My incredibly hectic past two weeks culminated this past Sunday by celebrating the fifth birthday of Ms. Freud’s grandson … the poor kid whose mama is a corporate lawyer, and papa is a stockbroker. The little fucker is DOOMED, I tell ya!
So, there’s a lull in the bullshit trivial inane conversation. Soooo, I bring up the economy, and ask Mr. Stockbroker if he’s at all concerned about the shit hitting the fan. In a nutshell (I don’t want to bore you) the answer was this — “The economy is doing great. You need to stop with all your constant negativity.” Oh, OK. That “conversation” lasted all of three minutes, if that.
Thing is … they really do appear to be happy as clams. Both with six figure incomes, him with a new Lexus, her with a two year old monster SUV, living totally rent free/food free/bill free at Ms. Lawyer’s mama’s house while looking to purchase a home …. oh, yeah, homes in the $800,000 plus range. Meanwhile, we’re struggling to downsize, and Ms Freud especially is often full of worries.
WTF is wrong with that picture? Especially in light of this ….
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” ————– Philippians 4:8
“As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,” ———— Proverbs 23:7
Maybe Mr. Stockbroker is right. Am I really a miserable old fuck? I wonder how the constant stream of negative doomer news is affecting my mind … my personality. How’s it affecting your mind?
Recently, I have found myself not giving a shit about most news articles. I’m NOT talking about only here on TBP. I have at least 25+ “favorites” web sites I visit at least weekly. The past few weeks I’ve visited less than half of them … and when I do visit them I hardly click on any articles. How many fucking times can I read about copfuks, mooslimfuks, free shitters, an economy in the shitter, the piece of shit running this country, etc etc. etc. …. before getting bored to fucking death?
Oh yeah! I’m thinking fat, dumb, and happy is the way to go! What say you?
Kumbaya, motherfuckers!!!
Fat, no. Dumb, I hope not. Happy, depends on indiana
I’m in agreement with a lot of people here.
You don’t have to convince me things are in decline. I differ from some others in that I think in this situation it’s wrong to bring children into the world and inflict a shitty future upon them, out of my own vanity or the desire to cuddle something.
But I also state openly that I don’t think things will get better, whereas others imagine we will rise like a phoenix from the ashes, etc. etc. I just don’t believe that will happen within a future time frame that could be meaningful to me or any offspring.
I did bum me out for a while. I remember what it was like to be 30 and think things would get better. I might not like my current job, but a better one was coming. Someday this and someday that, and now I really don’t have hope for the future or the sense that things will get better – only worse, albeit gradually.
I think my outlook is similar to what a person would feel if they found out they had terminal cancer and there was no hope of effective treatment or cure. That person would know that in another year when they woke up in the morning they would feel worse than they did today. But then, knowing you had so little time left, would you spend the remainder of that time cursing your fate and being miserable, or would you try to squeeze what joy you could out of the present?
When you think about it, we all die someday anyway, so I feel lucky that most of my adult life has been pretty good and I might have 10 or even 20 more good years left.
Life might be pretty shitty by the time I am old, but life sucks when you’re old anyway, because being old sucks. I didn’t have kids I will have to worry about. So if the crooks at the top and the useless eaters at the bottom continue as they have been, and the rest of us in the middle simply die off or get swallowed whole, well, I figure all those crooks and useless eaters deserve each other. The .1% can try to fight off the growing zombie hordes when the world has 10-12 billion people on it and there isn’t any clean water left. Good luck with that.
I realize the future is for those who show up, but I don’t want any part of it and wouldn’t want any offspring to have to deal with it either. I’m going to do no harm, enjoy life as much as I can, and anyone who wants to “fight the fine fight” against the nature of humanity itself is welcome to be my guest. I want nothing to do with it. Humanity is not my responsibility.
Many fine comments here. I like this one from the tumbleweed: “The real takeaway is, after however many years you’ve been reading this stuff, you’re probably coming to the conclusion the future is not going to look so much like 1929 as it will 1861.”
Stucky, as to your son-in-law, in HIS world things are probably “doing great”, and if he can’t relate the huge unfunded liabilities and $19Trillion debt to future problems, that’s his issue. Let it go. It will hit him over the head in due time (not that you need to say at that time “I told you so!”).
Seek balance with your soul. Keep up with the doom stuff but don’t let it overpower you. Like Admin says, seeking truth and avoiding normalcy bias will serve you better then those that don’t.
Everybody goes through phases like you are experiencing. No worries, be happy.
This 4th Turning has many years left. Personally, I’m excited to live in these times because I’m hopeful that positive change will ultimately come to pass. I’m a realist, but I also have faith.
@Suzanna, remember that we are spiritual beings temporarily experiencing a physical existence. Our true home is not in this reality; however, for the here and now, we are stuck in this prison planet until we return.
Pirate Joe, I feel sorry for you. You will never know the joy of parenthood and the ultimate challenge of raising a child from a helpless, dependent infant into a responsible and able adult. There is no way to describe to you the love a parent has for their offspring unless you live it yourself. Maybe I was just lucky to have a handsome, well-mannered, and respectful son, but he didn’t get that way by himself. His mother and I gave him every opportunity, encouragement, and affection to ensure he ended up that way. His existence changed my life for the better, a million-fold. It made me a better person.
Stop telling people not to have kids. I respect that it was your choice, but don’t suggest that to others.
Every soul comes into this world with a purpose that cannot be denied. Read Edgar Cayce to understand.
“Recently, I have found myself not giving a shit about most news articles. I’m NOT talking about only here on TBP. I have at least 25+ “favorites” web sites I visit at least weekly. The past few weeks I’ve visited less than half of them … and when I do visit them I hardly click on any articles. How many fucking times can I read about copfuks, mooslimfuks, free shitters, an economy in the shitter, the piece of shit running this country, etc etc. etc. …. before getting bored to fucking death?””
Egggg-sackly.
It’s frustrating as fuck.
Accoding to the individuals formerly known as my fambly, I was a consistantly negative prick whom had nothing better to do than to go around constantly pissing on everyone’s parade. I lost them all being a negative prick all the time. I feel sorry for them only because one day, they will realize that I was right all along, and they will be fucked. Nothing I can do about it except to tell you if you value your fambly, quit being such a negative fucking prick to them. You are right with all your knowledge and assertations, it’s just that they have taken the blue pill and well, you can just go fuck yourself Mr. KenStucky.*
I stopped surfing the interwebs so much a few years back and started playing outside a lot more instead. I now know that I can’t open peeps eyes to the shit they don’t want to see so I don’t talk about it unless someone engages me first.
Ed, suzanna, desertrat, hardscrabble, and others all gave you great advice. I’m proud of how far TBP has come after all these years. Quality and intelligent folks here. Good peeps.
* (Mr. KenStucky copyrighted 2016 by Tampa Gold in anticipation of Stucks’ eventual move to Kentucky to stand shoulder to shoulder against tyranny, freshitters, moo- slims, and villiage idiots from Kenya.)
Well thank you, Rise Up, for your pity … er, sort of. I assume it was kindly meant.
Fortunately, I felt from about the age of 12 that I never wanted kids, and things didn’t seem as irrevocably headed for the shitter then as they do now. The idea of having kids to bring myself joy or improve myself seems incredibly selfish to me. How would things be for THEM in 30-40 years, when I would most likely be gone?
I also disagree about us being born to this world with a purpose. I don’t believe we are. If we have purpose, it’s something we create (note, I did not say “discover”) for ourselves. We aren’t born with a purpose and most of us never even create one. Maybe we don’t even need one. Can’t we just be? Eh, oh well.
Of course I will encourage others to not have kids. It’s the least I can do. Adding more people to this mess will only make the situation worse and add to the eventual suffering that everyone – including my hypothetical kids – will have to endure. We will just have to agree to disagree.
Araven
Dang, you gave up a life to prep? You could have prepped with a hubby and babies hanging on your skirt hem. Who will comfort you in your golden years?
Bea Lever, hee hee hee … skirt hem? What makes you think Araven even wears skirts?
And how does a baby hang onto a skirt hem? They’re too little! Only puppies do that. You simply don’t drag a baby around on the kitchen floor by their teeth the way you do with a naughty puppy.
Chrisjames says: I am down to four websites, for the same reasons as the author.
You might not believe this but I only read TBP. And I only comment here. Those comments in Zero Hedge are at best unverifiable. You either have a community or you have a mob. Sure, everybody has some pearl of wisdom to offer on occasion, you’ll wait a long time between pearls on another site.
My daughter told me once, dad, you were always looking for something. Like HF, I spend more time thinking about stories in the bible, the meaning of some event and somebody’s comment here. I don’t waste too much time worrying about political bullshit. Even back in ought 8, Dr. M asked me who I thought would in and I said, it’s baked in.
No matter what they promise, there is always the unforeseen that is covered under the Army explanation: Overcome by Events (OBE). I know I don’t have lightning reactions so I compensate by avoiding situations where that is required. The bible says it better, a wise man has his eyes in his head.
Wisdom also comes from others. I fucked up once. Old Sarge told me on the radio, Do not be there when I get there. HUWA.
Tampa Gold says: Egggg-sackly.
Tampa, you reminded me of a guy who used to post here, Eggs Ackley and Tits McGee.
BL, I’ve got a hubby. I think he’s the only thing keeping me sane. But it just never seemed the right time for having kids. Who will comfort me in my golden years? Exactly what I’ve been wondering about lately and I don’t have any answers.
Annie
Priate Jo says: “We aren’t born with a purpose and most of us never even create one. Maybe we don’t even need one. Can’t we just be? Eh, oh well.”
————–
By that statement, now I think I understand why you feel so empty.
And I didn’t bring my child into this world for my own joy or to improve myself–those were gifts he gave me.
Ignorance has always been bliss. Most of us with our busy little minds are just too logical. Do I believe in miracles? I don’t know. Psychological we are conditioned to believe what the media says. Deep in our psyches we know something is wrong. We suffer from normalcy bias, soon to become abnormalcy bias. It is a crazy world!
Rise Up says: Priate Jo says:
Priate – Wookieepedia – Wikia
starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Priate
Priate, also called Mustafar, was the primary star of the Mustafar system. At times, the planet of Lefrani eclipsed the view of this star from the world of Mustafar.
Araven says:
“Who will comfort me in my golden years?”
I intentionally avoided having kids. The reasons are numerous and I always figured I’d end up regretting it someday. So far I am more pleased with the decision just about every day. I could never handle the stress of raising kids in this world or the stress of having to kill any motherfucker that tried to force them to fight another bankers war.
I can’t say who will comfort you in your golden years but Eliphalet Remington, William Ruger, Sam Colt, Horace Smith or Daniel Wesson will likely do the job for me. That reminds me, I need to get some of those socks with individual “pockets” for your toes in case it’s cold on the day I need a little extra “comfort”.
Anon above was I.
Get a cat or in your case a very big dog to comfort you in your old age.Good for companionship and protection.
I look at Google News everyday and usually just skim the headlines and chuckle. I come here, Washington’s Blog, and two car related fiorums. Other than that, I watch YouTube videos to learn things I don’t know. It’s been years since I went to a CNN or FoxNews website or others like them. What is the point of that? If people do not want to see and think, that is up to them and don’t let it work you up Stuck. At the same time there is no reason to be grumpy/depressed/upset at what you know because for all we know TPTB may be able to maintain the status quo for another 20 years. It is too hard to predict the when, even if the what is not that hard to figure out.
Stucky, It’s not reality that haunts you , it’s regret. Your demons reside in the past. How you deal with them will dictate your future mindset and thus happiness or hell.
So Rise Up, you and others (I assume?) imagine that people must feel empty if they don’t believe they were born with a purpose, stapled to their upper left-hand corner at the time of birth? That seems odd to me. It’s like saying I feel empty because everyone isn’t a brunette. Obviously everyone is NOT a brunette, nor do they need to be.
Some people are meant to be parents others are not. Neither group should be advising the other, everyone has their own reasons.
I wish more people who have children raised them responsibly and I also wish that more responsible people who choose not to, had them, but that’s just wishful thinking.
Pirate Jo
I have wonderful children and three beautiful grandchildren who all think I am the best thing since sliced bread and I love them dearly. I’m sorry that you will never know that feeling, truly.
It is the way that you keep a small part of you going into the future after you are gone. YOLO
I hope the Keynesians are right and that more spending and debt will fix things and that we are not all f’ed but fear they are wrong, I hope the global warming crowd is wrong and fear they might be right.
I am – as an INTJ – a naturally curious person so when I “woke-up” I was amazed at how little I actually knew – and that hasn’t changed. The smartest people are those that are keenly aware of how little they really know – so IMO certainty about much of anything is a bit treacherous.
But the more I learned the more I felt betrayed and foolish – that I had swallowed whole-cloth the mythology of what it was to be an American was a hard and bitter lesson.
The obvious lies and falsehoods I became aware of have put absolutely everything into question and that in itself is unsettling.
And my understanding now of what “governments” truly are, groups of power-hungry psychopaths with cadres of minions, sycophants, useful idiots and dupes working mightily to keep the rest of us in line and paying taxes by telling us the lies we want to believe, has got me thinking it is demonic in nature, which then lead to an interest in spirituality.
So – long story short – I have transferred quite a bit of my curiosity and my research time towards physics, magic and otherworldliness – and the very thin veils that separate them. I suspect that TPTB know far more about this stuff than we have been permitted.
I have also intentionally set out to be more productive – to produce – and am in the process of teaching myself to make slip-covers, grow a garden and anything else that might be a useful skill going forward.
So what I’m saying is it isn’t so much an “either/or” but rather a “where do I go from here”?
My two cents.
Stuck, I think you have been a grump all your life. Now that you are getting older ,you are an old grump. People seem to pass it off as us old grumps being old.
Man I love my kids and would do anything for them. However, if I knew what a prison planet this world would turn into, I seriously don’t think I would have had them. They are surrounded by some of the most braindead beings on the planet. Just look at all the colonel sanders supporters, Don’t they teach history in schools? (The many deaths due to communism). The world is run by a bunch of psychopaths who jerk off to thoughts of causing as much death and mayham as possible.
3 steps forward, two steps back. The essence of the wave principle. It resonates at all levels, from the individual to Global. We all pause and catch our breath from time to time. We all realize that peak performance is just that – a peak that one builds up to, and then receeds from. We ebb and flow, just like the tides. We re-evaluate and reassess. We all get tired, and then regenerate. We run out of ideas and energy, then recreate.
Stucky, take a few days off from the mental and emotional grind — you’ll come back recharged, renewed, and better than ever! And we all need you to beat your best as often as possible!
For those here who “wouldn’t bring a child into this world”, etc. :
“You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.” -Franz Kafka
Ed says:
“For those here who “wouldn’t bring a child into this world”, etc. :
“You can hold yourself back from the sufferings of the world, that is something you are free to do and it accords with your nature, but perhaps this very holding back is the one suffering you could avoid.” -Franz Kafka”
Not suffering at all here. Not having kids is one of the few things I’m 100% at peace with.