In Decline

I voted today. Yes, I know it’s early but I have to do an absentee ballot. And yes, I know I get a cookie for being a good American.

In a way though, it’s been a rather disheartening experience. There are SO many problems. There are SO many things that are fucked up to the point where it seems that they’ll never be fixed, even though people are like, “That will be a big priority of mine…” There are so many ways that the America of today is probably nothing like what previous generations imagined it would be like.

A week or so ago it was announced that the United States has officially reached a population of 300 million people (although experts agree that we technically hit that mark a while ago if you include illegal immigrants). This may seem like a good thing to some people, but not to me.

You see, humans are the only organisms on the planet who have no natural predators to keep our numbers down. And in a way, Agent Smith was right when he said that we have quite a bit in common with viruses-we all clump together in groups and suck the life and resources out of our surroundings.

I’m really not any kind of environmentalist in any stretch of the imagination. But we live on a planet with a finite amount of resources. Of course, we aren’t really going to run out of physical space to put people any time soon, but space isn’t the only thing people require.

According to population statistics, if current birth and death rates continue our current population of 300 million will DOUBLE within 80 years (see the statistics at http://www.worldpopulationbalance.org). Think about that. In the next 80 years we will have to build twice as many schools, hospitals, water treatment plants, power plants, and other infrastructure (that doesn’t even include updating or replacing old facilities that are already here).

Also, if the current trend of population sprawl continues our larger cities, which many are already packed to overflowing, will have to find space for TWICE the number of people there right now (because as with a virus, we like to clump together).

I have yet to find a single major political candidate within my districts who even mentions any kind of population control or even looking into how to lessen the impact of another 300 million citizens.

Then we have the problems of Social Security, health care, education, transportation, taxes, and so on and so forth. It seems that everyone says they’re going to deal with that stuff, but people have been saying it for years and nothing really changes.

I’m convinced that unless there is some kind of radical change within the American government and the American people (or unless I die before I hit 80), that I’ll live to see the American way of life crumble just like a dam that is holding back much more water than it can.

We like to think that our country is strong and that our way of life is secure, but we are like the first of the three little pigs who thought he was safe in his house of straw. All it would take is one good economic collapse to fuck things up good. Imagine if all the credit card companies and banks suddenly had to pay back all the money they owe, thus forcing people to pay the balances of their accounts (I’d be fucked on that one). Or what if one good natural disaster knocked out two or three major power plants (which could cause sustained regional to nationwide power failures)? Or if something else happened to push up oil prices to the point that trucking companies couldn’t operate and suddenly the free flow of goods throughout our country stopped?

The main reasons I’m against people having kids is a personal “moral” issue, but I think that it is becoming a much more practical one. I think people who get voluntarily sterilized before procreating should receive life-long tax benefits as an incentive to not reproduce. I also think that people should get taxed extra for each child they have past their second one (this wouldn’t include twins, triplets, etc. which would put the couple over their limit). And for those dumbasses who are completely irresponsible and are addicted to having kids and have eight, ten, twelve biological children I think they should be MADE to get sterilized and taxed up the ass and back out again. NO ONE needs that many kids.

All through history people have had something to look forward to and reach for when they looked to the future. Whether it was gaining freedom from oppressive rulers, exploring the New World, or going to the moon, people as a whole have had generational goals and aspirations. But we really don’t have anything left. The extent of our societal ambitions is to try and fix problems that have been brewing for years. We have no more high and lofty things to reach for.

Anyhow, I know I haven’t been here in forever. Most of that is cause I just haven’t felt like writing, and part is because I’ve been busy remodeling my house.

I won’t give you any of the many in-between pictures I took, but I’ll give you some pics of what my bathroom did look like and what it looks like now (I’m almost done with it), and some pics of what my kitchen and dining room looked like (I’m getting close to being done with that, but have no current pics that have been developed).

Before

After

And the kitchen/dining room

*****
“You are all fucked and over-rated
I think I’m gonna be sick and it’s your fault
This is the end of everything
This is the end of everything
I haven’t slept since I woke up and found
My whole life was a lie, motherfucker
This is the end of everything
You are the end of everything.”
*
Slipknot