There is no one to blame but YOU America…!

When I read something like the OP I think Americas biggest problem is the lack of history taught in schools. People who do know history would know that hey live in the most peaceful, prosperous, free time in not just American but world history. This is what we call first world problems.

Cancerwarrior
reply to post by Propulsion


It has to implode on itself for a reset. There is no way around it. The only hope America has is after the system crashes. It is so far gone and corrupt even if you take the most honest man you ever met and put him in office, within a year he will be corrupted beyond measure. The system is set up to make you that way.

edit on 25-12-2013 by Cancerwarrior because: (no reason given)

The nature of 'systems'. They can be changed slowly over time with effort and we are all responsible (materially or psychicly) for promoting that change. Change starts with you - the government, big business are, in a very real sense, reflections of the 'collective' (LOL - evil socialist word there - LOL) conscienceness of society represented.

So, in your own life and dealing with others, be honest and kind. Root out the corruption and deceit in your life (personal and professional). If nothing else you will set a good example for others. Don't cop-out with the "everybody's doing it" excuse. Live your life with integrity. That's how we change it.

We got here slowly -- and we will progress slowly.

To paraphase the Christ message - get the tree out of your own eye (if you can see it - LOL) before you point out the splinter in your brother's eye.

You spot it, you got it (in some form in your own life).

Merry Ho Ho's.

whyamIhere
Just because the bus comes by every half hour...

It's no reason to throw America under it.

We can change this Country....We will change this Country.

Our best days are in front of us.

Peace

I couldn't possibly agree more. We have some dark days and bad times to get through as a nation. I think we all see that by now. There is no easy way UP from the deep level of bottom we're at right this moment in history.

Still, we will get through it. On the other side of this period of troubles, we'll be better and stronger for it. It may not even come in my lifetime, at this stage of the game...after all, we've been in the worst of it for 16 straight years by the time we get the 3rd try for a new guy.

You're right tho.. We will overcome, in time and our best days are before us. I wouldn't even know where to start the discussion with any American not on board with at least that last bit of the sentiments here.

reply to post by Propulsion


I often wonder if there isn't different types of humans on earth. It seems that about 60% plus of America are humans I have no clue how they survive in life. The level of ignorance outside of about a 3 foot bubble round them is astonishing.

The movie Idiocracy is actually happening, and one day will be relabeled as a documentary...

So what do we do...not much when the majority rules and the majority makes Honey Boo Boo seem like a genius.

reply to post by Propulsion


Sure there's no one to blame but Americans, but how exactly do you go about removing America's government without bringing out America's downfall? I'm not saying that we can't survive without the government, but government transition states are really, really hard to pull of, and it sounds like you're talking about trying to stage a revolt. Don't you think even a successful revolt against the US government would embroil the nation in war and essentially bring about the collapse of the US you are trying to prevent???

Another "you are all to blame, do something about it!" posts.. with no suggestions at all about how Americans are supposed to actually "do something about it." Americans do protest. They often boycott products or services. America, and in fact, the entire planet is run by money. As long as there is money, there will be people and groups that take advantage of people to get it.

It's as if some of you expect citizens to all grab up their guns, and storm banks and political buildings and take over the system. How about thinking realistically, instead. OP, why don't you come up with a useful list of suggestions, instead of bemoaning how awful our country is, and how terrible we all are for making it that way.

Grass is always greener. Try living in 90% of the other populated cities on the planet, and see how fast you would be clamoring to come back to the U.S.

Back when "Dubya" won his first term I entered into an argument with a guy that was to become a good friend down the road. I was still firmly in the conservative Republican camp and he was a liberal Dim. Over time we educated each other, amazing what open minds can achieve, and now we both have a visceral hatred for both political parties! LOL. In saying that I have to register my doubts about reforming the political process as it exits right now. Removing the powerful political personalities that haunt the halls of power in D.C. is no small task as they know very well how to wield the power that they've worked so hard to acquire and all "legal" means of relieving them of it will all too easily be fended off. And this doesn't even take into consideration the political machines that exist in every state. People ARE beginning to wake up but going over to something like the Ron Paul camp is still to big of a leap for most. Until a better option presents itself I'll "waste" my vote on the Libertarian candidates from here on out.

As far as Prepping goes, however, I was talking with my daughter the other day. Admittedly I did follow some knee-jerk reactions to ample evidence that things are going from bad to worse in the country but after a while I came to the conclusion that "prepping" just makes you a target if you decide to remain in place. We're four hours away from San Antonio but that still isn't far enough away for my tastes if a SHTF scenario really takes place. If you want a good idea of how bad things can get pick up a book entitled "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen. It's not an expensive book, may even be in the library, and Forstchen isn't by any means an author on the level of Dan Brown and others. BUT what he does very well is describe what it would be like after and EMP attack in rural America on the highly populated East Coast.

One movie line that always sticks in my mind when people start talking about "prepping" is from the Mel Gibson movie "We Were Soldiers". A movie I highly recommend to all! Gibson's character was trying to convince Sam Elliot's character to get himself a rifle before shipping out to Viet Nam and Sam said "No. There'll be plenty of them laying around when the time comes." A very poignant statement if I ever heard one!!

God bless Sam Elliot!!



P.S. Neither the book nor the movie are suitable for Christmas time. I'd wait till next month. They may be required reading and viewing by that time!

reply to post by xavi1000


The only absolute necessities you even mentioned were food (which can be caught nearly anywhere one may be) and a roof over the head (could just as well be a tarp).., the rest are just luxuries.

Clean water falls from the sky, and in the past people dug wells for it, and you can strain and boil/ boil and strain or eat fruit, press apples for clean drinkable fluids/ water as was done in the past also.

What has happened here is people are worrying more about getting what they want instead of appreciating, let alone really even wanting what they do have.

Most of what most of you have you don't even need, if you were forced to live the way I do you would probably kill yourselves.

All Luxuries.............

Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

There is not a country on the planet that hasn't benefited, or attempted to do so, at the expense of other countries.

Throughout history, every nation has slaughtered its neighbors, that is how mankind works.

So, America is bad because it succeeded?

I have to say, I'm actually sorry I bothered to read, let alone comment on this thread.

Merry Christmas.

, reply to post by Propulsion


I'm always baffled by threads or comments like this. I wonder, do the authors/speakers of such ideas actually believe what they're saying? If so, do they live terrible, unhappy lives? Have no family depending on them? If I knew that within a short timeframe this would be a horrible world to live in, and that doing something about it now would make a difference, then I could see taking action. I've been hearing about this imminent plunge into darkness being right around the corner for decades now, basically for as long as I've been hearing about $10k/oz good and the collapse of the US dollar. Given the track record, as well as the significant differences in technology, funding, and sheer numbers between myself and the forces of those in power, I just can't see any sense in losing contact with my family, rendering my wife and children homeless and starving, and most likely dying a painful death in a slim-percentage chance of averting a low-likelihood potential future which may our may not be in the cards for anywhere from a few days to 100+ years away.

So blame me and others like me for not being willing to throw away a nice home, the comforts of heating & AC, vehicles, ability to travel without interference beyond traffic gridlock, an enjoyable life with my wife and young children, etc., rather than fighting against a possible future in the present, because a slim minority on the fringes of reality believe that somehow we can turn it around now much more easily than when this imminent future they're afraid enough of to throw away their lives in the present comes to pass.

So I guess consider me part of the problem. No apologies, I've got a life to live and others whose lives are at least partially dependent on my support. When fighting makes sense, I'll just have to take my chances against the future war machines. May you at least find happiness in your battle for the future.
~Dogstar

reply to post by Propulsion


We are in one of the most interesting times in human history.

Humanity is one entity seperated into fragments.
So we as a species are only as wealthy as the least of us.
All are responsible for all.
We are responsible for letting some poor 3rd world kid starve to death whilst we spend money on junk or waste our time on things of trivia.
We are responsible for letting corrupt p1ss poor leadership extract all our wealth and siphon it off to the grand demons that run this planet which basically has us locked into perpetual debt slavery.
Humanity has one consciousness, how can we change it?
We can point fingers at the loathsome vulgar souless horror bags that pretend to be politicians but history just repeats itself over and over.No one individual is to blame.
Humanity is responsible for its own actions.

And so I believe we have reached the most challenging time in human history, it's not just about America its global.
It's a world wide scam.
The planet is a lunatic asylum and the craziest of the crazies run it and they are running it in unison.
The Geopolitical theatre is just that...a theatre.
Great actors groomed from birth have the masses believing in the deception.

All humanity has gotten really good at it is finding quicker ways of slaughtering ourselves en mass.
What kind of intelligent spiritual creature from elsewhere would openly interact with us here knowing full well what we do to ourselves.

There are 2 forms of Evil in this World, there are those that through violence or whatever act of oppression actively seek the destruction of others and then there is Pacifism.

Bah humbug.
Merry Christmas.

Cancerwarrior
reply to post by GenerationGap

 

Obviously slavery in this country violated man's self evident rights. As a result nearly 3 million Americans died so that "that this cycle of slavery can be broken" (to borrow a piece of your sentiment).

Probably many more died than that.

Slavery did not kill those Americans. It was well on its way to dying out eventually, even in the Antebellum American South. The civil war was fought to keep the Southerners from governing themselves. Simple as that really. Slavery was nothing more than a false pretense and an afterthought for the war at the same time.

Always remember that Lincolns symbolic move of freeing the slaves was nothing more than a PR stunt. Funny how it was 2 years into the war that he emancipated the slaves in Confederate held territories. Note he did not free the slaves in Kentucky, Missouri or any Northern territories. Too bad the South lost, I might actually be living in a country where laws are passed at the local level and not by a bunch of bereaucrats half a continent away that I've never met.

But freeing the slaves sounds so much better to the history books instead of saying that you were putting down a bunch of farmers and good ol boys that wanted to govern themselves.

edit on 25-12-2013 by Cancerwarrior because: (no reason given)

Describe the reckoning surrounding the horrid morality that was slavery in the US all you want. When a society lives in a state of ill regard for any length of time it will be shattered to its core.

While I understand the complicated politics of the civil war, had slavery never existed it never would have been around for the north to scapegoat it in order to levy taxes and regulations on the tobacco, cotton, and citrus plantations in the south. You are right, the civil war wasn't all about slavery; but the fact that mass amounts of people in the south turned a callous heart to the freedom of a race can not be changed by anything Lincoln or anyone in the north did.

The fight against slavery in the US started with the American revolt. The line "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" was originally "life, liberty and property". Jefferson knew this would be an excuse for the pro slavery crowd to prop up the right to own slaves, so he changed property, in another draft it was estate, to "pursuit of happiness". Now many will scream about how Jefferson owned over 130 slaves at the time he changed that line, "What hypocrisy!" those who wish to slander America yell.

But this goes back to what was said earlier by Bman: "then condemn the next generation as though they had a choice in the matter" &"implies that this cycle cannot be broken". Jefferson lived in a society where slavery was "normal" and accepted. He had no choice in the matter, it was a philosophy he was born into and had to grow out of. He recognized slavery as a violation of man's natural rights and did what he could in his time to break the cycle even he was a part of.

We are all in this position Jefferson found himself. When we buy an Apple iPhone or a pair of Nike's we are taking part in the grotesque conditions of labor in Asia; yet we exclaim how materialism is leading to a morally ignorant society as we type the rant on abovetopsecret whilst using a keyboard assembled by a twelve year old boy laboring for twelve hours 6 days of the week. What hypocrisy! But it's the society we inherited and are trying to grow out of to break the cycle.

reply to post by GenerationGap


I agree, I often ponder whether the generation rift argument holds water, is it because excepted social norms are not to be questioned as those with new ideas are often shunned and shamed into submission, the will of the majority at times has little to do with the end result regarding moving forward into idealism, freedom, and over all progression into tolerance and intelligence. Children need to be raised to a degree regarding tolerance and understanding, instead today education is a statement not an excercise in self growth and critical thinking. This of course is just my opinion

reply to post by Propulsion


Blame the federal Government.

I've been considering an answer to this post since I saw a day or so ago. I can't tell anyone else what they should do but since 1970 I've been involved in trying in my small way to make my world (community) a better place. This is how it began:
It was a beautiful summer day and I was taking a walk to the back of the farm, along the creek, heading for the "swimmin' hole", a deeper part of the wet-weather creek where you could usually find a nice pool to dip your feet into on a hot day. As I approached the site I was assaulted by a stench that literally made my eyes water. I knew exactly what it was---sewage---but where on earth was it it coming from? When I arrived at the creek bank there was no doubt of its origins---the creek looked (and smelled) like an open sewer. My first thought was that someone had pumped their septic tank into the creek. I was curious so I went upstream to try and find the source. It wasn't hard at all as it turned out.
A fellow who was a well-known slum lord in the local college town had bought half an acre of ground on the creek opposite our property and set up 4 house trailers to rent to college students. I found four pipes emptying every bit of waste from those trailers into the creek.
I was only 16 years old and didn't know a whole lot about the law but standing there seeing and smelling that mess, I knewit was wrong! I had no idea if it was illegal but I knew it was wrong. Needless to say, the "swimmin' hole" was a sewer as well and I was REALLY ticked off.
I hurried home and told my Mother. She was shocked. She said she believed it was illegal to do something like that. She advised me to talk with Dad about it when he got home---but to please, please wait until after dinner to bring it up. So I did.
My Dad was a bit skeptical of my claim that all those trailers were straight-piped because, he said, "That fellow knows better than that, he knows it's illegal to do that." So off we go, to let my Dad take a look. Before we even reached the point where we could see the creek, he knew I was right because he said, "You must be right, only raw sewage smells like that." All his doubt fled when he saw the actual mess lining the creek bed.
My Dad was a pretty laid-back fellow overall and there were few times in my life that I saw him in what I would call an incensed anger but this was one of those times. He used words that were not normally part of his vocabulary, words that decency prevents me from repeating but the gist of was that this guy wasn't happy with the slum conditions he created in the town but now apparently wanted to move his slum to the country and didn't particularly care if he made life miserable for neighbors.
We headed for the house that was immediately downstream from the brand new "trailer park" where a cousin of my Mother lived. They welcomed us in and apologized for the awful smell. My Dad explained that the smell was the very reason for the visit. He inquired as to whether they had contacted the authorities. I could tell he was surprised when they said, "Oh, well, he's a rich man and there's nothing we can do. It's his property." My Dad pointed out that straight pipes are illegal in our county and additionally, he was polluting the entire creek, half of which we owned since the deed reads "to middle of the branch known as Farley creek." After a few more minutes of talking with them even I could see that they were not going to do anything except sit and suffer. It was puzzling so as we made our way home I asked my Dad what we could do to get this stopped. He explained that the authority he had mentioned was the health department. They needed to be contacted but it had to be done during the daytime and he had to work tomorrow. As it happened I was off from work the next day so he suggested that since I had discovered the problem, was directly affected by the problem and was perfectly capable of describing the problem, I should go to the health department and make a complaint. I'd never done anything like that in my life so I was hesitant and full of "what if?" questions about the process. Daddy sat me down and told me that the people I would be reporting to worked for us, to ensure our safety in matters of health. This problem was a health matter and would have to be investigated. "Just tell them what you've seen and what you've smelled and ask them when they can come and take a look at it. Now, all that "rich man" down-in-the-mouth stuff you heard from your cousins; this isn't about rich and poor, this is about the law and it applies to rich and poor. Just tell them what you saw and smelled."
I did it! I walked in and told the secretary that I wanted to make a complaint about an open sewer resulting from 4 trailers being straight-piped into a creek. (Yeah, my Dad had told me to use those words, "straight-piped" to get their attention because at that time there were efforts to get a state-wide law against the practice.) It did in fact get their attention. I was shown to the office of the department head. By the time I finished giving him the facts he was getting out of his chair and asking to be shown this mess.
I accompanied him to the site. He was shocked. He assured me that I had done a wonderful thing to come to him and that I could rest assured that it would be taken care of. Within three days he called to say that he had found the owner of the property, contacted him and that he had 60 days to bring his property into compliance with the law.
The very next week construction equipment appeared and legal septic systems were installed. My activist life began and from then until now, I've acted and I've made a difference.
I've won some battles.
I've lost some battles.
I'm still fighting.
I've marched.
I've written letters.
I've organized campaigns.
I've contributed time and money to causes in which I believe.
I've been able to have an impact, mostly local, sometimes state-wide and perhaps even a tiny bit on the national scene.
I've run for state-wide office on a third party ticket, devoting a year of my life to traveling and getting to know the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I did not seek this candidacy, I never even dreamed of being asked to be on a slate but my running mate sought me out. We didn't win that election but we garnered the most votes (percentage) a third party candidate has ever gotten in a general election.
I'm proud of the changes we made by simply being in the campaign and bringing up subjects that the two parties wouldn't speak of. I've watched many of our proposals move into the mainstream. I could go into detail but this post is way too long already...
Perhaps it was my Dad's influence at that impressionable age, perhaps it was genes. My great-grandmother was known for her activism in the suffragette movement. Perhaps it was my 8th grade history teacher, for it was in his class that I remember hearing the quote, "All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."
I'm a prepper in the same sense that my grandparents and parents were preppers. I'm not a gloomy-doomy person but I have serious reservations when I see not only what is happening to the country as a whole but to my very own family.
So, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
Take it one day at a time, pick your battles, do what you can do and never bow down to the "little tin gods."

When I read threads like this, I wonder what self absorbed, navel gazing planet of privilege some of the US exists on.

reply to post by Propulsion


Fair argument. But in all reality, I think, we are all to blame to one extent or another...I think.

reply to post by xavi1000

It's holidays , be positive at least once in the year.

If our forefathers new the state of affairs going on in America at this moment, I can guarantee you, they wouldn't be celebrating the holidays.

But please, go ahead! Enjoy that fake, materialistic, sense of security that comes with living here in America this time of year.

I think the love it or leave it style rhetoric is a bit disengenuine an we can love our country but at the same time want some changes to happen.

reply to post by Elton

If our government can do everything in its power to take away our freedoms, don’t you think we are obligated to take it back?

reply to post by StalkerSolent


How to destroy a country like America ? Easy...

Rule 1: Follow the money.

Using Rule 1 above, the answer is obvious, destroy the money and we destroy the people who riding on it, that translate to the top 1% and TPTB and whoever in power.

No need weapon, no need suicide bomber, no need whatever else, just burn the dollar and everything else will fall into place.

What I hate about murrica is - the leaders are too greedy, they cross the border and trample the world while teaching "We are proud Americans" to the people.

Sadly I dont see this coming, people are too busy and too easy chewing fast food, why bother to change when all is good right ? Tell that to the Ipod factory worker in China or the Iraqi teacher who want to go to school and almost get bombed. Americans need to wake up, the world hate the country, its just they cant change it so they just keep silent. They just play along.

Everybody knows who is the bully in the class, but nobody said anything, we just ignore them.

If America really want to change, first step is learn about North Dakota Bank vs Federal Reserve or better - BitCoin or LiteCoin specifically.

Enough said, the donkey will continue to drink the poison water nevertheless what we all discuss. Oh I'm so proud being Americans, so well fed.