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Must be nice being so privileged to talk down the very thing that maintains global trade channels (diplomacy) and keeps most of the world in check. Most of the

Must be nice being so privileged to talk down the very thing that maintains global trade channels (diplomacy) and keeps most of the world in check. Most of the world is backwater nations who oppress the shit out of their population making whatever faults you find in the US seem trivial. And yes the world isn’t fair and entropy exists. EU is basically a forced alliance after thousand years of constant fighting that led to the Nazis and fascists rising to power who had to be put down, then having to maintain an eastern bulwark against the Russians (paid for by USA let’s be honest). Let’s see how well it holds. If anything I think the USA needs to double its military spending and increase the size of its navy and international dominance. North America is safe and will continue, even if the whole world burns or even ICBMs are deployed towards the major cities.

ck2 4y ago
The idea people would still function while the entire east and west coast burns is the same fantasy at massive scale as people who walk around with guns thinking they are going to somehow defeat someone who has planned and already actively shooting at them. I believe great many ICBMs would definitely make it to major cities and that is the end of the world. We've already seen how people handle a pandemic, imagine active fallout but they cannot see the radiation. They'd be dropping like flies. Once the power and water is gone, 99% of American civilization is gone. Why do you think domestic terrorists are going after power stations (successfully so imagine national defense).
- moomoo11 4y ago
  I don’t believe that deploying the entire nuclear arsenal of the world would wipe humanity off the face of earth. Would it suck and render some places uninhabitable? Yes. Would it affect fresh water and air quality? You bet. But people will find a way like a worm and some will survive. I am in Bay Area so I probably won’t, but others will. What about places in Africa and South East Asia? Probably will be “fine”. Besides, earth has been through worse. Many species went extinct. But many survived. Humans are definitely the best species this planet has ever produced (that we know of). Again, it’s about survival of specific few. As for the power station stuff I will have to read up on it. I wasn’t aware that is going on. Thanks for pointing that out.
  - 10u152 4y ago
    100% agree. The developed world might be deleted but there will be plenty of tribes in Africa/SE Asia etc who will pretty much continue unaffected. Except those bothersome missionaries will stop coming around. The human race will continue though.
    - moomoo11 4y ago
      Yeah. I’d be pretty bummed to go that way though. It makes me sad and I hope it doesn’t happen.
  - yawpitch 4y ago
    > Humans are definitely the best species this planet has ever produced (that we know of). It’s certainly the most solipsistic… and, likely not coincidentally, it’s the only one that has developed the capacity to make the entire planet functionally uninhabitable to its own species. Also tardigrades will definitely outlast the human species… as will rats, cockroaches, and those mouth-less tube worms that cluster around deep sea vents… the only question is how soon will they have outlasted us?
    - moomoo11 4y ago
      I don’t see rats sending devices outside the solar system nor do I see roaches developing modern medicine or heavy industry. We are the best product made on earth and just because some of us are assholes doesn’t mean all of us are. Of all the species so far we have the most potential. Humans surviving would be a way more valuable proposition than some rodents who cannibalize each other because they don’t know any better. We will nuke each other but at least we were able to also develop so much more positive things too. And thankfully there are way more awesome and good people in the world. Just leadership is wack lol.
      - yawpitch 4y ago
        “We” aren’t products, we’re accidents; accidents that, oddly, once looked very much like rats — implying that today’s rats have at least as much potential as today’s humans, should the humans in their ignorance and stupidity clear the path for them — and we _still_ spend a great deal of time cannibalizing each other because we don’t know any better… and though we are indeed capable of great things we are equally if not more capable of terrible things, and history — not to mention the brutally delusional sense of self-importance inherent in thinking we’re the best bet the earth’s made — does not imply the balance remaining on the great side for long.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- zikduruqe 4y ago
  Yep. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4922079-one-second-after https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4922079-one-second-after I used to consult and teach various preparedness and emergency topics, and people always asked me what my favorite "survival manual" was. One Second After is.
IMTDb 4y ago
The danger for the US are inside, not outside. The military spending is already far sufficient to guarantee the safety of the country against external state nations. The issue is that it does not spend enough to maintain internal peace. The dudes that took over the capitol aren’t Chinese or Russian. Now of course, you could use your military power to control your population and prevent it from rebelling even if it is unsatisfied by the government. But wouldn’t that turn the US in an oppressive state. Less military spending and more social investments is the way to go if you want to prevent the US from turning into a backwater nation.
- moomoo11 4y ago
  I agree from an optics pov but even with the capitol thing.. half the country and half the politicians elected by them think it wasn’t a big deal. Meanwhile everyone argues over it while.. Everything is in control, at least in my opinion. I’m just a simple tax payer, and honestly I trust the people who really run the country while laymen argue over dumb shit and our side vs that side etc.
  - cpursley 4y ago
    > I trust the people who really run the country Yikes.
    - moomoo11 4y ago
      Try growing up in a country where corruption is rampant, people die from religious and sectarian violence (sometimes sanctioned by the govt itself), and living without reliable electricity and water because the money was eaten by bribes and gangsters. Moved to the USA and it’s literally night and day. In a world full of dictatorships, corruption, and awful human rights, the USA is way better. Only an intellectually dishonest person who has never experienced hardship (getting laid off from a 400k tc job doesn’t count lmao) would think otherwise.
      - iforgotpassword 4y ago
bbor 4y ago
Hmmm… I wonder why the country with the biggest military (and their Allies) is the only place rich enough not to be a backwater? I implore you to think how you might answer that question if you were born in such a backwater. Especially if it was a backwater where the US had recently used that military to significantly influence the government, such as Iran, 1953 Guatemala, 1954, Congo, 1960, Laos, 1960, Iraq, 1963, Brazil, 1964, British Guiana, 1964, Bolivia, 1964, Dominican Republic, 1965, Indonesia, 1965, Ghana, 1966, Greece, 1967, Cambodia, 1970, Bolivia, 1971, Chile, 1973, Australia, 1975, Portugal, 1976, Argentina, 1976, Jamaica, 1980, Turkey, 1980, Chad, 1982, Fiji, 1987, Nicaragua, 1987, Afghanistan, 1989, Panama, 1989, Bulgaria, 1990, Albania, 1991, Yugoslavia, 2000, Ecuador, 2000, Afghanistan, 2001, Venezuela, 2002, Iraq, 2003, Haiti, 2004, or Libya, 2011. Oo or Israel earlier this week. That said yeah definitely should’ve shot down that ballon over the Aleutians
- moomoo11 4y ago
  My backwater nation was previously a British colony. Today people who look like me do their best to put other people who like me down. Massacres happen, people live like insects in awful conditions just trying to survive while govt and industrialists operate without any loyalty or care for the country. No wonder people try to immigrate out. The Americans kicked British empire back to their island in the 1700s and imo historically speaking makes me side with them. Especially considering they were successful in 1700s… and on their own with a strategic naval help from Marquis de Lafayette. Again in a world with awful horrible people at least America maintains the order for a far more important role - diplomacy through global trade. The only reason the world has gotten better for so many people all around the world is the last 70 years that America has completely dominated the world stage. Global trade, capitalism, and opening up has made the world objectively better. Even the communists practice capitalism. Or in America they work for Meta/Google/hi tech while pretending to be comrade. And it’s not like those countries were some hippie communes. They were extremely brutal to their own people in some cases, I mean go read about Asian or African histories from just this past 100 years. They did awful shit to their own people and with America nowhere in sight til WW2 Again the world isn’t perfect. You have to place your bets, and mine is that I don’t trust most of the other countries in the world to do better than what the USA has accomplished thus far. It’s why I personally choose to live in the USA when I have like 150+ choices to potentially choose.

ck2 4y ago

The idea people would still function while the entire east and west coast burns is the same fantasy at massive scale as people who walk around with guns thinking they are going to somehow defeat someone who has planned and already actively shooting at them. I believe great many ICBMs would definitely make it to major cities and that is the end of the world. We've already seen how people handle a pandemic, imagine active fallout but they cannot see the radiation. They'd be dropping like flies. Once the power and water is gone, 99% of American civilization is gone. Why do you think domestic terrorists are going after power stations (successfully so imagine national defense).

moomoo11 4y ago
I don’t believe that deploying the entire nuclear arsenal of the world would wipe humanity off the face of earth. Would it suck and render some places uninhabitable? Yes. Would it affect fresh water and air quality? You bet. But people will find a way like a worm and some will survive. I am in Bay Area so I probably won’t, but others will. What about places in Africa and South East Asia? Probably will be “fine”. Besides, earth has been through worse. Many species went extinct. But many survived. Humans are definitely the best species this planet has ever produced (that we know of). Again, it’s about survival of specific few. As for the power station stuff I will have to read up on it. I wasn’t aware that is going on. Thanks for pointing that out.
- 10u152 4y ago
  100% agree. The developed world might be deleted but there will be plenty of tribes in Africa/SE Asia etc who will pretty much continue unaffected. Except those bothersome missionaries will stop coming around. The human race will continue though.
  - moomoo11 4y ago
    Yeah. I’d be pretty bummed to go that way though. It makes me sad and I hope it doesn’t happen.
- yawpitch 4y ago
  > Humans are definitely the best species this planet has ever produced (that we know of). It’s certainly the most solipsistic… and, likely not coincidentally, it’s the only one that has developed the capacity to make the entire planet functionally uninhabitable to its own species. Also tardigrades will definitely outlast the human species… as will rats, cockroaches, and those mouth-less tube worms that cluster around deep sea vents… the only question is how soon will they have outlasted us?
  - moomoo11 4y ago
    I don’t see rats sending devices outside the solar system nor do I see roaches developing modern medicine or heavy industry. We are the best product made on earth and just because some of us are assholes doesn’t mean all of us are. Of all the species so far we have the most potential. Humans surviving would be a way more valuable proposition than some rodents who cannibalize each other because they don’t know any better. We will nuke each other but at least we were able to also develop so much more positive things too. And thankfully there are way more awesome and good people in the world. Just leadership is wack lol.
    - yawpitch 4y ago
      “We” aren’t products, we’re accidents; accidents that, oddly, once looked very much like rats — implying that today’s rats have at least as much potential as today’s humans, should the humans in their ignorance and stupidity clear the path for them — and we _still_ spend a great deal of time cannibalizing each other because we don’t know any better… and though we are indeed capable of great things we are equally if not more capable of terrible things, and history — not to mention the brutally delusional sense of self-importance inherent in thinking we’re the best bet the earth’s made — does not imply the balance remaining on the great side for long.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
zikduruqe 4y ago
Yep. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4922079-one-second-after https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4922079-one-second-after I used to consult and teach various preparedness and emergency topics, and people always asked me what my favorite "survival manual" was. One Second After is.

IMTDb 4y ago

The danger for the US are inside, not outside. The military spending is already far sufficient to guarantee the safety of the country against external state nations. The issue is that it does not spend enough to maintain internal peace. The dudes that took over the capitol aren’t Chinese or Russian. Now of course, you could use your military power to control your population and prevent it from rebelling even if it is unsatisfied by the government. But wouldn’t that turn the US in an oppressive state. Less military spending and more social investments is the way to go if you want to prevent the US from turning into a backwater nation.

moomoo11 4y ago
I agree from an optics pov but even with the capitol thing.. half the country and half the politicians elected by them think it wasn’t a big deal. Meanwhile everyone argues over it while.. Everything is in control, at least in my opinion. I’m just a simple tax payer, and honestly I trust the people who really run the country while laymen argue over dumb shit and our side vs that side etc.
- cpursley 4y ago
  > I trust the people who really run the country Yikes.
  - moomoo11 4y ago
    Try growing up in a country where corruption is rampant, people die from religious and sectarian violence (sometimes sanctioned by the govt itself), and living without reliable electricity and water because the money was eaten by bribes and gangsters. Moved to the USA and it’s literally night and day. In a world full of dictatorships, corruption, and awful human rights, the USA is way better. Only an intellectually dishonest person who has never experienced hardship (getting laid off from a 400k tc job doesn’t count lmao) would think otherwise.
    - iforgotpassword 4y ago

bbor 4y ago

Hmmm… I wonder why the country with the biggest military (and their Allies) is the only place rich enough not to be a backwater? I implore you to think how you might answer that question if you were born in such a backwater. Especially if it was a backwater where the US had recently used that military to significantly influence the government, such as Iran, 1953 Guatemala, 1954, Congo, 1960, Laos, 1960, Iraq, 1963, Brazil, 1964, British Guiana, 1964, Bolivia, 1964, Dominican Republic, 1965, Indonesia, 1965, Ghana, 1966, Greece, 1967, Cambodia, 1970, Bolivia, 1971, Chile, 1973, Australia, 1975, Portugal, 1976, Argentina, 1976, Jamaica, 1980, Turkey, 1980, Chad, 1982, Fiji, 1987, Nicaragua, 1987, Afghanistan, 1989, Panama, 1989, Bulgaria, 1990, Albania, 1991, Yugoslavia, 2000, Ecuador, 2000, Afghanistan, 2001, Venezuela, 2002, Iraq, 2003, Haiti, 2004, or Libya, 2011. Oo or Israel earlier this week. That said yeah definitely should’ve shot down that ballon over the Aleutians

moomoo11 4y ago
My backwater nation was previously a British colony. Today people who look like me do their best to put other people who like me down. Massacres happen, people live like insects in awful conditions just trying to survive while govt and industrialists operate without any loyalty or care for the country. No wonder people try to immigrate out. The Americans kicked British empire back to their island in the 1700s and imo historically speaking makes me side with them. Especially considering they were successful in 1700s… and on their own with a strategic naval help from Marquis de Lafayette. Again in a world with awful horrible people at least America maintains the order for a far more important role - diplomacy through global trade. The only reason the world has gotten better for so many people all around the world is the last 70 years that America has completely dominated the world stage. Global trade, capitalism, and opening up has made the world objectively better. Even the communists practice capitalism. Or in America they work for Meta/Google/hi tech while pretending to be comrade. And it’s not like those countries were some hippie communes. They were extremely brutal to their own people in some cases, I mean go read about Asian or African histories from just this past 100 years. They did awful shit to their own people and with America nowhere in sight til WW2 Again the world isn’t perfect. You have to place your bets, and mine is that I don’t trust most of the other countries in the world to do better than what the USA has accomplished thus far. It’s why I personally choose to live in the USA when I have like 150+ choices to potentially choose.