Me – Armageddon Survey

I don’t do a lot of surveys but after glancing at the questions that were part of this one I decided to give it a go. So lets go.

Obtained from Peter_24601, who obtained it from Asea.

Death

1. Complete this sentence. Death is:

Inevitable. The plain and simple fact is that everyone in the world will eventually die. The wear and tear on one’s body leads to it. What matters is how you use the time you have.

2. What is the extent of your ‘experience’ with Death?

Minimal. I’ve been in.. two car accidents that left me unscathed save for a few bumps and bruises. I once sailed through an interaction on my bike just as the light turned red, which was about as close as I’ll get to a near death experience. I’ve seen in on TV and the Internet, but never up close and personal. I like it that way.

3. How many funerals/memorials have you attended, that were for non-relatives?

I’ve never, that I remember, attended a funeral.

4. What is your greatest fear, when it comes to Death?

Good question. I rarely think about it. I don’t really have any coherent fears, save for the common fear that most would have when faced with imminent death. Beyond that it is simply an abstract concept to me. Sort of the thing that happens to other people all the time, just not me.

5. What do you think the Afterlife holds for you?

Assuming there is one, I hope they have good computer games and good music. Good friends too.

War(What is it good for?)

1. How many wars (involving your country with another country) have you been alive for?

Having lived since 1978, I’ve been alive for a few, but none of serious global note. Until recently, I hadn’t been keeping track. I suppose I was a little like most Americans, where I was more concerned with my immediate area more than anything else. But things change.

2. In your opinion, what was the most pointless war (involving your country with another country) in history?

That’s hard.. all wars have a pointlessness to them really. The futile waste of human potential. Who among those killed could have moved on to do great things had they not been claimed by bomb or bullet? How many young men that were drafted long ago would have become famous doctors.. scientists. In the end all wars, no matter who is aggressor or defender nor what pointless bauble is being fought over is worth the waste of potential.

3. Complete this sentence. Most wars are started because:

The leaders involved don’t find a way to resolve their conflicts or one of the leaders is a power hungry mad man who, unfortunately, must be put down because of malicious aggression. In the end, its just the base, regrettable nature of humans to have such regrettable events come to pass.

4. Who was the last person you fought with: physically and/or verbally?

Hard to say.. I haven’t been in many physical confrontations. Most were back when I was young and stupid. Now I am older and not quite as clueless as I was then. If you count internet forums as ‘verbal’, I’ve been having light scuffles with some other individuals on the current war in Iraq. But it never comes to any real anger.

5. If you are holding a grudge against someone right now, who is it against and for what reason?

I hold a permanent grudge against the abusers and the violators in human societies who exploit their own people. Be they like Saddam, who vies with Bush for my general ire or be it the brutish husband who smacks around his wife. All are reprehensible, all get no love from me.

Famine

1. Have you ever donated anything to food drives, food programs like “Meals-on-Wheels”?

A few times, I think. But right now my ‘aid efforts’ are more focused.

2. Have you sponsored a child in poverty?

No. I’m leery of such things. How am I to know a child gets the money I send?

3. If you were only allowed one type of food to live on, what would it be?

Steak Gordita Supreme, no sour cream.

4. Which country (other than your own) would you, as president, give famine aid to?

Africa. That whole country has some serious issues and needs help.

5. Have you ever fasted, and if so, for how long?

I sort of fast every once in a while, when I intentionally or mistakenly forget to eat a meal or two in a row. Beyond that, I tend to keep mostly well fed.

Pestilence

1. What ailment or disease (that you have a high probability of catching), are you most afraid of contracting?

Anything excessively painful, disfiguring or likely to cause me to break out in a terminal case of death.

2. Do you have any diseases or ailments, currently?

I probably have allergies, but they’re minor and I never take anything for them.

3. What do you consider to have been the worst pestilence to plaque mankind?

For sheer mass destruction? Bubonic Plague. For insidious exploitation of human nature? AIDs. If we humans could control ourselves and be a little more aware of the world around us and our responsibilities to it, AIDs might die out in a few generations. Instead we have malicious idiots spreading it voluntarily and people too afraid to lose their sex life or partner to see if they have it after their mass orgies of base carnality. Or just sleeping around with one too many people in the same week.

4. What do you take when you have a cold?

Chicken Soup and LotR: Fellowship of the Rings DVD.

5. Have you ever been sick enough to be hospitalized; if so, what for?

Not that I recall.

Chaos

1. In an emergency, how do you often react?

With caution, but I’m rarely in an emergency situation.

2. If there was rioting in your neighborhood, what would you do?

Stay locked in my basement with one of my cheap knock off swords. Best to ride it out and let the authorities handle it without my being in their way or adding to the chaos.

3. Do you have any panic or anxiety disorders?

Not that I’m aware of.

4. How much of a neat freak are you?

Not much of one. I live my life in general disorder, but try to keep it from getting too nasty.

5. What government (monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, etc), would you rather live under?

The fictional state of Unification, in which all are focused toward a goal without the loss of individuality. I hope that such a state is the future of man, but I don’t hold out great hope.

AND FINALLY… how do you picture the end of the world?

Currently?

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
– T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men

Also aptly used at the beginning of Stephen King’s The Stand.