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Just wondering as I read some threads on here...from many topics including medical, posting pictures on the internet, etc...does it seem that the world (or maybe it's just Americans) are becoming more paranoid about things that are really very unlikely to occur? Or that there is more buy-in with some conspiracy theories because of access to so much mis-information?
I think you're on to something....folks really believe that life is more dangerous now...but it's really not! It's simply because we SEE all the news, all the time...
We have lost our anonymity and it bothers people (at least, it bothers me). "They" know what food you eat because of your grocery store savings card. "They" know everything that you tell your doctor. "They" know everything you buy with your credit cards. "They" can tell you where your car was last Tuesday at noon. "They" can see that you made a credit card purchase at a store at a particular time and then use cameras to literally follow you home or wherever you went afterward. When you pull out some change for a parking meter, "They" have satellites that can read the date on the dime in your hand. Will "They" ever use it to harm us ? Who knows. One thing which has become crystal clear in recent years is that there is absolutely NOTHING that is out of bounds for the government. All of that being said, there is little that we can do about it, the horse is long out of the barn. I almost never use credit cards. Except for the very occasional online purchase, I pay cash for everything. As for our beloved government, I am reminded of a song by James Taylor where he says, " Steer clear of royal welcomes, avoid a big to do. A king who would slaughter the innocent will not cut a deal for you." I try to live accordingly.
A few days ago we got over a foot of snow in Colorado Springs. We all knew it would be inconvenient. We all knew there were some risks involved. But some people were in a true panic.
The stock market drops 300 points. Next day up again. We used to be able to put things like that in perspective.
But there is a tendency to turn every concern into a crisis.
The other day I was listening to CNN on Sirius radio. Everything was "breaking news". Some of it was hardly even news.
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Sorry but life IS more dangerous these days. I was just taking with someone who came from a trip to Belize. They had to have armed guards and could not leave their hotels without security. When I was there in the 80's I went everywhere and was rarely bothered (and I had a sidearm even then).
Chicago has had over 100 killings the first month of the year. Vegas averages nearly a killing a day, as do most major cities. That is more death than in most of thw worlds war zones. Theft, fraud and general crime is rampant - because the socialist government coddles criminals and rewards them for preying on the common person.
The government has been playing kick the can with the economy for 40 years, and sooner or later it is going to catch up to everyone.
Like JustMike says, the tyranny increased every day, the government is watching nearly everything we do, knows everywhere we go, what we say on our private phones and everything else. They even dictate our medical care now.
Sorry but life IS more dangerous these days. I was just taking with someone who came from a trip to Belize. They had to have armed guards and could not leave their hotels without security. When I was there in the 80's I went everywhere and was rarely bothered (and I had a sidearm even then).
Chicago has had over 100 killings the first month of the year. Vegas averages nearly a killing a day, as do most major cities. That is more death than in most of thw worlds war zones. Theft, fraud and general crime is rampant - because the socialist government coddles criminals and rewards them for preying on the common person.
The government has been playing kick the can with the economy for 40 years, and sooner or later it is going to catch up to everyone.
Like JustMike says, the tyranny increased every day, the government is watching nearly everything we do, knows everywhere we go, what we say on our private phones and everything else. They even dictate our medical care now.
Paranoid? No I'm not paranoid, I'm pissed!
Here we go again . Anecdotal evidence doesn't equal the truth. Tell me, how do killings in Chicago compare with the 80s or 90s? How about NYC? This information is easily available on the internet. I'd bet you'd be shocked to find out that TOTAL murders in NYC are about 1/4 of their peak in the 80s. I'd assume the total population went up during this time so the murder rate is down even further. America's murder rate as a whole is roughly half what it was in the 80s, but don't take my word for it, look it up if you don't believe me. The best source is the UCR (Uniform Crime Report). Violent and property crime rates are also down significantly. Also the world as a whole is MUCH safer now than for most of the past 2000 (yes 2000!) years. This is based on the number of death from violent conflict worldwide. Sure there are isolated conflicts worldwide but no major wars like WWI or WWII or even Korea or Vietman or Rwanda. Going back even further look back at wars on the European and Asian continents before the 20th century. It was wholesale slaughter compared to today's relatively contained wars with relatively few victims. Again it's numbers, not what's sensationalized in the news that you should use to judge if the world is truly more dangerous today than in the past.
I've yet to see anyone use actual statistics to "prove" the world is truly a more dangerous place then in the past, generally speaking. The murder rate may be lower today in the US than in the 50s, but worldwide there are FAR few deaths from violent conflicts these days, though if you watch only the first 10 minutes of the news you'd think otherwise.
Chicago has had over 100 killings the first month of the year. Vegas averages nearly a killing a day, as do most major cities. That is more death than in most of thw worlds war zones. Theft, fraud and general crime is rampant - because the socialist government coddles criminals and rewards them for preying on the common person.
Ah yes, someone is completely unaware of facts. Lets compare:
Chicago in 1974 had 970 murders, a murder rate of 29 per 100,000.
1992?? 943 murders, a rate of 34 per 100,000 citizens
2014? The murder rate was HALF.
So if the socialist government is to blame...well...maybe we need more of that.
I have visited the US two or three times a year since 1974, and yes, Americans are definitely more insecure/paranoid.
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. Anecdotal evidence doesn't equal the truth. Tell me, how do killings in Chicago compare with the 80s or 90s? How about NYC? This information is easily available on the internet. I'd bet you'd be shocked to find out that TOTAL murders in NYC are about 1/4 of their peak in the 80s. I'd assume the total population went up during this time so the murder rate is down even further. America's murder rate as a whole is roughly half what it was in the 80s, but don't take my word for it, look it up if you don't believe me. The best source is the UCR (Uniform Crime Report). Violent and property crime rates are also down significantly. Also the world as a whole is MUCH safer now than for most of the past 2000 (yes 2000!) years. This is based on the number of death from violent conflict worldwide. Sure there are isolated conflicts worldwide but no major wars like WWI or WWII or even Korea or Vietman or Rwanda. Going back even further look back at wars on the European and Asian continents before the 20th century. It was wholesale slaughter compared to today's relatively contained wars with relatively few victims. Again it's numbers, not what's sensationalized in the news that you should use to judge if the world is truly more dangerous today than in the past. 
