Scale of 1-10, how much hope do you have for a better future?

reply to post by N.B.A.Y.S.O.H

IMO good will allways prevail over evil....it has to right?

That's what they say. I have my doubts.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Believe me, it is an ongoing battle. However, I also have a strong belief in 'mind over matter'. There is a reason that is an old saying. Throughout history we see people mention this in different ways. Some 'science' now may actually show this to be true. I'm not exactly at that point yet but I just like to have a positive outlook. I have seen what having the dread and negativity in your life constantly can do. It's not pretty.

Anyway, know that I understand where you are coming from. I just think that we CAN overcome. Or who knows, maybe there is yet another evolutionary change about to take place and humans as we know them today are about to become obsolete.

Have hope. Always that.

reply to post by dariousg


Hey man, I am glad that there are people like you out there. The world would be an incredibly depressing place if everyone was as pessimistic as I am.

I do see what you are saying though. Thanks for the input.

Good question.

I would say my answer is somewhat unusual.

In general, I believe things will get worse. My outlook for the general public is 3-4.

However I am either arrogant or self confident (depending on your point of view). I believe I will forge my own destiny, separate from the collective entity. I believe I can weather any storm, and so my personal outlook is 7-8.

i would say 3 or 4. humans are just too human. selfish greedy insecure. and those are the supposedly enlightened ones. lol so what hope do we mere mortals have. no i think this whole new age BS about love peace and tranquility is a multimillion dollar scam to give the people who are awake hope. like a carrot being dangled in front of a donkey while it is guided to the glue factory.

dont buy the hype. all this positive thinking crap is just a scam. be negative be upset be pissed off thats the only way we are going to bring about change. sitting in the lotus position with a serene smile on your face isnt going to stop an insane man from smashing yur face in and stealing everything your have. people are being made into passive sheep. im not saying everybody has to become like this. just the people that can make a difference.

reply to post by 44soulslayer


thats the ego talking. the same ego that thinks ' it will never happen to me' and "i'll be fine"

reply to post by 44soulslayer


That is an interesting answer. It makes me wonder how you plan on achieving this good life when others are suffering. Will it be out of your own self reliance, kicking the system to the curb? Or will it be from capitalizing off of the suffering of others? I think those would be the primary ways that people will be weathering this storm.

reply to post by Karlhungis


I to have mine.

I guess the only answer to that is time will tell, and in the short time i have here i refuse to be opressed or advocate opression.

reply to post by Karlhungis


Indeed those are the two options.

The first is adaptation and specialization. The second is exploitation.

Personally I plan on using my specific skills to boost my personal situation. I believe my work (medical research) cannot be touched by the unskilled, so domestic labour supply curves have no effect on me. Additionally, the researchers in China and India, while posing a threat in financial terms, will not be able to have an undue advantage over me.

It's just like how some people see the emerging markets as threats to their jobs- outsourcing etc. I just see two massive new markets of 2.5+ billion people to whom I can sell my products. Ordinarily I would never be able to compete against someone who works for 1/10th of the money I do. However when it comes to discoveries etc, money is of no concern.

Thats the base of my confidence/ arrogance. I plan to compete on quality rather than quantity.

To use a PoW camp as an analogy- I wouldn't be the one hoarding a resource and selling it at an artificially inflated price. I would be the one rigging up some new and interesting device (like a wire radio) which betters people's quality of life while improving my own.

That's my outlook on life in general, rather than for the depression specifically.

I would say... 7!

Although there surely are some worrisome trends, generally things have been getting better in the last 200 years or so.

Which is why I think we will progress. Although the politicians seem paranoid, the economy seems crazy and the environment seems endangered... I think we will end up all right.

If they didn't manage to start a nuclear war during the Cold War... No way will they start it in the future! It is unlikely that we would experience anything as frightening as the Great Depression or another World War.

Although I love the doom and gloom scenarios on ATS, I think they are very unlikely to actually happen.

Near future = 0 Distant future = 10

It's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better here on planet earth. As for my personal future - it'll be a whole lot better when I'm through with this body and off to whatever is next ....

Originally posted by dariousg
reply to post by Karlhungis

 

Believe me, it is an ongoing battle. However, I also have a strong belief in 'mind over matter'. There is a reason that is an old saying. Throughout history we see people mention this in different ways. Some 'science' now may actually show this to be true. I'm not exactly at that point yet but I just like to have a positive outlook. I have seen what having the dread and negativity in your life constantly can do. It's not pretty.

Oh yes. This is scary. I think that this doom and gloom stuff on ATS may actually make our personal and collective future WORSE!

Maybe this is just a psychological effect (we get a bit more paranoid and spend less energy on positive things), or maybe our collective subconscious creates whatever we imagine... I don't know!

But I believe that negativity creates more negativity. So basically I should leave ATS and join the positive thinking people...

I will steal a line from a Doors song for this.

Ive been down so very damn long, that it looks like up to me.

As far as short ends of sticks go, I get a lot of em. So I don't have much hope for the future.

Ill have to say 1. My future isn't bright. Never was, never will be. But Im used to it by now and so it's alright.

reply to post by whatukno


you know what scares me more. the fact people say +1 lol..

I have faith yes but not in men.. and if anyone wants to dream of a utopia i sugest you read history OF men..

the only way out of this flatline we are in is to admit WE SUCK and if we keep doing what we are

from 1 to 10 and we did start @ ten btw is ever increasingly going DOWN

aliens and god are one of the same A COP OUT for our own stupid missunderstanding of the very thing we are in.

as mr hawkins pointed out there is more chance we will never contact inteligent life, going by the way so called intelgent life acts "ie us" destroys itself.. and we are about 100 years short of facing the very real prospect of armagedon..

i dont belive in fiarys but i do understand how pathetic we are. and that my friend is why i say 1.. and thats being OPTIMISTIC at best

Gernerally speaking I'm a pessimist. Ordinarily I'd say 4, but it depends I suppose on your definition of Utopia.

Mankind isn't doomed, whatever happens in the next few years or so, the sun'll come up just like it's always done. Overall? I'll give it a 6 to 7.

reply to post by Karlhungis


I vote 7. But it depends on the people of the world. If we are kept afraid and intimidated I may say 3 or 4. But if we could project a positive outlook, things WILL change for the better. It's like the "law of attraction". When positive is projected it infects everyone around it, but it's the same with negative emotions, actions, etc.

If we continue to fear the future, then the future will be fearful and vice versa.

Watch this, this is more what I am talking about.
www.youtube.com...

3, 4 is pushing it for me

You word it like the rating is an absolute. What about those who think that the world will come to an end, but it will be the beginning of a new world where peace and love will reign for 1000 years.

I give the world a 1 rating which means the world as we know it will end within a short time, but I also give the life after a 10 rating.

So you see, out of bad comes good, and an equal and opposite reaction.

I dont think that humans could really accomplish 1, but I would place a couple bets on 2, 3, 4, 6

We are a long way from Utopian Civilization. We can only achieve this by accomplishing the following
- The worlds hungry never hungry again
- A home for EVERY single family and individual (apartment, or house)
- Education for every child. Every single one of them

If we could accomplish those, then we will have the beginnings of Utopian civilization. How close do you think we are to this goal?

ps. I have more money on 2

reply to post by Karlhungis


Somewhere between 2 and 3 as a best guess.

Too many things in decline in the US at present.

U6 unemployment hit a new record near 16%.

Foreclosures hit their highest ever last month.

The dollar is about to lose world reserve currency status.

I could go on, but what is the point.

I am speaking from the viewpoint of a person in the US.

It will be different for other ppl around the world of course.

There are many things that could bring the US out of this mess,
but there are ppl doing their best to make sure that does not happen.

Good Luck to all the good ppl !



[edit on 31-3-2009 by Ex_MislTech]