Would a world war fix this f***ed up world?

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by T@T

- ISIS in the middle east
- Russia trying to take Ukraine and maybe more
- Saudi's screwing up oil prices
- Euro country's on the brink of bankruptcy
- Iran trying to build a bomb (to end Israel)
- mass shootings in the USA

It goes on and on, the world is truly crap

Thanks NDP.

[starseed]

Originally Posted by T@T

Talking to a retired military guy today he thinks it'll take a world war to reset society and sees no other way, when you look at it there seems to be nothing positive on a world scale happening.

There are a lot of positive things happening on a world scale. It's just that our brains are set up to see things differently.


To the idea that a world war will cure what ails us, that is exactly what they said before 'The War to End All Wars', WW1. Many many great thinkers and popular literary figures beat the drums of war leading up to Ferdinand's assassination. They claimed that Europe needed a purifying fire/great sweeping. The character Sherlock Holmes said "a better, stronger land will lie in the sunshine when the storm has cleared".

What did happen when the storm cleared? It sowed bitter resentment that lead to the rise of Hitler, genocides, the rise of Lenin, not to mention the destruction and death from fighting both world wars.

War will cause more problems than it solves.

[Antithesis]

Stupid post is stupid. Good grief. I mean come on, "Hm, I think the world is messed up even though it is better today by almost any metric than it ever has been. What's the solution ... hmmm .... hmmm .... I got it! World War! Let's kill millions of people and blow things up! That will make things LESS messed up." This may be your greatest material yet, T@T.

[Party Elephant]

Reading through this thread I can't tell who's trolling and who's feeding.

[CliffFletcher]

The retired member of the military cited in the OP probably remembers the post-was boom in Canada as the good old days. And they were. The broad, sustained prosperity that North America experienced after WW2 was pretty much unmatched in history. But the conditions that fostered that prosperity were unique (the rest of the world was either bombed to pieces and needed to be rebuilt, or was still half a century behind the West in the progress scale). Using 1945 to 1970 North America as your frame of reference is bound to leave you disappointed and nostalgic.

Originally Posted by CroFlames

So while you are alone, yes, you are more connected in this day and age more than ever. However, I think the connectedness is leading more and more people to seek out being alone. I.e.: they'd RATHER text/email/digitally communicate than actually talk and or meet up.

Absolutely. Even unexpected phone calls are now considered an impolite social misstep by digital natives. I've seen a bunch of 19-year-olds out the bar and they aren't even speaking to one another - and they're the ones who are supposed to be doing the cool, fun thing while the friends they're texting are at home or at work. I know a couple recently-divorced 40-something guys who quickly found rather nice 30-ish girlfriends. It seems the guys their age don't know how to sustain a conversation in person, so the older guys are charming and sophisticated in comparison.

The collapse of religion, the family, and now face-to-face socialization (not to mention exposure to nature and the outdoors) are undoubtedly leaving gaping holes in the emotional well-being of a great many people. It remains to be seen what those holes will be filled with. Consumerism and digital hedonism have their limits. I expect pseudo-religious beliefs and identities will eventually fill the gap, but exactly what form they'll take is unclear.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Antithesis

Stupid post is stupid. Good grief. I mean come on, "Hm, I think the world is messed up even though it is better today by almost any metric than it ever has been. What's the solution ... hmmm .... hmmm .... I got it! World War! Let's kill millions of people and blow things up! That will make things LESS messed up." This may be your greatest material yet, T@T.

Excuse me, where did you get the idea it was my view.? You do realize I was asking the question after talking to a 71 year old former military man right?

I really don't need a dingbat who can't read calling me stupid, if you don't like my posts please put me on ignore because I can't be bothered reading your rubbish.

[Antithesis]

It's funny that you claim that I'm the person that can't read when I clearly said that the post was stupid. I never made any mention of my thoughts of your intelligence. The fact that you posted this and considered it to have any merit whatsoever is enough for me. And what does the fact that you talked to a 71 year old former military man have to do with anything?

Further, if you think I'm a "dingbat" who posts "rubbish" then I am comfortable that I'm on the right track.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The retired member of the military cited in the OP probably remembers the post-was boom in Canada as the good old days. And they were. The broad, sustained prosperity that North America experienced after WW2 was pretty much unmatched in history. But the conditions that fostered that prosperity were unique (the rest of the world was either bombed to pieces and needed to be rebuilt, or was still half a century behind the West in the progress scale). Using 1945 to 1970 North America as your frame of reference is bound to leave you disappointed and nostalgic.



Absolutely. Even unexpected phone calls are now considered an impolite social misstep by digital natives. I've seen a bunch of 19-year-olds out the bar and they aren't even speaking to one another - and they're the ones who are supposed to be doing the cool, fun thing while the friends they're texting are at home or at work. I know a couple recently-divorced 40-something guys who quickly found rather nice 30-ish girlfriends. It seems the guys their age don't know how to sustain a conversation in person, so the older guys are charming and sophisticated in comparison.

The collapse of religion, the family, and now face-to-face socialization (not to mention exposure to nature and the outdoors) are undoubtedly leaving gaping holes in the emotional well-being of a great many people. It remains to be seen what those holes will be filled with. Consumerism and digital hedonism have their limits. I expect pseudo-religious beliefs and identities will eventually fill the gap, but exactly what form they'll take is unclear.

I believe the bolded to be false. Park visitation and trail use I believe has been consistently increasing. I might agree that we are creating collectives that never get out and people who get out way more but overall the outdoors is cool right now.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by GGG

I believe the bolded to be false. Park visitation and trail use I believe has been consistently increasing. I might agree that we are creating collectives that never get out and people who get out way more but overall the outdoors is cool right now.

Visits to national parks is not a useful indicator or how much time people spend outdoors in a natural environment. Children today, for instance, spend a fraction of the time playing in woods, watching birds and frogs, and walking outdoors than their counterparts 30 or 40 years ago.

If you were to walk through South Glenmore Park or Fish Creek on a July afternoon 35 years ago, when Calgary had less than half the population it has today, you would come across a dozen or more groups of kids riding bikes, climbing trees, building dams in the creek, catching frogs, and playing tag or guns. Today, you might come across a few kids out on bike rides with their parents. Going for a bike ride with mom and dad once a week is no substitute for spending hours a day, several days a week, playing with your friends outdoors.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Visits to national parks is not a useful indicator or how much time people spend outdoors in a natural environment. Children today, for instance, spend a fraction of the time playing in woods, watching birds and frogs, and walking outdoors than their counterparts 30 or 40 years ago.

If you were to walk through South Glenmore Park or Fish Creek on a July afternoon 35 years ago, when Calgary had less than half the population it has today, you would come across a dozen or more groups of kids riding bikes, climbing trees, building dams in the creek, catching frogs, and playing tag or guns. Today, you might come across a few kids out on bike rides with their parents. Going for a bike ride with mom and dad once a week is no substitute for spending hours a day, several days a week, playing with your friends outdoors.

I was thinking adults outside not kids. I would argue that adults are spending more time outside then previously.

I think though the helicopter generation is taking a hit right now and swinging back the other way.

[MRCboicgy]

I think we just need more protest songs by pop stars. That will fix things.

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Visits to national parks is not a useful indicator or how much time people spend outdoors in a natural environment. Children today, for instance, spend a fraction of the time playing in woods, watching birds and frogs, and walking outdoors than their counterparts 30 or 40 years ago.

If you were to walk through South Glenmore Park or Fish Creek on a July afternoon 35 years ago, when Calgary had less than half the population it has today, you would come across a dozen or more groups of kids riding bikes, climbing trees, building dams in the creek, catching frogs, and playing tag or guns. Today, you might come across a few kids out on bike rides with their parents. Going for a bike ride with mom and dad once a week is no substitute for spending hours a day, several days a week, playing with your friends outdoors.

I've been attacked by dogs 4 times, broke the flesh twice. That's the reason I don't frequent the parks anymore. I'd be in the parks with my nephews if the dog attacks were not an issue.

[octothorp]

It's a bit of a Maslow's Hammer situation: if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail; if you spent a significant amount of time as a soldier, you might tend to look at a wide range of problems as things that can be solved by war. Perhaps it can even give someone a feeling of purpose to think that the major events and sacrifices of their own life are something that could fix a lot of the world's problems today.
(Not suggesting such a perspective is common among veterans, just that this might be what's going on here.)

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by octothorp

It's a bit of a Maslow's Hammer situation: if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail; if you spent a significant amount of time as a soldier, you might tend to look at a wide range of problems as things that can be solved by war. Perhaps it can even give someone a feeling of purpose to think that the major events and sacrifices of their own life are something that could fix a lot of the world's problems today.
(Not suggesting such a perspective is common among veterans, just that this might be what's going on here.)

I really disagree with that, if you look at the majority of the guys I've talked to Soldiers don't really like war, because they die in them in massive numbers, and they see the death and destruction caused by it. But they also realize that sometimes no matter how horrible and how chances are its going to lead to them getting fed to that insatiable beast it is necessary.


While the average soldier looks at things as more in black or white on whether or not to go to war, they don't see it as a trivial thing, or a solution to problems.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

That was such a god awful movie

Such a great idea though.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by AcGold

I've been attacked by dogs 4 times, broke the flesh twice. That's the reason I don't frequent the parks anymore. I'd be in the parks with my nephews if the dog attacks were not an issue.

What park did you go to? Was it a park in the Savannah or something?

[polak]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Absolutely. Even unexpected phone calls are now considered an impolite social misstep by digital natives. I've seen a bunch of 19-year-olds out the bar and they aren't even speaking to one another - and they're the ones who are supposed to be doing the cool, fun thing while the friends they're texting are at home or at work. I know a couple recently-divorced 40-something guys who quickly found rather nice 30-ish girlfriends. It seems the guys their age don't know how to sustain a conversation in person, so the older guys are charming and sophisticated in comparison.

These stories are so ridiculous.

Yes no one knows how to sustain a conversation. 40 year olds are the last generation that escaped the emergence of the smart phone with the ability to talk to another person.

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

If you were to walk through South Glenmore Park or Fish Creek on a July afternoon 35 years ago, when Calgary had less than half the population it has today, you would come across a dozen or more groups of kids riding bikes, climbing trees, building dams in the creek, catching frogs, and playing tag or guns. Today, you might come across a few kids out on bike rides with their parents. Going for a bike ride with mom and dad once a week is no substitute for spending hours a day, several days a week, playing with your friends outdoors.

Blame the parents then. They're the ones not letting their kids do these things.

[blueski]

Anyone on the thread thinking a world war would be a good idea should realize that our airport would be a target. It is one of many designated backups for long range bombers to land at should their air force basses be hit. Calgary getting hit with a nuke would be pretty grim.

[PostandIn]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

I think we just need more protest songs by pop stars. That will fix things.

If everyone would have listened when Lightfoot sang Black Day in July we wouldn't have all these problems.

[terminator]

This is by far the worst post on the intreeeebs