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Feeling Miserable?

Forestwood 
Life on this planet is on time we borrow,
The cup runneth over with anguish and sorrow.
Now babies might live, but mothers can die,
Children quickly grow learning to fight, kill and lie.
Was it ever any fun to shoot a fully loaded gun?

There’s an uncertain undercurrent washing through the world. Do you sense it too?

Citizens are upset!

They’re sad and despairing of political decisions that affect them living their everyday lives. Some people feel powerless to enact any changes and some are.

These rumbles permeate even the happy, chatty blogosphere. Its normally positive tone hamstrung by irresponsible politicians across the waves.

We don’t know where our world is headed.

Greed emerges as the new weapon controlling our fate.

The ripples of greed spread far and wide.

An unlikely source has some wisdom for us:

  • Vote for Ethically conscious candidates
  • Write (email) to your politicians – write don’t tweet
  • Speak politics and community to your friends
  • Offer Solutions more than Problems
  • Talk, Discuss and Educate

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

45 thoughts on “Feeling Miserable?”

  1. Amanda, well said and good advice. One thing I would add, tell politicians when they have done something good, as well as bad. Doing the former gives you more license to do the latter. In my country, politicians no longer lead or govern. They run for office and fund raise most of the time. Keith

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Fund-raise, Keith?! And the tax dollar pays their wage, presumably? Are they fund raising for charity or themselves?
      Totally agree about telling your pollies when they do something right, as well.

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      1. Amanda, a former US Congressman says they walk across the street to a building and sit down at a cubicle with a call list. The Congressman said 1/3 or more of my time was devoted to fundraising for the party. Yes, that would be asking for money on our nickel. Keith

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  2. Getting involved is the key, even if its just locally. Staying away from the news media that use news and politics for entertainment purposes is important here in the US. Getting to know the candidates and what they stand for, beside their party is also important.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Bridget – I agree wholheartedly- #start there!! The spin-offs in getting to know your local community are well worth it! Security, friendships, networking, building and supporting local community.
      It seems that every voter should familiarise themselves with their candidates’ policies or at least the party’s general policies. How else could a person cast a vote responsibly?
      Local grass roots action has the greatest chance of success.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Bridget and Dorothy, the plethora of entertainment stories on news services reminds me of the Danish king who provided an amusement park in the centre of town to keep the peasants from revolting. Entertainment keeps them stupid, ignorant and compliant. It was a huge success for the Danish King….

        Liked by 1 person

  3. All good suggestions Amanda, and I think feeling you’re doing something positive also counteracts impending misery. I would add, if you have time, get involved in a positive community initiative or charity.

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    1. Getting involved in a charity is fundamental to good mental health for some. Personally, I think it is a duty of citizenship to help others, especially those struggling or less fortunate.

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  4. I think they have sprayed something in the air or water that has melted minds around here. You cannot have conversations with people who are not willing to hear anything but what they believe. I’m stuck in a state with rabid conservatives while I have a mellow liberal point of view. I hear them but they can’t seem to separate their church from our states. People easily disappear around here so I’ve learned to keep quiet and vote for the least destructive force. I can’t say there are m(any) Ethically conscious candidates around anymore. We are in BIG trouble. My heart is breaking.

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    1. People disappear? Good God! That is shocking to hear but sadly, believable. The rigidity of their bias is hard to understand. Pity might be a good antidote as is being a counter example of an alternate perspective, which, I have no doubt you and your family already are.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oddly enough, those sweet kids are also on the other side so conversations are carefully controlled or rarely had. I do not join them in family gatherings. I told my son I don’t want to spend hours trying to keep my mouth shut or trying to unlock tightly shut minds, including his. There are hundreds of miles of desert here. They are still missing a mail carrier from 20 years ago.

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      2. Oooh. That makes family very complicated. Just keep slowly chipping away at those hardliners when you feel strong enough. I don’t discuss politics with my father either as we vehemently disagree.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Agree with you of being positively involved. But sad scene, especially in India, with political, religious and class divides one has to be careful voicing thoughts in public.

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  6. People are so easily led by the media into ‘camps’ and then follow the party line, being unwilling to discuss or hear questions. Brexit broke up many good friendships….but all you can do is to persist in trying to move the agenda.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The political situation is quite volatile, Helen, after years of relative stability. You make a good point about people settling into a particular ‘camp,’ sometimes being compliant and unquestioning the party policies. I can’t say that I understand that. I prefer to scrutinise most narratives, but if I can be harsh with myself, I will go softer on the party I feel aligns more with my interests, trying to understand their reasoning for a decision I don’t really approve of. Sometimes a voter doesn’t have all the information presented to make a decision and that is why we must read as broadly as we can, so as to be better informed. Any party policy isn’t infallible.
      The promulgation of a, ‘them versus us,’ divide serves no one in the long run but does increase the level of fear in a community which tends to favour hard right politics. I have hopes for our new government that, at the moment seem more collaborative, as Peggy’s comment above, reflects. However, if push comes to shove and the opposition sympathetic media and lobbyists ‘knife,’ the incumbent government too often, that may change.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Politics has descended into something unpalatable in virtually all of the ā€œleadingā€ nations. There seems to be two categories. On the one hand, frighteningly aggressive and oppressive dictators with totalitarian states and expansive (invasive) intentions. On the other, bumbling idiots for whom fame seems to be the driving reason behind their role in the public eye and whose ability to govern is sadly absent. I honestly donā€™t know which of those I fear more. Weā€™re bungling our way towards disaster and itā€™s hard to see how it will get reversed. Probably not in my lifetime, I fear.

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    1. It is easy to catastrophise the global political situation, isn’t it, Phil and Michaela? Your description fits and the egos involved have perverted good leadership. However, as Peggy affirms, our new government here is a bit of fresh air, in the cesspool of divisive, fear-driven or media-driven popular politics. We are but a small country and this honeymoon period may not last; At least the current calls for collaboration might provide a glimmer of hope and our current leader is a more grounded individual. The big players need to have a hard look at themselves or else it won’t end well, and as a small country, we have little influence over that. Australia notoriously follows America in so many things that I hope we buck that trend.
      I was appalled at the banality of the short TV clip they broadcast at the round table chat at the leaders’ summit. Where are the inspirational intellectual summit talks, discussing the big issues?

      Liked by 1 person

  9. I agree with Keith. I disagree with our MP over almost everything, and tell him so often. But it’s only right to tell him when he does what I see as the right thing as well. He’s started to ‘stand up and be counted ‘ a bit more often recently. I like to think he’s listening to me šŸ˜‰

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I am so happy to hear that your local MP has stepped up and is listening to the voting electorate, with the caveat that if your electorate is full of gun-toting nutters, perhaps he/she might turn a blind ear occasionally. However, as my clever son pointed out, that is democracy and even if a viewpoint is anathema to us, if, and to me it is a big if, your electorate is full of people who have certain extreme or marginal views, then you as their elected representative should be putting that viewpoint forward. The nutters in our community are entitled to a voice even if we don’t agree with it. This is why it is important that all of us communicate with our reps. How many of us do that? My daughter is one who does it, quite regularly. Me, not as often these days.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Our first past the post system denies many of us a voice. In many constituencies, more people vote against rather than for the winning candidate, and remain unrepresented. Luckily, gun-toting nutters are not really an option in the UK – yet.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Sometimes I wonder if politicians were always so bad, or is it our pervasive social media that gives them more visibility and influence?

    I agree with you. Vocal action is one way of influencing politicians. For my part, I believe in truth vs sensation in the news. I look for fact-checked and informed information. When I see false, hyterical or ‘alt-‘ news, I delete it. Even if I can’t debunk it, I don’t disseminate it.

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  11. Iā€™m reminded of the 1963 movie title, Itā€™s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

    Russia invades Ukraine with near impunity. NATO stands by because what? Itā€™s not part of their code.

    In the USA, January 6 happened or did it. I see news highlights most everyday. People swear on a stack of bibles, one person says yes it happened like this, the next person says no thatā€™s completely wrong.

    Even in my own little town. Councillors try pulling the wool over our eyes.

    Itā€™s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

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  12. I think our new government is getting off to a reasonably good start, but we’ll see how they go. We often write to our local MPs. And they answer.

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