Reading harold_maude's journal

Last night a few of us got into an intersting disgussion. The Roman Empire and the similaity of the United States to the Roman Empire when it fell.

The middle class had disapeared, the morals of the women were gone, and only the rich and the poor existed.
The roman empire was at that time in the process of trying to take over the world, and the state of focus was on pleasure.
The economic structure was failing.
It's amazing the similarities.

It seems that every major society that has suffered a collapse has gone through similar events in the process.
Last night wasn't the first time that someone has brought up the subject.
It won't be the last I'm sure.

The difference is how far away from being hunter-gathers each society has been when the collaps occured.
The romans were about two steps away.
We are light years away.
Our technology is so advanced in terms of our being dependant on things rather than on ourselves to survive.
We suffer from a sever lack of patients. Nearly everything is based on how fast it gets to us, and if it goes beyond a certian time frame, then frustration ensues.

When the collaps comes it will be far more devistating than any other collapse before it.
We have basicly put ourselves in a place that the things that will help us survive have become lost to several generations.

A prime example of this is the organic farm. Many, many years ago to farm with out the aid of chemicals or gentics people planted seed, and when it was time to harvest they did.
They had learned how to preserve the harvest from their parents and so it was something that was just part of life.
Today, the organic farm is somewhat of a unique thing, and most people arn't quite sure what the term organicly grown means.

Many children in this country believe that the only place to get real food is from the supermarket or some fast food place.
They have no idea that it comes out of the ground on a farm, and it goes to a processing plant and has things added to it to make it taste a certian way, and if it doesn't taste a certian way, then it's not good to eat.

If their parents grow a garden, and they have to pull weeds they see that as some terrible thing, some kind of punishment.
And would rather be spending their time doing more usefull things like playing video games or going to the mall or riding their bikes, or watching t.v.
For several generations the children growing up have had less and less direction, more and more access to serogate activites and end up as adults asking themselves at one point or another, is this all there is.
We are a nation that is saturated in bordom, and in a constant battle to keep ourselves entertained in one way or another.
We have lost the ablity to survive.

The people who have the most knowledge of survival are the thoes who live in rural areas, and the homeless. We have enslaved ourselves to money.
One way or another it rules this society. And thoes who choose to walk away and live delibertly are an odity.

One of the things that came up last night was a study done by an anthropologist who went into a village to study the habbits of a certian tribe of people.
They hunted, ate, played drums and spent hours laying in hammocs just looking up.
He asked one of the men if they ever got bored. The man had no idea what bordom was.
It was a foriegn idea to the people of the tribe.
They lived life, and knew what their life was and it was good.
Simple.

Bordom drives alot of people to find things to fill their lives because there is an empty space and they can't figure out why.
We've lost our ablity to survive and exchanged knowing who we are for a wandering state of discontent.

When this society collapes, there will be a kind of madness that the world has only seen in smaller degrees.
People will head for the larger cities where they have come to expect food and jobs are, and no one living in thoes cities will be safe.

When it comes, I want to be as far away from the populated areas as I can. I know some other people who feel the same way.
Maybe we will become a tribe. And once again gain what we've lost.

I don't know how soon it will occur, but it reminds me of Mt. Rainer, it's not a matter of if it will blow, it's a matter of when.

Fantastic post! And at last I have some time to write a reply. :)

They have no idea that it comes out of the ground on a farm, and it goes to a processing plant and has things added to it to make it taste a certian way, and if it doesn't taste a certian way, then it's not good to eat

There's a difference alright. Personally I love the taste of organicly grown food. There's just something about it... it's less greasy, less rubbery, and it doesn't come in an airsealed plastic package. :p

My family doesn't grow too much ourselves right now. But a few days ago we had our very own home-grown potatos. They tasted great for so many reasons: no packaging, no processing, no pesticides (and also butter, sour cream, and bacon bits). ;)

The food-system is I think the most skewed element of our society.

The average morsel of food eaten in North America has travelled 2,000 miles to get there.

That really blew my mind when I first read it. 2,000 miles. and it's not a matter of just getting that isn't grown nearby. From a recent issue of adbusters:

New Zealand is 7,500 miles from the Okanagan valley of British Columbia, Canada. So why are BC grocery stores flush with New Zealand apples when perfectly good ones are grown in the Okanagan? In 2002, BC apple exports totalled 77 million pounds, while apple imports from New Zealand and elsewhere ran to 111 million pounds

Another graph demonstrated that this sort of Import-what-you're-exporting is similar with other types of food. The environmental impact of this is huge, not to mention the affect on our health and eating habits.

Maybe we will become a tribe. And once again gain what we've lost

I can only hope there are enough people who feel this way. I have the will, I want to stop the destruction, I want to increase my survival ability. But no one can do it alone. We must stop fighting this planet. When we try to conquer it, we lose no matter what.

You're here, aren't you? You're talking to me, aren't you?

This post was edited by Bunk on Oct 16, 2004.

Thank you. Nice to see you here again.

I spent most of my life in Washington state and even though we had alot of produce being grown in the state, much of it was transported else where.

We also lot alot of things being transported in. And what always made me scratch my head was the stuff that was grown local was almost always more expensive.

Even the beef and chicken. The imported chickens from Arkansas were always cheaper. I always questioned how healthy they were because I knew about how chickens raised on corporate farms are given growth hormones and get so big so fast that their internal organs never have time to catch up.
And they get so big from the hormones that they can't support their own weight. It's pretty nasty.
I've eaten chickens raised with out hormones and they taste better. But it all comes down to profit.
That money thing again.

It's amazing what healthy land can produce. Unfortunately not everyone out there agrees with that seniment.

We harvested some potatoes that were massive in size here a couple of weeks ago. I think a couple of them must have weighed 3 or 4 pounds at least. I know they'll never fit on a dinner plate. Their too big.

The broccoli that was harvested here last year was the size of dinner plates. I'd never seen anything that big.
It tasted awesome too. The beets and turnips were huge too.

I know your right about what happens when we fight the planet and the loss that occurs.

I've found that the best way to start making a change is to start where you can, and educate yourself, and your children.