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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/21/2200887/-If-you-think-things-are-bad-now-some-perspective>
"There is no question we are facing real challenges, as individuals, as a
democracy, as a country, as a species. There is no shortage of institutional
failures, of horrors, of existential threats. “Deaths of Despair” has become a
bit of a meme — although it’s getting some pushback as people take a closer
look at the phenomenon.
The point is, it is not unreasonable to be worried as hell about WTF is going
on these days. But, it also helps to keep a sense of perspective and remember
that that has always been the case. While the caution “Past results are no
guarantee of future performance” is something to remember, it is useful to know
that people have managed to cope in the past with circumstances that in
hindsight seem unimaginable. If we face huge challenges, it’s worth remembering
that we have tools today that our predecessors would consider miraculous.
Somehow they coped with what they had. What’s our excuse?
Kevin Drum has an exercise in perspective that’s worth a read. It’s titled “The
life and times of my grandfather.”"
Via Kevin O'Brien, who wrote "Some people think I am crazy for being optimistic
about the future. The reason I am is that I have studied the past."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
