And to think we got into debt to fund this massive waste of consumerisum, and to rob the future generations.

Population control is the answer, and people don’t like it. And because we the people don’t like it, and won’t act, the decision will be made for us, whether as in natural (famine, fatal contangous viruses) or war (more likely, competition for sparse resources ). It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be awful. As this golden age comes to an end (well, golden for us in the West…those in a more primitive techolongical independant society will ride this out and become strong, but there isn’t many left.) we’ll left to deal with what many historic societies had to deal with…basic survival at the cost of others.

It might be at the cost of your nieghbours (food riots) or other countries (go in there, and take their water at any cost, cause we’re dying), it shall be interesting. Hopefully many generations later, the resources will exist and structures will be still intact, to do a solid case study. Maybe mankind will finally mature. But I doubt it. Greed(which got us into this mess), is a primative behaviour instilled into the human race, and for very good reason.

I’ll never have children for this reason. I’ll certainly make myself as useful to my community as possible during this miserable time. However, I prefer to roll over and die, then live over someone elses life. If I die, and this doesn’t become true, then I’ll die a happy man.

I’ve read the Trends Journal 2008 summer and autumn isssues because I have subscribed to a download edition. I was struck by the Trends Journal forecast content, which is much more like that of Jim Kunstler’s “World Made by Hand” than that of “competing” views, e.g., John Michael Greer’s “The Long Descent”.

From “A Hammer and a Nail”

My life is part of the global life
I found myself becoming more immobile
When I think a little girl in the world can’t do anything
A distant nation my community
A street person my responsibility
If I have a care in the world I have a gift to bring

Sometimes, while studying these issues of energy, environment and economy, I find myself feeling like the situation is hopeless for our society, and I don’t care for that feeling. The alternative I come up with, usually has to do with sticking my head in the sand – which I have a very difficult time doing. Anyway, writing like this inspires me in a different direction, one where I can face the reality of our perilous situation, and have hope for the future of OUR world at the same time. Irrational?

I’ve been shouting, ‘No, Just no’, for a long long time, in the global sense. That we stuff our faces and leave food to waste whilst millions of people, including children, go hungry across the world is a source of great sadness to me.

Perhaps America needs this? In a Universe Learning type of way. It was those that lived through the G.Depression that understood the value of ‘stuff’ and what really mattered. The sickening levels of consumerism, and above all, the blind apathy, needs a swift kick up the bum. Because only a small handful seem to be ‘getting it’. Hence the denial admist a recession.

Sometimes you need to go hungry yourself to appreciate your neighbour’s plight.

To make matters worse, in the work that I do I’m actually ethically and in some instances legally bound NOT to form close ties with the people I spend the most time with. I’m a drug counselor, and having “dual relationships” is a huge no-no because of the enormous imbalance of power. Not only between a counselor and her current clients…but once a client, always a client. I’m ethically bound to NEVER do business with, or barter with, or trade with, etc. etc….anyone who has EVER been my client. And really, their immediate family as well. My county has less than 10,000 people in it and being surrounded by 250 miles all around of Nevada mountains has to be one of the most isolated places in America. You can see how that limits my relationships. Which sucks, because I have a client who keeps trying to talk me into letting him install a wood stove in my house. *sigh*

So I’m doing my best to help my clients learn how to form a community themselves. After every group session we have a few minutes where anyone who needs help or has something to offer can pipe up. We call it barn raising. Sometimes my clients slip and are sentenced to a few hours of community service. I’m going to see if I can talk the judge into letting them into working at our building for that service and put them to work digging a garden. And I really do believe I’m doing my part by helping to send healthier, drug and alcohol free people back out into the community. They also have high school diplomas when they leave me.