Anyone else afraid of the future?

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Being afraid of the future is natural, especially with the amount of resource insecurity there is in... frankly more of the world than people ever want to admit. We've gone whole-hog on technology that didn't really exist 2-3 generations ago and not only are we JUST getting a reckoning on its impact, most people have no clue how precarious the whole setup really is.

Me, though? It seems every time I try and panic about specific things now, and the panic continues through any attempt to research the problem, some news comes along that dulls the problem. Like the time I've tried to panic over plastic pollution only to find recent news of a plastic-eating bacterium - and later find out there's been a plastic-eating enzyme for a few years now. Even if those two things only affect specific types of plastic, the only thing I have left to fear on THAT is the whole moral hazard problem.

Regardless, I'm starting to lose my ability to fear what future the world holds.

 

[Marius Merganser]

Not afraid of the future right now, but ask me again on election day.

 

[Kope]

I've made myself self-redundant, haven't been successful with new jobs, doesn't look like anything is going my way. It's very bleak for me.

I know this might not help much but keep trying man. I’m sure something will work out eventually. (I might be talking to myself too with what I said haha)

 

[BlackDragonAJ89]

I'm not afraid of the future. After all, people assumed back about 30 or 40 years ago that we'd still have Blockbuster and Saturn cars, and that the internet wasn't even a thing for most people.

However, what I am afraid of is the past, especially people who glorify a past that never was, and try to make that past a reality.

 

[Xitheon]

 

[dragon-in-sight]

I see it just the way around. This world is so fucked up on every level, that any change could just be an improvement. Sometimes a painful break is better then to draw out the agony of a dysfunctional status quo.

 

[ConorHyena]

I'm not afraid of it, I'm excited. Change is always a chance, and things usually tend to improve in the long run

 

[Ank57]

eh, hopefully Mount Saint Helens doesn't blow or a giant space titanic crash into London

 

[ZeroVoidTime]

I'm apathetic towards the future...

 

[Guifrog]

The evil side of me enjoys _some_ of the madness going on in my part of the world, but the other side is dumbfounded and a bit scared. Overall, I think we'll manage, at a high cost

 

[PercyD]

I'm tired, lol.
But I'm looking forward to the future. Like it's been said, sometimes you need a nasty break in order for things to get better.
Its a lot like how you go to the doctor. The treatments for sickness can often be worse then the sickness itself, but you get what you need, you endure, you heal, and you'll eventually feel better.
This is one of those moments.

 

[Xitheon]

I hope that humanity learns something from recent events and tragedies. I hope the importance of a national health service (our British NHS, for instance) is recognised, that the Republican party is smashed to pieces in the next American election, and that the humanitarian atrocity of homelessness ends, amongst other things. I hope we learn our lesson.

Edit: and of course, that racism ends.

 

[I’m With Cake]

I am concerned, yes, but we always seem to find a solution to the future’s problems sooner or later.

I think we’ll be alright, but that’s not excuse to be complacent and not try to prevent a bad future from happening; every bit counts.

 

[ZeroVoidTime]

The only thing I fear is being ignored at this moment and currently......

 

[MaelstromEyre]

Well, when I was in elementary school back in the 80s, my science teacher told us about how the sun was going to basically die one day, and everything on earth would burn to death or die, and I was terrified of that. I had no concept that this was something that won't happen in my lifetime. Every day there's some new "story" about how the Yellowstone volcano is going to blow, or Florida is going to be flooded, or California is going to fall into the sea, or there's going to be a plague of one sort or another.

There's always something to be afraid of, but don't let it stop from living your life.

 

[Skittles]

I have forgotten how many end of the world scenarios I have lived through now that I simply just don't care anymore.

 

[Vesper The Coyusky]

You know. When I heard those theories about the world Y2K, I was scared (of course I was young and stubborn back then), but after hearing more of the world going to end in so on and so fourth over and over and not happening, I got older and ignored that. Some events, like whats going on right now, I'm not scared as back then, but after this pandemic, we have to stick together and help each other out with getting through this. If there was war going to happen between two countries like seriously, then yes I would be scared for my life and my family and friends, but now, I really don't care about anything political, at this point. I just enjoy life to the fullest and hope for the best.

 

[DireWolfJ4]

Well there are times where I hear about death and I think about it and then I am scared that the next day I wake up that I might be dead, leaving my friends to be sad, to cry, to leave them without being able to cheer them up or the opposite to where I am scared that I will loose my friends the next day I wake up without even saying goodbye or knowing what the last thing I did or say to them was a good or bad thing. But there are times where there are good things in life that I like to look forward to in to the future.

 

[Rayd]

everyday. nonstop. this life is not my own.

 

[JacobC]

Honestly, not really. I've been a pessimist my whole life. I've always spent way, WAY too much time imagining what could go wrong next. But, nothing I ever imagined came to pass. It was always some other 'sucker punch' that life threw my way. Deaths in the family, homelessness, poverty, undiagnosed mental disorders that could have been treated years ago.

If anything, I learned to stop imagining what might happen and just live in the moment. Roll with the punches life throws at me and do my best to stay afloat. It's not easy, especially in this day and age. It feels like the gates have been thrown open and every bad possibility is spilling forth to reek havock upon us. But, remember that everything we are facing today is something our species has faced in the past. Racism, violence, plague, food shortages, economic depressions, war, poverty, etc... We've overcome all of it every time these things reared their ugly heads, we came together to force them back into the hellhole they crawled out from.

Yes, these times are scary. Yes, the future seems so uncertain. But, the future has been and always will be uncertain. The best thing we can do is live our lives as happily as possible without hurting others in the process. Be good neighbors to one another. Lend a listening ear to a stranger in need. Give that $5 I was saving to the guy just looking to get something to eat for the day. Be good to one another. We must be the example of strength and courage in the face of our fears because the young among us are watching. So, let hell and high water come because I believe we will do as our forefathers have done before us. We will rise together to take on our fears and that which threatens us. We will tell all of it, "there is no place among us for war and fear. We will cling fast to our hope and work to make peace and goodwill to all people a reality or die trying."

 

[BabiNani]

Whatever happens, happens. Can only take things as they go.

 

[Raever]

It's not so much that I'm "afraid" as I am just naturally cynical due to my upbringing. The future, to me, looks bleak - however, my life is my own to do with what I want so...I am hopeful, in spite of what the future brings to my doorstep.

 

[redhusky]

No, those who want you to be afraid know that there's nothing to be afraid of.

 

[GlitterFog]

I am not emotionally afraid, but I do feel like the world as I know it (and that's just my eurocentric perspective, the current shape of it sure sucks for a loooot of people) is slowly coming to an end one way or the other. I suppose if I'm lucky I might still be able to live most of my lifetime comfortably, but I wouldn't be making any kids right now.

 

[Foxy Emy]

It depends on how far into the future I ponder. I am mostly worried about my daughter getting sick in the short term.

I worry about the complete lack of proper Cyber Security in our critical infrastructure in the mid-term.

But long term? I have hope for humanity. Are there lots of things out there than can utterly devastate us? Yes. But if there is one thing humans are good at, it is learning and if we have to learn the hard way? Well at least it is a great teacher.

We may not evolve much physically anymore, but our ideas and knowledge is still evolving at a rapid rate. That gives me great hope that any setback can be turned into an opportunity for us to become more resilient.