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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be seriously worried about the future of the world…

36 replies

Mummytotwonow · 03/08/2022 22:10

Just watching the news and now the possibility of China going to war… feels like since COVID, war in Ukraine, Cost of living crisis, all the other issues over the world and now China possible war… what the hell is going on??? AIBU and overreacting or does anyone else think we are heading to the end??

OP posts:
MarshaBradyo · 05/08/2022 08:19

It’s a turbulent time but not the first

ComtesseDeSpair · 05/08/2022 08:57

We live in quite possibly one of the best times it’s possible to have been fortunate enough to have been born into, in one of the best countries it’s possible to live in. The fact that some people worry themselves sick over the “what ifs” is largely because they have the brain capacity to do so because they don’t have anything major to really worry about, like all of their children dying in infancy, or working 16 hours a day in a pit, or smallpox.

Anyway, worrying doesn’t solve anything, does it? I’ve some sympathy if you have some kind of diagnosed anxiety and can’t help it, but otherwise it’s all a bit nebulous and navel-gazing.

Hugasauras · 05/08/2022 09:05

This is a nice tonic when you get overwhelmed with doom and gloom.

www.gapminder.org/

Turns out things aren't all bad!

MarshaBradyo · 05/08/2022 09:17

ComtesseDeSpair · 05/08/2022 08:57

We live in quite possibly one of the best times it’s possible to have been fortunate enough to have been born into, in one of the best countries it’s possible to live in. The fact that some people worry themselves sick over the “what ifs” is largely because they have the brain capacity to do so because they don’t have anything major to really worry about, like all of their children dying in infancy, or working 16 hours a day in a pit, or smallpox.

Anyway, worrying doesn’t solve anything, does it? I’ve some sympathy if you have some kind of diagnosed anxiety and can’t help it, but otherwise it’s all a bit nebulous and navel-gazing.

Good post

The media whip people up a huge amount

Lemonblossom · 05/08/2022 09:38

I agree entirely with those saying turn off the tv and the social media. Yes of course we are in a difficult period and heading for a tougher few years but these things are not new, it’s just now it’s rammed down our throats 24/7.

I worry for the kids. Adults are sensible enough to know that these types of events happen and we get through them. The kids haven’t been through it before and so it seems disastrous to them. I was chattering away to DS1 (17) yesterday about the fact that I have 8 tins of sweetcorn in the cupboard because we go through them like mad and I asked him if he thought he’d be the same when he was older and always have a spare or two. He said “no because when I’m older we are unlikely to have any food due to climate change and economic turmoil”

He was only half joking which is really sad.

WhoMe231 · 05/08/2022 09:40

Delete your news apps. You will 100% feel better.

ParsleySageRosemary · 05/08/2022 09:50

I think we’re looking at a local civilisational collapse, thanks to the greed and over-entitlement of the rich. It’ll be similar to the Roman collapse into the Dark Age. I don’t know what will happen over in Asia, but their seeming reluctance to learn any ecology or European world war history will probably cause full scale wars before an even bigger collapse which they will blame entirely on the west.

I hope the politicians and bloody bankers will get caught by someone, but somehow I expect they will be fine.

ParsleySageRosemary · 05/08/2022 09:52

Getting shot of the arational world religions would be one tiny silver lining but somehow I expect they’ll manage to survive too.

Kazzyhoward · 05/08/2022 10:14

LadyWithLapdog · 05/08/2022 07:22

I disagree with PP that we’ve outgrown our resources. I think there’s enough but not shared well and little political will to change that.

The exponential World population growth simply isn't sustainable. It's been at relatively steady levels for thousands of years, but have massively increased in the last century.

To be seriously worried about the future of the world…
Kazzyhoward · 05/08/2022 10:25

Neverendingdust · 05/08/2022 08:17

I agree OP. The future is bleak enough for us in the UK without the prospect of WW3 devastating international relations and supply chains even further. Climate change is going to slap us all in the face in the coming years, by which point we’ll be regretting not adapting sooner.

To those who say we have been here before with WWs 1+2, technology and our way of life has advanced to such an extent now that any risk of disruption in even a small way can have catastrophic consequences for us all. Self sufficiency is an impossibility for the majority unlike in previous wars where they had very little to begin with, the stark reality is we need the wheels to keep turning in order to survive.

We’ve had it so good for so long that for most of us it’s all we know. What are we without hope, connection, convenience and the ongoing aim of wanting to create a better life for ourselves?

Once the wheels come off, we’re fucked.

I certainly agree with the point re self sufficiency. We have basically thrown away our World leading position in terms of raw materials, manufacturing, etc., and now far more reliant on importing, whether it's power, goods, services or even immigration for staffing.

Just look at the effect of a single container ship blocking the Suez canal for a couple of weeks which caused widespread shortages of all kinds of goods.

We need to urgently start to work towards self sufficiency again as far as possible. If that means we pay more and consume less, then it's a good thing, not just for the country, but for climate change. It can only be a good thing if we have to pay a few pounds more for a dress made in the UK that we can use many times rather than buy a cheap one from Primark that we're happy to chuck after being worn once. It'd help the environment if we stopped flying for a weekend hen-do to Magaluf and partied in the UK instead! Holidays abroad should be less frequent and more special. We should think more about buying stuff and be more aware of the cost, climate change impact, working conditions of the factory/sweat shop workers, etc.

It's taken decades to become over-reliant on other countries, and it will take decades to get back to being predominantly self reliant, it's hard, but that's no excuse not to make a start.

Covid showed us how reliant we are on other countries. Our import reliance meant we couldn't close/restrict our borders in the same was as other countries. We still had huge numbers of planes bringing in goods, huge numbers of "white van men" crossing the channel bringing goods, etc. In a perfect world, most of that could have been made in the UK and vastly reduced numbers of planes/vans bringing in "essentials" that we couldn't produce here.

Testina · 05/08/2022 10:28

Were you one of the people who thought Covid would wipe out half the population?
Did you spend the first week of the Ukraine war thinking Putin was about to push the red button to nuclear oblivion to us all?

It’s unsettling for sure - even frightening. But it’s quite probably not as bad as you think.

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