiss them as "the enemy."

The weird part here is The Media seem to be onboard with it?! Why many, not all, outlets would think undermining their own credibility is a good thing is amazing. It's OK to be a parody of yourself. I think "bucks" has something to do with it.

Originally Posted by marko
...Sometimes you need to take a step back and ask "What's that got to do with me?" (the answer is almost always: "nothing")

I'm sure you know how dangerous that position is. Democracy requires an educated electorate. It requires effort. Freedom isn't free.

We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the issues. That means actually listening to all the different voices, not just those which agree with you.

I have done this myself, must admit but it is dangerous. Just because something doesn't affect me, or doesn't matter in the here and now does not mean I can make pretend it isn't there or that it in fact does not matter. Not to sound cumbayah but we are in it together. Not at every level, maybe not in the same way or to the same extent but.... the butterfly effect. The Turk in Candide tending his garden is fine but he is not truly immune to what happens in Istanbul.

 

[marko]

I'm sure you know how dangerous that position is. Democracy requires an educated electorate. It requires effort. Freedom isn't free.

We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the issues. That means actually listening to all the different voices, not just those which agree with you.

Sadly, I'm afraid that 'an educated electorate' has left the barn a while ago; it's all about emotion now when it comes to voting IMO.

But my point wasn't to shut out the world but instead to consciously consider that much of what passes for 'news' now is mainly noise and a grab for eyeballs.

The way I look at it, my local mayor has 1000 times more impact on my life than what some Senator has to say.

I just can't get worked up about the debt ceiling, for example because 1) I can't do anything about it (you're dreaming if you think writing a well crafted letter to your Congressperson is going to do anything) and 2) these types of nonsense issues always get resolved for better or worse. In the end, it has nothing to do with me.

There's just so much constant, continuous, incessant jabbing me in the ribs for attention before I turn it all off. That doesn't mean that I don't vote consciously or seriously; nor does it mean being fat, dumb and happy...it just means that I try very hard to separate the noise from signal and my measuring stick is how close to home the issue is.

 

[CaptTom]

...There are exceptions, of course, but I am no longer so enamored with the concept of 'representative democracy' in a democratic republic with only two entrenched parties.

We totally agree on this point. The two-party system was never intended by our founding fathers. I think I actually read something from one of them warning about the dangers of such a system.

Their idea was, in a large and diverse country, we (the voters) would elect people who look out for our interests. Representatives could form coalitions based on those interests. With lots of diverse interests, there should be a lively debate, and lots of compromise.

That's all gone now. To get nominated, you have to vote in lock-step with your party. What's best for your district is irrelevant.

I still believe that a free, independent press is critical for getting back on track. We need someone who will point out the hypocrisy. Someone who will play the video of my candidate saying one thing to one group, and the opposite to another. Someone will will track down and publicize corruption and lies. Someone who will hold politicians accountable for their actions.

Unfortunately, we as voters also need to know how to factor in the biases, ignore the sensational click-bait and educate ourselves about all sides of an issue. In other words, we pretty much get the government we deserve.

 

[2017ish]

https://www.humanprogress.org/ is a treasure trove of data showing just what the name of the website says. (N.B.--is a cato institute site, so the commentary sections will be libertarian slanted)

As for the current, dismal state of the press, the main difference between now and the 1800 election may be that the press was more evenly divided then.... (In part due to direct funding by the parties.)

 

[pb4uski]

Where are Murrow, Cronkite, McLaughlin, etc when we most need them?

 

[rmcelwee]

I went down the rabbit hole and watched a ton of Peter Zeihan videos a few weeks ago. His major theme on most was "the world is crumbling except the US, France, Mexico, Canada". This was nice because I normally only hear about bad stuff happening with the US.

Here is a video of an interview with him on The Optimistic American. I've never watched or heard of The Optimistic American before but it might be a good thing for you to check out. As far as Zeihan's take, it is pretty standard with what I saw on 20 other videos I've watched with him. I remember his Joe Rogan interview (3+ hrs?) was pretty good.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRF4uccV6to

 

[RobbieB]

The house is warm and dry. The boat is moored safely in the slip. The dogs are well. We have clothes suited for the weather. The fridge has food in it. All the appliances work.

Life is good -

 

[marko]

The house is warm and dry. The boat is moored safely in the slip. The dogs are well. We have clothes suited for the weather. The fridge has food in it. All the appliances work.

Life is good -

+1. My viewpoint exactly!

 

[CaptTom]

Where are Murrow, Cronkite, McLaughlin, etc when we most need them?

I often ask myself this question. Unfortunately I know the answer. If any one of them dared to challenge anything any politician from my party did, I'd snap off their channel, declare it "fake" or "main stream" and never watch it again. I'd search until I found an outlet which only told me what I wanted to hear, and walk around repeating their daily talking points to anyone who would listen.

Well, I like to think I wouldn't do that, but from what I've seen, a lot of people would. And admittedly, it's tempting to take the easy option, which requires no independent thought.

 

[ERD50]

Where are Murrow, Cronkite, McLaughlin, etc when we most need them?

I'm curious whether these look-backs at the old news guys isn't being done through rose-colored glasses?

I recall they weren't sensationalist like most of today's reporters, but were they unbiased? Did they ask tough questions (the oft-talked about Kennedy affairs? How did they report on Chappaquiddick?, etc)? Or by avoiding the tough stuff, did they just seem unbiased?

Also, with someone like Cronkite as the source of news for everyone, who knows if we were getting all sides of the story?

Those are questions, not statements - I really don't know. And I'm not sure looking back at a few old videos would give a complete enough picture, but if anyone has some good links, I'd be interested.

-ERD50