3 ms·

Western democracies greatest danger isn't Russia, it is their own collapse into authoritarianism out of fear. You can look at Germany how it managed to create t

Western democracies greatest danger isn't Russia, it is their own collapse into authoritarianism out of fear. You can look at Germany how it managed to create two dictatorships in short order and it still repeats the mistakes of the last century even today. The stereotype about Angst might be exaggerated, but an old population has similar attributes. Overall we didn't had much time not under some form of emergency powers. Terrorism, war, insurrections... there is always a reason the be afraid.

javajosh 5y ago
With the interesting conclusion: we must all learn to live without fear even in legitimately fearful circumstances! If you cannot control your emotion, it becomes rational to ignore your reason, or even "hack" your reason by feeding it false belief. Somehow that one scene in "Airplane!" comes to mind, with the long line of people waiting to slap the hysterical passenger. The joke being that in an emergency most people are fine, a few people get hysterical, and other people cope by slapping the hysterical person in order to "help" them calm down. In the end, it probably doesn't matter; the Fermi paradox strongly implies no civilization makes it out of their tiny radio bubble alive. Consider that our own radio waves have only traveled 122 light-years into the void, and already our civilization has been at risk several times from nuclear weapons, and is now at risk because of climate change and biosphere degradation. A civilization desiring interstellar contact must prioritize it's own longevity above all else. That humans might be the first in our galaxy does not bode well for humanity's chances! Which brings me to my own favorite tool to disspel fear: zoom out, remember it's all temporary at some timescale, and enjoy the good stuff while it lasts.

3 ms·

Western democracies greatest danger isn't Russia, it is their own collapse into authoritarianism out of fear. You can look at Germany how it managed to create t

by raxxorrax 5y ago

javajosh 5y ago
With the interesting conclusion: we must all learn to live without fear even in legitimately fearful circumstances! If you cannot control your emotion, it becomes rational to ignore your reason, or even "hack" your reason by feeding it false belief. Somehow that one scene in "Airplane!" comes to mind, with the long line of people waiting to slap the hysterical passenger. The joke being that in an emergency most people are fine, a few people get hysterical, and other people cope by slapping the hysterical person in order to "help" them calm down. In the end, it probably doesn't matter; the Fermi paradox strongly implies no civilization makes it out of their tiny radio bubble alive. Consider that our own radio waves have only traveled 122 light-years into the void, and already our civilization has been at risk several times from nuclear weapons, and is now at risk because of climate change and biosphere degradation. A civilization desiring interstellar contact must prioritize it's own longevity above all else. That humans might be the first in our galaxy does not bode well for humanity's chances! Which brings me to my own favorite tool to disspel fear: zoom out, remember it's all temporary at some timescale, and enjoy the good stuff while it lasts.