You are asking mostly nazi Ukrainian supporters, for a war where actual success of nazis, means nuclear strikes on USA.

Let’s just say Lemmy is incapable of unsticking head from ass. Militarist nazi diminishment of russia, but with higher minimum wage and healthcare? Sign them up

I look back over history and see that every system of social organization ever was rigged against the people at the bottom, and then I look further back into nature and see that nature is literally trying to kill you all day every day, and I just take it as par for the course.

Our current system is less rigged against me than would be literally any other system under which I might have lived at any point in the past. I’m more free and supported than almost any other human who has ever lived, and for that I’m grateful.

I guess you could say I deal with it via the deliberate choice to be grateful, and to ignore the people who think I’m foolish for being grateful.

My mental health is certainly better than it would be if I chose to be bitter and resentful of the facts of existence.

Being surrounded by hostile forces that want to exploit and eat me is just part of existence. I am also surrounded by forces that want to nurture and assist me. I focus on those.

The ideal is to be capable of fighting a war, and capable of laughing in easy joy at the same time. Why? Because existence is war, and war is dreary and miserable if it’s the only thing that exists.

Elie Wiesel wrote in Night about finding freedom while strapped down to a table being tortured by concentration camp guards. It’s hard to find a scenario in which a person is more fucked. But it was there that he discovered the freedom of his spirit. If he can be free in that situation, I can be free in this situation.

Quite frankly, a big part of managing the stress when looking at the macro-political situation and how that intertwines with the macro-econonics and fucks up the microeconomics of households, is to not dwell on it. Too much doomer content bringing you down? know when to stop consuming and do something else. There’s a point where you cannot change it and making yourself depressed thinking about it too much is just going to make your own life shittier.

I also work hard to find the best path to survive, thrive and live my best life. Sometimes that means taking some time to learn the rules of the game that’s set up so you don’t dive head first into the pitfalls that are setup for those who don’t pay attention to the rules. Learn more about the big scary words at play as you sign up for an insurance plan, and what they mean. Learn about interest (both on your debts and your funds) and how interest plays into your finances, how to budget and figure out what you can afford, and how to financially improve upon your previous choices that occurred either due to lack of knowledge or due to making the least bad decision available to you at a given point in time.

But also make sure to find joy and happiness in a bunch of different timescales to both be happier and improving yourself so that no matter how mundane your life is, you have sparks of joy to keep you always looking forwards to something:

• Small affordable indulgences, be that a yummy food like a small block of aged cheese, or maybe a small lego set or a small game. Whatever makes you happy that you wouldn’t normally spend on
• Take a moment to appreciate something in your environment. I like to take a minute to look at the stars every time I’m outside at night, but also actively take in the trees and patches of woodland and how they’re currently reacting to the weather. If you can keep a small plant, just checking in on your little potted plant every day can bring its own joy in caring for your little buddy
• Find a creative outlet, no matter how much you suck at it, just find something you can make that you enjoy making
• Pick something fun you can look forwards to at all times that’s just around the corner. A club that meets monthly to do a hobby you enjoy does well. I then try to also make sure to find some excuse to get together with friends and spend a little more money than I otherwise would every few months so its extra special and I can really look forward to those get togethers.
• Start exercising regularly. Your body was made to move, and making sure you’re actually using your body and pushing your muscles a bit 3-5 times a week is amazing for both your general health but also your mental health too. Take a walk, ride a bike, make a fool of yourself on a dance floor, struggle to do a pushup/pullup. It doesn’t have to be structured, just something to actually move your whole body throughout the week and actually use your muscles

TL;DR STOP DOOMSCROLLING AND GO POKE SOMETHING WITH A STICK…it might even be a little fun

I don’t want to overstate this, but some liberation can come from within.

Yeah, we all have to play their game, but internalizing the values our sick society places on us is optional. Make peace with the things you alone cannot immediately change. Resist in the small ways you are able, find joy where you can, and do what you can for the people you care about. Free your mind and your ass will follow.

Remember that the world used to be filled with feudalistic absolute-monarchist nations where the Emerperor/King always got away with doing immoral shit, and most people who worked for the monarch can fuck up your life with zero repercussions.

Today, at least sometimes the leaders can get punished.

South Korea just Impeached their president. And the president will likely get convicted and removed from office and go to prison, just as with one of the presidents before.

Brazil is now investigating their former President for an attempted coup.

The US isn’t there yet, but at least we tried. Eventually, the president will be held accountable, maybe not in 10 years, but eventually we’ll evolve out of this shit. The US had slavery, and got rid of it (for the most part). We had Jim Crow and got rid of that. It used to be only white male landowners could vote, and eventually Black Men, then Women, also got the right to vote. Progress happens even if it looks very slow.

Back then there was also no modern medicine, a small flu can kill you. If a family had 2 children in any country that’s even slightly developed, both children likely survive. But before modern medicine, you need like 8 children and maybe 2 of them will survive.

Back then there were no entertainment on demand, if you are bored, you are just bored. Now we can just go on Youtube, Netflix or whatever and have a billion things to watch.

Back then, you didn’t have a 40 hour work week, you were on a farm and had to constantly work. Any bad weather and crops died you’re starving. Or if it post industrial revolution, you could be at a factory with way longer hours and much worse conditions than today.

People think “this is so bad” but it was way worse before.

Preparing myself for the world Titor predicted. Small communities.

Learning to homestead as best I can as a renter. Lots of raised beds and planter bags.

I only buy things to support my hobbies. Saving up for land and a prefab home so I can go completely independent.

I don’t want to worry if critical food gets expensive again.

I organize and build relationships in my community. Everyone has something to offer and something they need. It isn’t always immediately obvious what those things are, so it’s nice to have an existing network when you figure it out. Get together. Have potlucks. Share your skills, knowledge, tips, tricks and resources.

Smoke a lot of weed

So I went through a very dark place a few years back. Anxiety, depression and PTSD led me to the conclusion that “life is hard and always will be and that in the whole of human history we are all insignificant”.

But with the help of a great therapist (and some meds) I was able to append “so I might as well have fun”.

So I try to find joy wherever I can. So yes to doing things, fight my cynical side, make friends, dress weird, dance, party, be my (weird fun happy) self, allocate zero fucks to the haters and all to love to the people that matter.

I still fight the system where I can, but mostly by trying to make other’s lives happier. Let the billionaires be rich miserable assholes, we’re too busy dancing slutty to care.

Underwork when I can, especially if I feel underpaid and under appreciated. Humanity is doomed to destroy itself, so I don’t worry all that much about things. Hell, at this point I would enjoy watching it end. But until then, I’m gonna chill, smoke weed, make music and spend time with the good folks around me.

Reading history books for greater context. Shit always finds a new flavor of fucked, apparently.

And drinking a boatload.

I don’t. I’m literally on suicide watch trying new psych meds and wondering if the emotion storms are triggered by news, or the new drugs. Whee.

When the entire country is tilting day by day over the precipice about to fall into the abyss of fascist, one-party autocracy, it feels like the night before the Martians emerge with their tripods and heat rays. I feel like Fiver seeing the notice board portending the disaster of Sandleford Warren. I feel cursed for slighting Apollo somehow.

People are carrying on as if there’s nothing wrong or nothing we can do, and I can’t understand how they continue to function.

I go to work, enjoy my hobbies, support my family, and drink a lot.

I silently quit life. It’s not going well.

I act like this is not a drill. We’ve put together an emergency kit. We have a reverse osmosis water filter. I’ve been stockpiling seeds, personal care items, first aid supplies, and shelf stable food. I spend my time reading, playing board games and doing puzzles with my spouse. We’re spoiling the heck out of our pets. Trying not to spend money unless absolutely necessary. Towing the line between staying informed and doom scrolling. Some days better than others.

I should probably be more active. I shouldn’t drink at all, but I still do on occasion. I should be eating healthier and engaging in my community. But I only have so much energy and to be honest I’m barely holding on. Secretly praying for a Hail Mary because I can’t believe this sham of an election is going to go through. I just can’t.