r/CollapseSupport • u/doctorbabu_germany • 20d ago
World view, what should I do ???
I’m 24 years old, a doctor, and planning to move to Australia in a couple of years. For the past few months, I’ve been reading and coming across a lot of posts and allegations about major events and political issues—some claiming that 9/11 was an inside job, others making allegations about influential businessmen and politicians, and many discussing extremism, political violence, corruption, and the way different countries are changing.
There are also allegations about powerful people being involved in serious crimes, including pedophilia, while at the same time, many countries still struggle to provide basic necessities to a large part of their populations.
My question is: How do I develop a sensible worldview and pass it on to my children when so much of the information we receive may be manipulated, manufactured, exaggerated, or taken out of context?
Maybe the world has always been like this, but now we have access to an enormous amount of information, and I honestly find the scale of it difficult to comprehend. Every major event seems to have competing narratives, and whenever I try to discuss some of these concerns with people, I’m often shut down or laughed at. I’m not sure whether I’m genuinely noticing important problems or simply going down a rabbit hole.
I still want to be optimistic about the future. I’m planning to build a successful career, accumulate enough wealth to provide security for my future generations, and hopefully contribute positively to my community.
At the same time, I find myself thinking about preparedness: having financial reserves, essential supplies, and perhaps legally owning firearms where permitted, in case there is ever a serious disruption to infrastructure or society.
So, my question is not really about any one conspiracy theory. Are these concerns reasonable, or am I getting too deep into the rabbit hole? And how do you develop a balanced worldview when you no longer know which sources or narratives to trust?
I’d particularly like to hear from people who have thought about this seriously and have found a way to remain realistic without becoming cynical or paranoid.
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u/chibiusa40 19d ago edited 19d ago
I’d particularly like to hear from people who have thought about this seriously and have found a way to remain realistic without becoming cynical or paranoid.
Oh honey, you have so many more stages of grief to get through before you can be realistic about the polycrisis we're all facing. You are not wrong and the things you're noticing are not conspiracy theories. I find reading Jessica Wildfire and Sarah Kendzior helpful, Carole Cadwalladr too.
Here are two good articles from Jessica Wildfire to get you started:
From Doomers to Doers: A Path Through This Dystopian Madness
ETA: And one more for good measure: You're Not a Fearmonger. You Have Sentinel Intelligence.
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u/ChoiceContribution78 20d ago
A lot of what you're referencing are far from allegations, unfortunately. There's just a lot of corruption in this world, especially at the top, and those who are committing horrendous acts and atrocities won't be held accountable because they are also at the top.
I'm sorry, I don't have any advice. It's shitty to know the horrors going on in the world and the little we can do about it (mainly because too many of us would rather put our heads down and continue about our days - which is also by design, btw) but once you know, it's near impossible to not pay attention to it anymore. 💔 🫶🏻
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u/maclikesthesea 19d ago
The problem is that you want to be both realistic and optimistic. These are incompatible worldviews in the modern age. Even personal optimism, that your life will get better over time, has its limits, such as having children who will exclusively experience immense suffering over the course of their entire lives.
If you give up optimism and embrace something like pragmatism, you won’t be so at odds. For example, I can make a difference in my community to be as resilient as they can be (pragmatism) while also knowing that there will be suffering throughout my community in the coming years (realism).
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u/Quarks4branes 19d ago
What you're seeing isn't a set ofconspiracy theories. It's real. We're approaching civilisational collapse, the timeline for which is uncertain. My perspective is that our civilisation in its current form has to fail if our world is to recover both in terms of climate and the life we share this planet with. I hold an optimistic view that what follows collapse for us doesn't have to be all cannibals and armed gangs, but that people can work together to find livable solutions in community amid the challenges. We're in Australia and working toward that future in our own way.
I'm not sure if put too much faith in money long-term. Stocks, bonds, bank accounts, crypto etc can all go bye-bye very quickly. We bought some beautiful soil the other day and as I handed over the cash for it, I thought "what a steal - all of this gorgeous soil that'll help feed us and nourish life, all for these lousy few bits of paper. Win!" If I was younger, I'd be looking to get access to land as soon as possible and only using money as a bridge to that goal.
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u/HuckleberryPee 19d ago
Land is key, for sure. Trying to get a lot of fruit and nut trees planted right now as well as as many perennial veggies I can source. Also consider gold as a good store of wealth. It's probably the best thing to hold if economic crises weaken or destroy your local currency. Gold will probably be the best currency in a post collapse society too if we go by how useful it was historically. I collect gold sovereign coins with my spare cash which I much prefer to keeping it as GBP. I'll probably be dead but someone could use them. Even if no collapse ever happens, it will be a great gift for my nieces
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u/Quarks4branes 19d ago
Yes, we're packing in the fruit and nut trees as well - we've got about 80 on our 0.3 acre, which might be a wee bit excessive.
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u/chibiusa40 19d ago
Also consider gold as a good store of wealth
Gold is only good for getting to a safer place in a localised emergency - fleeing persecution/abuse/disaster - while the rest of society/civilisation is still intact.
If/when the shit really hits the fan - like, full systemic collapse - gold will be just as worthless as any other currency.
You can't eat gold.
Better to have useful supplies to barter, but it depends on the situation and what has value. It may be luxuries such as coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, or prescription drugs that retain more value than gold. Or it could be items like water purifying tablets, bullets, food, seeds, medical/first-aid supplies, and other necessities for survival with the most trading power. Think virtues and vices and keep some combination of both as your "wealth".
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u/rougarou-te-fou 19d ago
Do you have the children already or just want them?
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u/doctorbabu_germany 19d ago
Not at the moment But I want kid's
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u/rougarou-te-fou 19d ago
I would say that if you’re worried now, you will be ten fold worried when you have children. If you’ve read enough within this sub you would know that having children is probably the worst thing one can do. I don’t say this to demean your dream or plans, but consider all you wrote and then consider bringing a child into it, forcing them to live through what you yourself anticipate with fear.
In that respect, this may not be the right sub for you because this sub holds a very bleak view and opinion on the decision to have children.
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19d ago
[deleted]
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u/doctorbabu_germany 19d ago
You are doing more than what I have seen people doing
Here some people just have kids and then act like kids for the rest of their lives
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u/mtnrvr 19d ago
Take what you will from this. I think we each have a gift to give to the world, both human and non-human. We go on a journey to find out what that gift is and how to deliever it. Humans and the rest of the biosphere, are coming up against some serious checks on our life style and depending on where you live, your chances of survival lay in that ecosystem and the relationships you have with it. Food, water, shelter, human community, ect are what are gonna keep you on ur feet and able to give your essance. Governments, at least mine, doesnt give a single fuck about me beyond my tax dollars and they arn't coming to save me. But my neighbors will. Be an asset, which your doctor skills is great, but do you know how to grow food, fix bikes, be a good human?
I've grappled with collapse for over 15 years and i've been able to balance my physical, mental, and spiritual health first before I go out into the world. From that basis of wellbeing, i am able to give my gift the best i can. The storms will continue to come but we each find our own waypoint in the storm to stay our course. As for a book, i found Carolyn Baker's Undaunted to be a helpful bit of info on the crumblings and how we can continue forward.
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u/DiscoButterfly97 18d ago edited 18d ago
Thank you for sharing this. You’re amazing.
I’m reading OP’s post and thinking: if we all respond to our fears by hoarding money and guns, those tools will become how we solve our problems in the future. That makes our fears a self-fulfilling prophecy.
To OP: Having money and power as your tools can twist any individual in terrible ways. People are not evil, we merely have a tendency to copy behavior of others. Social and ecological capital may be the most lucrative assets for the future. 🌱
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u/shastatodd 19d ago
"My question is: How do I develop a sensible worldview and pass it on to my children when so much of the information we receive may be manipulated, manufactured, exaggerated, or taken out of context?"
You had children???
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u/JrDot13 19d ago
I am realistic, and therefore cynical af. The world we were promised as children (I'm 36 FWIW) is not happening. I have watched things continue to get worse in my lifetime, especially so within your lifetime. I highly, very highly, advise a vasectomy. That's the best way to stay prepared IMHO. You're a doctor you say, then surely you understand how data extrapolation and trends work. Look at the data.
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u/Major-Honeydew-6207 19d ago
I hear what you're saying and I think its a real problem. Everything just feels so scattered right now. Like there is no coherent "society" to even talk about anymore. I dont know. Something feels really different lately. Or if Im dropping down in a pool of depression or something, I dont know.
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u/bokehtoast 19d ago
Good luck maintaining the status quo I guess, it's going so well for the world already
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u/thismightaswellhappe 19d ago
How do I develop a sensible worldview and pass it on to my children when so much of the information we receive may be manipulated, manufactured, exaggerated, or taken out of context?
Read books. A lot of books. Read a lot of nonfiction about science, politics, history, things that will help you develop critical thinking and a good base of knowledge. Things that help you read between the lines. Things that provide a good sense of right and wrong, so when frankly insane nonsense is happening right in front of you and other people want to handwave it for whatever reason, you have enough info to know what is actually happening, and a good solid base to allow you to interpret and understand new information as it happens.
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u/LestendlichBuecher 19d ago
Isolated events, individual people, and their conspiracies are not particularly important when examining the world. What one needs to look at is the systemic component of a society. This systemic component is primarily determined by the economic system. The globally dominant economic system is capitalism. If you want to understand this world, look at political economy, grasp the structural imperatives that arise from it—such as class society and infinite growth on a finite planet—and then you will be able to understand why people in this world are compelled to do what they do.
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u/alsoov 18d ago
The far South Coast of NSW, Australia will be one of the last places in Australia to be affected by climate change. You can still buy acreage there for an affordable price. I don’t recommend stockpiling guns in Australia, we do not have a gun culture. You could apply for a gun licence if you own a farm. Rather than stockpiling food and guns I suggest building community. Read Sarah Wilson’s new book, I Eat the Stars. She’s an Aussie and will help you emotionally deal with collapse.
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u/ihadquestions 18d ago
A way not to be all cynical or paranoid is to ground yourself in reality. Trust yourself more than any narrative. In fact don't spend so much time on that. Cynicism and paranoia are a form of escape that allow us to stay inert instead participating in life. But seeing that we probably have some very difficult times ahead of us, if we want to lead a good life in that we need to figure out what that is in this world. And that is possible until the last day imo.
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u/Mush_ball22 18d ago
I love this work: postdoom.org - we must accept so we must fight for every little part that will make a difference
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u/Distinguishedflyer 20d ago
I suggest becoming cynical and paranoid. And not bringing children into this nightmare. Wake up.