The #1 issue facing people in a situation like this is that they either have the skills to make their own way... or they don’t.
When I read of the pathos and misery the press in Europe loves to tout in their attempts to shame the Germans into spending the treasure of Germany to fund the cushy grifters to Greece, I NB one this: The people who are killing themselves, the people who are rioting in the streets, etc... have a common issue: They’re devoid of any skills in producing a tangible product. They don’t know how to make anything, they don’t have skills with which they can barter (eg, a doctor) etc. Their entire lives have been lived as effete parasites upon those who have taken upon themselves the dirty work of building a running civilization.
As such, I don’t shed many tears at their demise.
This, people, is evolution in action. Humans were not supposed to be specialists, the evolutionary niche of insects. Homo sapiens evolved to adapt rapidly to changing conditions and rather than have to wait for the genetic adaptation to environmental conditions, humans could change their environment.
The over-educated, over-specialized and overly dramatic sorts of people who abound in today’s soft societies seem to have forgotten this.
Some good points. Although the libs would say “inhumane”, I see reality in your post.
Very well said, NVDave. I’ve received bits of advice over the past 15 years from several men (friends) who studied history, economics and warfare most of their lives. One was a historian and economist, who applied those studies and extensive travel to advice for governments and large corporations. Another was a commander (retired, Navy) of high rank and broad responsibility. There were others.
It’s too late for most people to begin to take that advice: to study and experience as many basic, natural physical events as possible, and to situate, build and tinker according to those lessons. It takes at least a few years to get a start in the complicated, laborious and uncompleted endeavor.
Most, instead, have prepared to find their demise much more quickly and would have scoffed at the advice anyway. Some people are already showing illogical, public anger against strangers for making their own repairs or buying ingredients to cook food from fundamental ingredients (from scratch).
There will be no recovery of what we once had (or better), until we see the moral paradigm of early America (or better) again.
I appreciate this view and agree.
You’re right about skills. On a recent thread, there was a guy who vacationed in Athens who claimed there was nothing to see or do. One would think that this was the perfect time for not just Greece but Italy, Spain and the others to zone in on the tourist dollar. If your own country doesn’t have the money, then you bring in outside money. I’m sure a couple hundred of Moochelle’s closest and dearest would jump at the chance to re-visit Spain and do the Old Country gig. Or, on the grassroots level, there’s the world wide web to market a community’s old world crafts.