Fox News On Decline Of The Usa

[Thy Geekdom Come]

These should be read together:

[url="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/11/21/report-dominance-influence-predicted-fade/"]http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/...predicted-fade/[/url]

[url="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html"]http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict...e-salvi_en.html[/url]

[Justin86]

[quote name='Raphael' post='1707019' date='Nov 22 2008, 12:51 AM'][url="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/11/21/report-dominance-influence-predicted-fade/"]http://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/...predicted-fade/[/url][/quote]
I wonder who got promoted off of that report.

[hoosieranna]

There isn't really anything surprising in the article. There aren't many ways to hamper India and China's development. Multipolarity doesn't bother me so much, though nuclear concerns are something I'd hoped I wouldn't have to live with. And so it goes...

[CatherineM]

Looking at both, I remembered what an old pastor of mine told us before starting a hospital ministry, that when people are at their lowest or most afraid, is when they most reach to God. If the US falls a few pegs, perhaps we will start looking for God more.

[Didacus]

[quote name='Nadezhda' post='1707144' date='Nov 21 2008, 01:11 PM']There isn't really anything surprising in the article. There aren't many ways to hamper India and China's development. Multipolarity doesn't bother me so much, though nuclear concerns are something I'd hoped I wouldn't have to live with. And so it goes...[/quote]

I agree that there is nothing surprising about the outlook presented. However, I think the entire world will betaking steps back in the next 20 years, not just the US.


[quote name='CatherineM' post='1707191' date='Nov 21 2008, 01:46 PM']Looking at both, I remembered what an old pastor of mine told us before starting a hospital ministry, that when people are at their lowest or most afraid, is when they most reach to God. If the US falls a few pegs, perhaps we will start looking for God more.[/quote]

And I sincerrely hope Canada will follow. A good healthy dose of misery can set us all a little straighter, and there's nothing wrong with that!

[CatherineM]

I watched a documentary on Cuba after Russia pulled out its money/resources, and they learned to farm with animals again, make their own stuff. Perhaps it was easier for them because they had been doing without a lot of stuff for a long time, but suddenly having the oil pipeline pulled, dramatically changed how they lived. If the promised substitute for oil doesn't appear, I may have to relearn how to ride a horse.

[Didacus]

I got myself a little lot of land - 19 acres, and no neighbors. I plan to start a greenhouse next summer and learn a few skills (and teach them to my children too).

Never know when thems things may come in handy.

(ever hear: If the ladies don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy
Its from the Red-Green show, a canadien thing sorta eh?)

[CatherineM]

My husband isn't handy. He knows better than to get near my tools.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Didacus' post='1707208' date='Nov 21 2008, 01:14 PM']I got myself a little lot of land - 19 acres, and no neighbors. I plan to start a greenhouse next summer and learn a few skills (and teach them to my children too).

Never know when thems things may come in handy.

(ever hear: If the ladies don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy
Its from the Red-Green show, a canadien thing sorta eh?)[/quote]
That's more or less what I'm thinking. Jen's dad owns 12 acres of farmable land and tons of sheep. If we ran into a serious economic crisis or something, that's where we'd go.

To be honest, I kinda want us to be forced into living simpler lives. What worries me is the nuclear war talk.

[Didacus]

[quote name='Raphael' post='1707256' date='Nov 21 2008, 03:26 PM']That's more or less what I'm thinking. Jen's dad owns 12 acres of farmable land and tons of sheep. If we ran into a serious economic crisis or something, that's where we'd go.

To be honest, I kinda want us to be forced into living simpler lives. What worries me is the nuclear war talk.[/quote]

I share your concerns.

Got myself my first guns the other day, couple of single shot .22 caliber riffles. Good for rabbits, small games and stuff. Trying to refine our fishing skills too.

The nuclear thing don't worry me too much because I know enough about the facts to realize the threat has been exagerated in the past and I live in a small community (not wroth a nuclear bomb).



Simpler lives, simpler times. Ahhh, that would be nice indeed. But keep in mind the draw backs - less medicine, harder work, and no 'tp'. I think I don't mind anything really except for the 'no tp' thing. Arrrrgghhhh.... just thinking about it makes me cringe.

[Didacus]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1707253' date='Nov 21 2008, 03:16 PM']My husband isn't handy. He knows better than to get near my tools.[/quote]

LOL

So keeping your husband away from power tools is a safety rule around your house?!

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Didacus' post='1707261' date='Nov 21 2008, 02:31 PM']I share your concerns.

Got myself my first guns the other day, couple of single shot .22 caliber riffles. Good for rabbits, small games and stuff. Trying to refine our fishing skills too.

The nuclear thing don't worry me too much because I know enough about the facts to realize the threat has been exagerated in the past and I live in a small community (not wroth a nuclear bomb).



Simpler lives, simpler times. Ahhh, that would be nice indeed. But keep in mind the draw backs - less medicine, harder work, and no 'tp'. I think I don't mind anything really except for the 'no tp' thing. Arrrrgghhhh.... just thinking about it makes me cringe.[/quote]
I'd miss the air conditioning.

[Ziggamafu]

It would be a catastrophic disaster of horrific suffering for first world countries to downgrade to pre-oil lifestyles. The entirety of the problem would lay in medicine. Everything else would be inconvenient, but probably good for us. But in first world countries (and really, most everywhere else) the human body has grown so used to vaccines, immunizations, anti-biotics, etc., that their sudden absence could prove fatal in many instances. Beyond that, accidents and odd sicknesses happen all the time that would have killed people back in the day before modern technology. Think of how many pre-mature kids would not live to their first birthday, etc.

It is fun to fantasize about what it would be like, but let's not forget that if the fantasy crossed to reality, it would be a horror.

[Didacus]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' post='1707296' date='Nov 21 2008, 04:13 PM']It would be a catastrophic disaster of horrific suffering for first world countries to downgrade to pre-oil lifestyles. The entirety of the problem would lay in medicine. Everything else would be inconvenient, but probably good for us. But in first world countries (and really, most everywhere else) the human body has grown so used to vaccines, immunizations, anti-biotics, etc., that their sudden absence could prove fatal in many instances. Beyond that, accidents and odd sicknesses happen all the time that would have killed people back in the day before modern technology. Think of how many pre-mature kids would not live to their first birthday, etc.

It is fun to fantasize about what it would be like, but let's not forget that if the fantasy crossed to reality, it would be a horror.[/quote]

Hardship and death are not horrors in my book.

But I know what you mean.


A way of looking at it is that technology has spared us the cruelties of nature. Having those cruelties return to us; is that really really such a bad thing? Its a heatlthy dose of humble pie to the modern world is what it would be. It won't be fun, I admit that, but if the future of my children draw benefit from the elsson bring it on!

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Ziggamafu' post='1707296' date='Nov 21 2008, 03:13 PM']It would be a catastrophic disaster of horrific suffering for first world countries to downgrade to pre-oil lifestyles. The entirety of the problem would lay in medicine. Everything else would be inconvenient, but probably good for us. But in first world countries (and really, most everywhere else) the human body has grown so used to vaccines, immunizations, anti-biotics, etc., that their sudden absence could prove fatal in many instances. Beyond that, accidents and odd sicknesses happen all the time that would have killed people back in the day before modern technology. Think of how many pre-mature kids would not live to their first birthday, etc.

It is fun to fantasize about what it would be like, but let's not forget that if the fantasy crossed to reality, it would be a horror.[/quote]
Naturally, I think we all realize what you mean, but unless there were something on the scale of a nuclear war (and a large-scale one at that), I don't think it would be that bad. If everyone were poor, we can hope reasonably that the government would also generally allow people to remain in their homes and keep their possessions (the gov't wouldn't benefit from taking any land/possessions they couldn't use, afterall). As long as there would still be some people who could generate power or run power plants, doctors could still do their work, medicines could still be manufactured, etc., but I think many more Americans would be farming for their own food, living off the land, and retreating to rural environments.