How do you fix a crumbling society?

Status
Not open for further replies.
PMc said:
Maybe You should explain this a little more
Click to expand...
They are groups of neighbours associated in a legal entity. Several years ago (last years of the dictatorship and early years of democracy, here in Spain), most of this associations worked with the purpose of improve living conditions in each neighbourhood, even trying to participate in the development of the cities (urbanism, social services, etc.).
Nowadays, their main activities are festivals, holiday trips, and other entertainments. Even a lot of companies promote their products through the associations. Quite a change.

PMc said:
They pointed me to Belarus: go there, you will like it, you will find still more of the old ways there.
Click to expand...

Some time ago I heard a Spanish woman saying something similar about Belarus in a TV interview.
 
I was just telling my wife, a few days ago, that we used to only see things promoting entertainment and having fun. Now all we see is how to promote ourselves, make more money, get a better job and start your own business. Where's the fun and relaxation in all that? This is a problem.
 
Hobbes said:
They are groups of neighbours associated in a legal entity. Several years ago (last years of the dictatorship and early years of democracy, here in Spain), most of this associations worked with the purpose of improve living conditions in each neighbourhood, even trying to participate in the development of the cities (urbanism, social services, etc.).
Click to expand...
Ah, thank You, I think I get it. In Germany this is a bit different, but there is something similar: the "Verein".
Any three (or five?) people can create a "Verein", and can then declare it a legal entity and gather members. This is most often used for doing all kinds of sports, singing, or cultural tradition. But practically everything you want to do together in a group, can be done as a Verein. Also, almost everything you want to do as a community service, on your own discretion as a NGO, would be made a Verein - and in that case, if you provide orderly paperwork, it may receive tax-deductible donations. This is the most practical legal construct when you do not want to operate a business with the focus on earning money.
A Verein could run a business, but that is usually not done because the liability laws are not favourable. In such a case it would make more sense to spin-off something like a Ltd..
 
gpw928 said:
I once said (when Trump was president) that I thought Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg presented a greater threat to humanity than Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump combined.
Click to expand...
Yes, because of their influence. But I think that things are changing.

Murdoch represents the MSM. These are steadily losing audience, because youngsters hardly read newspapers or watch TV. To make up for the decline media outlets started to provide particular groups with exactly the news and views these people want, leaving out everything else. That is how we got the biased echo chambers that most media outlets are right now. But that won't work in the long term, even their audience will notice that the reports aren't credible and complete.
I read somewhere that CNN is considering a switch back to raw and fact-based reporting. They could be first in a long row.

Zuckerberg (Dorsey and Musk too) seems to be aware that the more biased they get, the more customers will walk away. And they need customer data for targeted advertising. They are having problems with bots, which will hurt advertising revenue. This bot problem is partially caused by the decline of the old MSM: Politicians and NGO's want to keep their influence, hence switch to social media to spread their gospel. So we can often see exactly the same message posted on different sites by different people. Or the politically motivated messages, including highly precise data, posted in just the wrong place. Social media companies will address that problem sooner or later, and consumers will learn to recognise the bots.

It will take time, but internet-based media will put an end to the influence that media monopolies still have.
 
I disagree. Here is Belgium media receives large amount money from the government. Result, allmost all media says and repeats the government is doing fine. The only critical messages you find are on social media.
 
Alain De Vos said:
Here is Belgium media receives large amount money from the government. Result, allmost all media says and repeats the government is doing fine.
Click to expand...
Certainly not just in Belgium. It shows that governments will do everything to keep their influence. How many newspapers will survive when subsidies will be cut one day?
 
Alain De Vos said:
I disagree. Here is Belgium media receives large amount money from the government. Result, allmost all media says and repeats the government is doing fine. The only critical messages you find are on social media.
Click to expand...
IMO all countries have independent media too, there are also world independent and good Internet sites. Social media is like goverment media: people read what they want to here. And it is sad that young generation have interest just for money and do not care about anything other. For me is okay but what is their future? I do not care...
 
drhowarddrfine said:
I was just telling my wife, a few days ago, that we used to only see things promoting entertainment and having fun. Now all we see is how to promote ourselves, make more money, get a better job and start your own business. Where's the fun and relaxation in all that? This is a problem.
Click to expand...
Yes, and "develop yourself" - because when you're unhappy, it is all your responsibility and you're the one to blame.

This is also something that has seriousely changed - how we treat each other.
In the old century, I remember, when you had a problem, there was quickly some approach to resolve it, together. For instance, there was a 14-year old girl, had run away from home, and had simply decided to sit in my car. So, what to do? And there were immediately two or three hippie families who said, hey, you can stay with us for a while. So we did that, until her parents had developed some wisdom about how to treat the young lady, and then everything resolved nicely.

Nowadays, you just get good advice, that you can solve it all on your own and if one thing fails try a different one and so on and so on - without getting specific on anything, or -even less- getting in any way involved.
 
I think nowadays, someone would have gone to the cops and the hippie families would be accused of child traffic. Sad to say, and part of the de-evolution that you're discussing, there's often far more serious, that is merited fear over such things.
I used to walk to grammar school, about a 10 minute walk from home. I suspect that now, parents would be (sadly, rightfully) afraid to allow such things now, even in the relatively nice suburbs where I grew up.

HOWEVER--if someone falls on the street, for example, in NYC where I now live, there are still dozens of people who will come to their aid. Supposedly crime is way down in this area. Shucks, I do remember getting robbed at knifepoint in NYC in the 60's, (we were stupid wannabe hippie 15 year olds), so I don't know. It seems times of our youth always seem better in retrospect.
 
cmoerz said:
I love the fact, that this thread has already been marked "solved"...
Click to expand...
I only did that because our moderators asked us to leave politics out and somebody posted a blatant political reference. Surely we can have civil conversations about society without invoking politics.

I have removed the tag. Please lets be nice to each other.
 
You could have let it solved. This issue has been solved many, many years ago.
My friend explains that quite nicely. I am sorry if he is seen as political, his work is based on psychology.
 
I think taking psychology as a base is an interesting point of view.
Alex Jones might speak about reptilians but one can not ignore we as humans have a primitive reptilian-brain which guides us to egocentrism,stupidity,selfishness,egoism.
 
Rethink the problem as: how can we fix ourselves?
We are the people, and people are us. We are the society, even if some of us don't want to.
This kind of ideas will save us - or not - in the years to come.

Moderators are very cool here...
 
I wonder as I get old, if its just me. Like the grandpa from the Simpsons.
You kids get off my lawn.
I was a liberal and turned conservative with age.
Its all about how you see the world.
Is it getting more violent or just more publicized.
I remember as a kid Kent State and Texas SMU tower shooter.
Very sensational events. Charlie and the SLA.
Things are not that much different.
Mental health is the key. Not pharmaceutical cures but solitude.
Serenity Now. Serenity Now. Serenity Now. Serenity Now.
 
Phishfry said:
Is it getting more violent or just more publicized.
Click to expand...
I think both. More publicity begets copycats. Low life individuals who no one would never pay attention to now have an idea. Television "news" and social media sensationalize all that cause it sells ads so you hear about it more.
 
I don't think it's the people's fault. Don't think it's a random chain of events either.
Looks more like a plot. I think the western world is driven into ground intentionally.
 
C: 
define A as corrupt
define B as not corrupt

A->control(B)
B->depend(A)
A->depend(B)
B->free_will()

start:
while ((B) && !B->wise())
     A->power()

if (!(B))
     B->lose()
     A->win()
     next()

while ((B) && B->wise())
     B->hard_life()
     B->learn()
     A->nopower()

if (B)
     goto start || (die() && next())
else
     B->win()
     A->lose()
next()
 
Maybe one should pay attention to those before they go amok?
 
Phishfry I understand your frustration. I just saw a picture of a 2-day old baby put into ground killed by russian solders. And despite all that is happening we have (Slovakia) supporters of russian invasion here. It sickens me, almost made me puke.

I keep saying this for some time, way before Covid: people are getting dumber, more stupid. This is true world wide and is not specific to any country. Something happened around 40s-50s last century, people slowly started to be more egoistic, self-centered and later even more stupid.
Yes, of course there are very smart people there now and then, but the vast majority of stupid people is just overwhelming.
 
eternal_noob said:
Most important thing: Throw your TV set out of the window and never get one again.
Click to expand...
While I generally don't agree I should have done that. Right now I'm struggling to process that information and feel the pain of the parents while I have two young, healthy kids at home right now.
 
_martin said:
Phishfry I understand your frustration. I just saw a picture of a 2-day old baby put into ground killed by russian solders.
Click to expand...
What makes You believe in such reports?
As others have already recommended: throw away the TV.

Or, otherwise, think for a moment: what would be the purpose of such messages? When talking to elderly people in Germany, they tell me the Nazis did the same - their propaganda told that Jews would slaughter babies! So now it's the Russians?! Have we learned nothing?

This is a known pattern in psychological warfare, and it serves one purpose only: to produce hatred. There are Russians here, working on the software like us others. Are they evil people? Shouldn't we know better??
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top