Out of Pod Experience

This has nothing to do with lying. It has everything to do with the press not jumping to conclusions (even when the conclusion is obvious). They can be sued for "saying the wrong thing" legally.

We are discussing the downgrading of society in all it's forms, not just globally.

Isn't it Quran? Or is Koran something else?

Dude, why even reply to me if you're just going to act like a little girl about it

Quoting something, including Koran, doesn't necessarily mean reading it and understanding it. Some people believe the words of their leaders or authorities instead of learning (and understanding) the teachings by themselves. Obviously it can be said about any major teachings, not only Koran.

p.s. Also, take any teaching, quote from it changing context purposely - and you can put hatred between several nations even if their religions teach the same morals. That's what's happening today in the world - some forces don't want christian and islamic parts of the world to live in peace with each other. "Divide et impera!" (c)

From my own perspective having lived all my life in Latinamerica, it has always been the way it is.

Intelligent people down here can really recognize the scare tactics used by media a mile away or the pseudo-attempts at inciting outrage over things culturally some people in some other country might find intolerable but down here are more of a normal occurrence.

Media down here fails to grasp cultural norms by a wide margin and the scare tactics you can get up from TV, Newspapers and radio fall on the deaf ears of people living in abject poverty or middle class households that need to evade military or civilian roadblocks , city to city roadways ambushes and plain common day thievery, kidnappings and the sheer need to find money to put something on the table.

A lot gets lost in translation, the only thing that remains , from my perspective is a willingness to survive and ignore anything that is deemed negative, it won´t click simply, imagined or overblown scare tactics from media outlets can´t get a hold of people whose only concerns are survival, living the day or simply generating enough wealth to buy food for the week and some booze.

Latinamericans are accustomed to hardships, instability, lack of growth, lack of future and many things that other countries can take for granted, also this is a broad generalization but fits within the gross of our poverty stricken countries, where at old age you need a solid family relation to support you in your final days, unlike other countries where old age is a period of quiet relaxation or a place where , if you invested well you could tap into a retirement fund. For the gross of people down here all you can do at old age is hope one of your kids or family members can help you with something or be lucky enough to be granted a good social security pension.

The scare tactics don´t depress me, to be honest they kinda confuse me in their ineptitude. I know how brutal man can be to fellow man , been mugged, robbed and had guns placed on me with the intent to kill , and have reacted in ways that are survival focused that have enabled me to be here, and my experiences are light compared to other friends. I rely on these experiences to always remind me of my current location in time and space as an internal spiritual gps of sorts. Hence why I always bring them up in one way or another.

I have had family and friends killed, red weddings are true historical facts to us, and a lot of other human rights abuses are our daily bread, or were, thats why I left my country, Panama, despite what the media shows, is really a good country, with flaws like all countries but a very damn good country.

But in the end, having all that shoved upon me daily is kinda ... moot?
"OMG GUY WAS STABBED 70 times and then HAD TONGUE CUT and placed inside his body orifices, THIS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU OMFG" repeated to me daily kinda overkills it, whatever IT is they trying to sell you, which I can only summarize as LIVE IN FEAR BECAUSE OMG YOU CAN´T DO ANYTHING.

Down here all you have left is family, and for many religious values, everything else is just a bonus, fame, money, power, friends, an extra slice of pizza.

Most people I know just drink, go out, play games, even when their streets have military/police roadblocks or have fallen afoul of sheer "bad luck" (to give it a name) . This is my experience, I don´t pretend it to be someone else´s nor pretend for it to be the norm, but it is mine and mine alone.

What else can you do? In all honesty and searching deep inside you, What else can you do? Cower in darkness whining about the unfairness of it all?

Don´t be depressed, just LIVE. I know Nicaraguan ladies here in Panama that work as cleaning staff and they have war time stories worthy of books, yet, they still live, and worry about lack of love, the future of their kids, run of the mill things.

Scare tactics and fear only work when you let them control you. You might think you are not in charge of your life, that you are at the mercy of the elements, of things greater than you, be it divine or man made (your choice), but regardless of that, you are not immune to the dangers of life, no matter how much you plan for it, against it or ignore it. Life is not a movie with a proper beginning, middle act and correct ending with logical sequences in a good plot, life is just a random act of choices, choices that will lead you to paths you can always look back upon, but never ahead.

Know this, digest this, embrace this, and you will evolve and in a sense be free of the constraints of such limited reality.

You don´t even know if you going to be alive tomorrow, why worry? Life is short, enjoy family, friends and loved ones, enjoy their company, their warmth and swap jokes and life experiences with others. Seeing the world and knowing about the world is not something you going to understand by seeing how ""#% up a country is and how many bullets are raining down there , or for that matter in your neighborhood or city.

Dont be a tourist of your life friend.
Life is full of brutality but also full of opportunities
If you want to be afraid of something, be afraid of all the things you never did when you had the chance.

Enjoy another one Golden Age.

I agree with the OP. I watch very little news, but I try to stay informed through reading various online sources on subjects that interest me.

Human nature is the same as it has been from the beginning. We are all self centered individuals at our core. Being self centered isn't evil per say. Our survival instinct and self preservation instinct is good. When does it become evil? When our selfish actions cause harm to others. The root of all evil is selfishness.

I think what Q said is very true, we are a dangerous, savage, child race because a result of our self centered nature is that we hurt others.

Do I think things are getting worse? Yes, I do, and I think it will only continue to do so.

#1 There are more of us. You have over 7 billion self centered individuals all living on this small planet all having to share everything. 2000 years ago there were only around 250 million people on the entire planet. So statistically speaking there are going to be more people hurting others on a daily basis. More population means more problems.

#2 Morality is failing. Ultimately, when people don't believe they will be held accountable for their actions, they will simply do whatever they want.

#3 Divisive, competing world views will continue to fight it out. That might be politics, religion (or the lack there of), education, economics, climate change etc.

An ideological utopia will never be possible because at our core we are individuals and we all have an opinion. Tyrannical ideologies that try to force everyone into a specific mold to obtain the utopia will always be doomed to failure. People will never be happy as long as someone is telling them what to do. Big government always leads to oppression and rebellion.

I could go on.

It's probably worse than we can keep track of, really. Cynical ignorant bad will and greed, nothing new about that. But there's more concentrated capacity to cause harm than ever before. Luckily we still have thinking people doing art, philosophy, spirituality, music, literature, all kinds of other enlightened things. Too many to keep track of as well, really. Go humans!

So very, painfully true. What hurts me most about the sadness and grief of today is the thought that this is the best our species has ever been.


On the upside, it's getting better all the time and there's no stopping it!

Welp, at least America has become a Redneck Paradise