Anyone else get the feeling that things in America will get much, much worse before they get better?

[tman]

And by 'much worse' I mean a long period of darkness with an uncertain outcome.

As in, possible political, economic and societal breakdown. ..and not just America btw. I'm in Europe right now and things don't feel that much better. The prevalence of guns and culture wars make the American situation a lot more combustible.

I hope I'm wrong but I've been unable to shake this feeling I've had for a while that never went away with Biden's election.

I've never been a prepper type, but it might be time to rethink some things.

Disclaimer - This is not a call to cower in fear. That would be the worse thing we can do in the 'The battle for the soul of a nation'.

[rubbersole]

1. Yes.

This election is a serious turning point. I think the blue tsunami is real. And quite frankly, it's enough to keep me sane.

[Aristus]

2. I think things will improve when Trump is dead.

His demented followers will no doubt transfer their pestilential loyalties to some other squalid loser who appeals to their worst instincts.

But I just don’t see any replacement for Trump having the same scary, hypnotic power.

I’m hoping Trump’s long-overdue death will calm the troubled waters at least a little.

[ZZenith]

9. "Pestilential loyalties"

That’s an awesome phrase. Descriptive and musical.

[thomski64]

15. Oh hasten the day..

[LT Barclay]

16. Remember though, we all thought and hoped Bush was the bottom of the barrel.

If he wasn't such an obvious psychopath, they'd be trouting out Greitens.

[PortTack]

17. Agree completely!

[calimary]

21. You may be right, Aristus.

As long as he lives, he lives to get ahead by any means necessary, including lying, cheating, and other dark arts.

He won’t stop, and undoubtedly sees no reason to, til his time runs out. Nobody seems to have the means or the gonads to do anything to stop him.

[TiredGenXFemme]

3. Possibly

If you ask yourself, "What would an end stage Capitalist society look like?" I think it's pretty much like this. More bad things may happen, but they are outnumbered. Having a community is always a good idea. We're all safer in numbers.

[Aristus]

12. Welcome to our numbers.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

4. No, I don't feel that way.

I think Joe Biden is a phenomenal president and that he is leading the nation out of a dark episode.

He's beaten Trump once and will do it again, should Trump be the Republican nominee.

[Crunchy Frog]

5. Yes, but I'm not supposed to talk about it here,

so I mostly don't.

[Initech]

6. Oh without question.

With Fox News having an iron grip on misinformation and Elon buying Twitter to make it a haven for extremists, I definitely see the foreseeable future getting worse. I think that the democrats have to attack Fox News and the damage they are doing to this country.

[DemocraticPatriot]

7. I feel your pain,

and I feel my own pain...

[CentralMass]

8. Yes.

[UTUSN]

10. "worse/better" - are we talking months, decades, generations?

[RockRaven]

11. No. If things get "much, much worse" then they will never get better than we've got it now.

That is the peril we are facing and fighting against -- irreversible/terminal decline.

[royable]

13. My feelings on the subject vary day by day.

Looking at too much doom n gloom will depress me. Listening to an inspiring new choral or orchestral work by a young, up-and-coming female composer gives me hope for the future.

Will my 401K survive? Will I?

Not in the very long term.

The important thing is the legacy we can leave.

[pazzyanne]

18. Exactly!

What you said - "The important thing is the legacy we can leave."

[kelly1mm]

14. Why would anyone feel like this? We are about to Roe your vote in Roevember? Right!? We should

end up with a minimum 92 Senators and 392 House members, right?!? RIGHT!!!!!!

[markodochartaigh]

19. Yes

I don't think that Trump is the problem. I think that the authoritarianism of about one third of the US population is the problem, coupled with the apathy and ignorance of another third, and the fact that most of the nation's wealth and power are in the hands of a small proportion of the population which either is lukewarm on democracy or outright hostile to democracy. Trump is the draining pustule which, in a mentally healthy patient, would cause them to visit a doctor so that their cancer could be diagnosed and treated.

It seems that when a country falls to authoritarianism it takes more than a decade to struggle back to democracy even if there is a broad consensus that the problem exists. I think that it may well take a decade after the fall of democracy in the US before there is a realization among at least half the population that authoritarianism is in the US and that it is the problem.

Unfortunately, because of anthropogenic climate change, these are not normal times. Every IPCC report is worse and it seems that people are beginning to understand that our biosphere is in worse trouble than has been admitted, and in ways which have not all been predicted.

Naturally when people are afraid we regress and want a Strong Leader with quick and easy answers. Anthropogenic climate change surely must be the most fearsome opponent that humans have faced at least since the plague. Authoritarianism will likely be the most powerful force in the US for a long time to come.

[SoCalDavidS]

20. Yes

There's a reason I refer to America as a Shithole Country.

[BigmanPigman]

22. I am trying with effort not to get caught in any

negative thoughts. My instinct tells me we will prevail but I don't want to jinx it so I tell myself it can go either way. I am superstitious.

[vlyons]

23. Welcome to the Age of Kali Durga,

which is an age of degenerate times. From the Buddhist perspective, degenerate times provide ample opportunities to act with compassion and virtue. Lots of easy targets to be of benefit to others.

The #1 thing at the top of my To Do list is to get rid of all the dark corporate & oligarch money in politics. Corporations are not people. Canada does not allow corporate campaign contributions. So it is possible. Only citizens and maybe legal residents should be allowed to make contributions to a max reasonable amount, say $2500, per candidate. Next on my list would be expand the supreme court and require all the justices to adhere to a code of ethics the same as lower court judges are required to do. 3rd on my list is make Fed voting days a national paid holiday. I'm sure all you DUers have your own list of top things we need to do.

[harumph]

33. "Degenerate times" spot on.

Your To Do list makes sense and if only those rules were implemented, it would eliminate most of
the bullshit. I would also add: a non-trivial portion of the US is lying to themselves about the profound changes
to our lives that climate change will necesitate. Reality makes one reassess one's values. R's don't want this
so they tell people that they don't have to change their habits, notions, philosophies so as to avoid an
existential crisis. Of course the guys on the boards of big corporations see the end is near and they
don't want to panic the pedestrian class.

[vlyons]

34. The rich oligarchs can afford to ignore climate change

They can build a mega-villa, where climate change is not so much at its ill effects. Then they will die, and their problems will be over. For the rest of us -- screw us. Too bad, so sad. When our planet more resembles Venus, maybe it will be an opportunity for cockroaches and wasps to evolve into a more intelligent species. The meek shall inherit the earth.

[BlueTsunami2018]

24. The western democracies are falling to fascism.

There’s no one to play the Allies role this time around. That’s the scariest part of all this, there’s no one to step in and stop it this time.

[Cosmocat]

28. Correct

No one is jumping on boats to straighten things out, EITHER way, this time.

[eShirl]

25. Things will get much worse by virtue of the fact America is on Planet Earth.

Earth's climate is fucked and won't be getting better any time soon.

[Kaleva]

27. Yes, threads like this one show that people don't take climate change seriously.

[Kaleva]

26. With catastrophic climate change approaching, the situation will not get better

Enjoy the current years as much as you can because it's going to get really tough soon enough

[Elessar Zappa]

36. We can mitigate climate change effects with

the right adaptive techniques. Life will be a little tougher but we can survive.

[Kaleva]

38. True but how many people you know are doing that?

It could take years to prepare and may involve moving.

I myself have been preparing for years and still have a ways to go before I can say I've done about all I can do

I think many say they are concerned but they go about their lives like there's nothing to worry about.

[Elessar Zappa]

39. I'm planning on moving out of

southern New Mexico due to future water issues and a hotter, dryer climate. I’ll go to Vermont or somewhere in the Upper Midwest. First I gotta save my money though.

[Kaleva]

41. I'm not an expert but I think you have a very good plan

I've read reports from respected experts who say parts of New England and the Great Lakes region will become meccas for climate change refugees.

IMHO, the time to move would be very soon before large numbers of others do, before property prices plummet in areas being vacated and prices rise where people are moving to.

[Cosmocat]

29. It's only a matter of how bad it's going to get

We are in a death spiral, there is no pulling back at this point. These people have no idea what they are driving us into.

[ananda]

30. anti-christ

Whoda thunk it'd be someone
like tfg?

[betsuni]

31. Only if the worst case scenario happens.

Republicans gain control of Congress, the radical nuts are the ones in charge, do anything to destroy, Supreme Court do everything to destroy. Media of all kinds bash Democrats and blame them for everything bad, especially targeting left-leaning voters (pretending to be on the left but funded by dark money right-wingers). Biden will be primaried, wasting money and time and again targeting left-leaning voters to convince them not to vote. Next president is Republican, nuts get rid of all social safety nets, does their worst. That's the worst case scenario.

[kentuck]

32. One of my biggest fears...

...is that the Supreme Court will declare state legislatures, rather than the majority of voters in a state, will declare the winner of elections.

And we will be ruled by a minority Party.

[Chakaconcarne]

35. I didn't feel that way when I disconnected from the news over the summer...

There's a lot of shit going on, but there's also an incredible amount of noise.

The news tends to take isolated events and make them appear as if they're happening everywhere....social media does the same, but on steroids.

As I realize this, I'm spending less time on picking up day to day updates on just about everything and reducing it to weekly (or less) doses.. I don't need the roller-coastering of anxiety and reading about "what ifs" on a daily basis.

[Elessar Zappa]

40. I'm gonna disconnect after the midterms regardless who wins.

I need a mental health break. I’ll be back before long.

[LymphocyteLover]

37. Only if the GOP takes over after the midterms

which I am not convinced about

[Emile]

42. I hope you are wrong too!