About seven years ago I did have an "automatic attitudinal response that reared its rigid head when my values were challenged." I have always been for gun-control. And one fateful day I needed a gun and didn't have it. Only through the grace of God was my life preserved. Yes, it took a life-threatening experience to change this particular attitudinal response of mine. I have since learned to recognize said responses and be able to, "stand outside myself," if you will, and be open to other perspectives. Yes, I do have strong opinions about abortion, family, capital punishment, heaven, (especially gun rights!) God (yes, I capitalized it) and gay marriage. Strangely enough I do not have a strong opinion about President Barrack Obama. I am self-aware enough to know I do have an attitudinal response when his name is mentioned; however, it is one of indifference. Maybe my Social Media Feed picked up on that because there was no rhetoric on my feed whatsoever concerning him and the #sotu. This I'm aware of and have my own personal reasons why, but I don't believe anyone on this site cares, so onward.
You move straight from our attitudinal responses on different topics to "how they shape our reality, one in particular, that it's all going to shit." Interesting, did you just make a generalization about "our" reality? Whose reality? Southern Utah? The LDS Church? Student's at Dixie State? Student's in particular Comm 3480? Muslims? The FLDS Church? Citizens of Hurricane? I can confidently say this is NOT MY reality. But then again, I wasn't raised in Southern Utah, or in a predominantly LDS Community, near preppers etc....Annnnnnnnd I didn't grow up with TV, and apparently didn't study the teachings of John the Revelator. So my reality and culture is obviously different than one you apparently have lived in for the last 30 years. I was taught to be self-sufficient, work hard, prepare for a rainy day, because living in this physical world there were times, things went "to shit," especially if you made a living off the land. I have lived through a seven year drought in eastern Oregon; cows breaking down a fence and a train slaughtering 28 head of my parent's cows; they had to open the Malheur Dam one year and ruined all of our fields at the river bottoms, which resulted in devastating financial loss; my Dad and brothers had to sit in fields at dawn and shoot coyotes in the calving field, because the coyotes were eating the baby calves AS they were being born. I myself was involved in three car accidents before I turned 18. These were all major life-changing events during my growing up years. All times where things, "went to shit." But never did I hear of my parent's talking about the end of the world. In fact, the first time the topic was brought up for discussion was after I was 40 years old and my Mother had "Tivo'd" The Walking Dead for my kids. I had no idea what it was. My kids then proceeded to tell me and then and only then was "The end of the world," ever discussed. The Zombie Apocolypse - how would we ever survive? All of a sudden I was a hero because I am (and readily admit) a food hoarder. That stems from being in the Construction field where paychecks are not steady and sometimes seasonal. So even if we couldn't pay the bills, I always made sure we could eat.
And again, "this attitude is in step with the notion of how terrible everything is." Who said, everything is terrible? Whose attitude? Do I not know this because I don't watch the evening news? Do we (My family) have our struggles? Absolutely. Personally, professionally, financially, emotionally......but even in my darkest hours I never felt life was terrible. Am I missing out on something? Is there some pandemic in the US I'm not aware of?
Yes, "We all have our own indicators that make up that dichotomy of how life is going." But really, if you're waiting for life to be going the way you want it to be going before you make the choice to be happy, you're going to wait awhile. I know in my own life if I am not happy, I have to check my gratitude thermometer. Those of us who have been on this earth, a few trips around the sun know, that external circumstances do not frame your happiness. There are filthy rich people who are miserable and there are monetarily challenged people suffering the pangs of poverty that exude joy. It is a conscious choice.
One thing I will agree with you, "There's a correlation to the increase in the amount of folks who are online and the declining line on the z axis of those who are less happy." Could that be because we are on-line comparing ourselves to our friends' perfect lives? The lives of which they only choose to show us what they want to show us. Personally for me, I know that the more active I am in my "Physical World," and I just "Check-in" to my "Online World," the happier I am. When I feel particularly out of sorts is when I need to look at my on-line time and adjust accordingly. If I am living in my "On-line World," and I'm just checking in to my "Physical World," it's obvious my happiness quotient is suffering.
So the end of the world may be in a billion years, or we as a human race will engage in "mutual destruction," as Dr. Klackle suggested, or as I believe (Someday) the Second Coming will happen but when it does.....it will be a GREAT and dreadful Day. I'm looking forward to the GREAT part.
Until then, I hope I can remember to always be grateful no matter my circumstances.
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