There are many people who mistrust the mainstream media with good reason (MSM) because it is controlled either by specific corporate interests or government sponsored messages that attempt to manipulate the public into compliance or at least a specific view point. It's great that there are those of us who question the honesty and editorial slant of the MSM. I believe that these so-called ALT views (from alternative media) help to keep independence alive in terms of viewpoints and bringing out facts that portions of the MSM attempt to bury.
The irony is that many of the alt news readers and contributors become so persuaded by specific authors or views that they stop evaluating if their favorite author or website is true, probable or even possible. When a lot of us who enjoy and support alternative news and views websites like this one lose that perspective, it reduces the credibility of all of us. Many times in the past I have said this, there are people who profit from "Fear Porn" by selling books, newsletters, or support for their websites. It alternately amazes and discourages me when it looks like there are people with no memory. If the events and warnings of those who sell Fear Porn have utterly failed to happen in the past, why would you believe the latest scare is any different?
Were you alive in 2000, do you remember all the predictions of a computer apocalypse because in many case the year was being treated as if it were only the last two digits - Nothing freaking happened!
Were you alive in 2012, do you remember the predicted Mayan Apocalypse - Nothing freaking happened!
Were you alive in 2008 when Obama was elected president during the "Great Recession"- Some people acted like it was the end of their world! Yet has your actual life changed that much since then?
Do you remember "Planet X" that was originally supposed to destroy the world in 2000? Surprise, surprise we are still here and there was never any "Planet X" to be seen in 2000 or 2012 or any other year.
Least we feel that all this nonsense is modern, in 1910 the approaching Halley's Comet was discover to have traces of the poisonous gas cyanogen in its tail. There were people sure all life on earth would perish from this gas - unless they bought a gas mask or some magic elixir. Guess what, the comet was pretty and interesting but definitely not deadly.
There are risks in the world and causes to rally around. But the more over the top the the scenarios are the less likely they they will actually become real and the more likely you are being milked of cash by some Fear Porn fanatic. It will always be wise to be prepared for real dangers and problems - Including storms, economic downturns, or a personal health crisis. There might even be wars at some place or another, but I seriously doubt there is any realistic likelihood of a new World War on the scale of WW2 or even the Cold War. The last thing you should do is spend your savings or run up your credit cards in preparation for events that are extraordinarily unlikely when you would be better off having savings and available credit for the events that come much more often like a storm or serious illness in the family or a job loss.
I will vote one way in the upcoming US presidential election, you may vote the other way. I'm not so sure any of us are completely satisfied with any of the choices. But I trust the US constitution and over 200 years of history in our governmental institutions. There are checks and balances built in at the Federal, State, and local levels. We have had good presidents, bad presidents, and even seriously incompetent presidents and individual members of congress and the judiciary and yet our nation survived. I trust that regardless of who is elected, things won't change that much. Most actual governmental power is in congress which consists of 100 senators and 435 Representatives elected from the 50 US states. Regardless of how the presidential election works out, it is highly probable that Congress will not change that much in its total makeup. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans will have a super-majority and they will have to compromise or be deadlocked, which isn't always bad. That means neither a great president nor a terrible president can actually do much to change yours and my life. So take a deep breath and don't let either side get you too worked up.
