I think the bigger threat to our lives is the creeping/ crawling/ walking/ running fascism and authoritarianism people have become complacent about and have come to accept.

World war, nukes, climate change, etc… Those are big bads. But they aren’t every day bads.

Its the every day bads that grind you down, and the world seems to have forgotten that that a good society to live in requires the commitment and work of its people to maintain it. I blame consumerism for training people to believe they can just shop for the things they want in life and don’t have to build them. You can’t shop for a better society; you can only build it. This lack of civic duty to me is the real problem beleaguering us, and these other ills extend from it. Individuals need to recognize themselves as responsible for the state of things and to take responsibility for making it better. The government is not some third party to you; its an extension of your-self and if it isn’t functioning well, its on you to get involved and fix it.

I blame consumerism and the lack of personal responsibility it seeks to create in its patrons. People seem to have gotten caught in a mist that they are subject to the forces of this world, rather than recognizing themselves as the force that moves the world. Its a convenient thing for authoritarian leaders to take advantage of. Modern political leadership doesn’t want voters involved except in the occasional, minimal interaction that implies consent to be governed.

We really need to figure out a way to get out of this frog-march into authoritarianism and fascism, because we can’t address any of the other issues if that’s the direction the whole ship is going.