Asklemmy

Cry, panic, be apathetic, drink alcohol. Typically one of these, usually chosen at random.

I just focus on not making it worse myself.

From my point of view, the world is neither getting worse nor better, the world has always been the way it is, and it doesn't seem like it's going to change. It's just my opinion.

Edit: In fact, what is getting worse is our economic system, but that is nothing new.

As always, most of the world is not doing better, but some of it is doing great. I choose to be part of the latter and be an architect of the future regardless of how big or small my contribution will be.

For me its the fact that I know in the end there will be a judgment day and that everyone will be taken to account. No one will get away with the misdeeds they commit "forever". In a similar light, no good action will go not rewarded forever.

Learning about the philosophy of the Stoics (which frankly was not enough for me), plus this quote (which also was not, but the two together... that did help!:-D), something to the effect of: "Strong societies beget weak children, who then grow up to create weak societies, which then beget strong children, who then grow up to create strong societies" - and the cycle continues. i.e., Boomers mainly did not fight in the wars, just grew up hearing how Great America was, without having to experience first-hand the blood, sweat, and tears that made it that way (to the extent that it ever was that way ofc). Well, now things are changing in the direction that they were ALWAYS going to have to changed in - b/c evil people gonna evil it up, no doubts about that - and eventually, sheeple will get sick & tired of being sick & tired and rise up, to change things. Until then, we suffer, but not needlessly.

In other words, we've gone through the stages of denial (climate change / economic downturn / wage slavery / cultural insensitivity / whatever is NOT happening), anger (okay so it's happening but what are you going to do about it), bargaining (he tells it like it is and big daddy will fix everything & make it all great again! ironically this holds true for both Obama and Trump, loathe as I am to have ever uttered such a sentence), and now we are into the depression era.

Next comes acceptance, and that's when the healing - and the beginning of lasting change - can truly start.

The world's fucked, so what

I'll enjoy what I can now and probably kill myself when the world's no longer worth living in

How long till it gets to that point? Who knows, but there's no point in worrying about it cause it's not like I can have a meaningful impact on it.

I stop filling my head with nihilistic bullshit.

The world is getting better, and if you can’t see that you need to widen your information diet and stop fixating on all the negativity.

I wonder if you've gone out to look for things that have actually improved. So many quality of life indicators in many countries are far better than they were 50 years ago, and that should give you some measure of encouragement. And we need that encouragement because there's a lot of problems that people are running into, and some of those problems feel insurmountable.

There is less poverty and less major wars than anytime pretty much in recent history. On a local level, individual crime is generally also at its lowest levels. It varies a bit year to year but we are living in one of the safest and prosperous times ever.

I think your premise is flawed or maybe your reference frame is extremely narrow.

As a whole, there's basically never been a better time to be a human. There are fewer conflicts, higher standards of living, amazing medicine, etc. Yes, access to those things and damage to the environment are backsliding, but this is temporary. (Well, everything is temporary to a human if you want to go that route, but that's not what I mean here). The trend line continues to go up, at least for now. The best thing that we can do is try to keep that trendline going up.

Yes, I am angry, I am disappointed, I am heartbroken, I am frustrated, and I am just generally sad at the current wars, erosion of rights, and environmental issues. However, I vote for what I believe in and try to advocate for it where I can. I try to avoid getting trapped in social media bubbles and spend very little time on it (and mostly only here when I do; no facebook or anything here). I try to go outside and raise plants. I am buying a farm where I can grow food, plant more native species, and do a tiny bit to heal at least the land under my feet whilst reducing my carbon footprint. I try to volunteer where I can. I have hobbies that take my mind away from these issues.

I can't control other people. I can fight to convince them of something, but ultimately I cannot control them. Maybe the selfishness and contrarianism of some will destroy us all. If so, then I just know I did what I reasonably could to avoid it.

You got a bad attitude, bud.

It's not just not getting better, it's actively getting worse.