| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13] > | Off topic: Does anyone else feel this way? Thread poster: Paulo Roberto
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It feels not only like “something wicked this way comes,” but also as though the whole world is holding its breath. As if we are all waiting for a catalyst, a sign, an event that will finally break this strange suspension, this sense of being on hold. There is a vague, unshakable unease, as though something terrible is lurking just beyond our sight, drawing steadily closer. I’ve lost count of how many people have confessed they wish whatever is coming would simply arrive already—t... See more It feels not only like “something wicked this way comes,” but also as though the whole world is holding its breath. As if we are all waiting for a catalyst, a sign, an event that will finally break this strange suspension, this sense of being on hold. There is a vague, unshakable unease, as though something terrible is lurking just beyond our sight, drawing steadily closer. I’ve lost count of how many people have confessed they wish whatever is coming would simply arrive already—that the waiting, the dread of the unseen, is more unbearable than the thing itself.
The above was a YouTube comment, but it is so relatable… ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise 
Belgium
Local time: 18:32
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
That YouTube comment is vague enough to apply at any given point in time.
But it is clear that the world order we have known for decades is changing at a dazzling speed. This leads to massive insecurity and a lot of questions about the immediate and not so immediate future. So obviously a lot of people, myself included, will sort of feel this way.
What's depressing is that I grew up in the eighties and nineties (born in 1978), a time of optimism about the future (end of... See more That YouTube comment is vague enough to apply at any given point in time.
But it is clear that the world order we have known for decades is changing at a dazzling speed. This leads to massive insecurity and a lot of questions about the immediate and not so immediate future. So obviously a lot of people, myself included, will sort of feel this way.
What's depressing is that I grew up in the eighties and nineties (born in 1978), a time of optimism about the future (end of the Cold War, fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, more democracy, increasingly more equal rights...). But since the election of Obama in 2008, the last really joyful global event as far as I'm concerned, but with expectations he never lived up to, things are increasingly fast going downhill with an absolute low (in my lifetime) since the second election of Trump. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paulo Roberto
Local time: 14:32
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER | Indeed, what a constrast | Aug 29, 2025 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
...things are increasingly fast going downhill with an absolute low (in my lifetime) since the second election of Trump.
His second term is being incredibly bad.
The eighties and nineties were so colorful and hopeful with that blissful innocence. The contrast could not be more stark compared to today's complicated and uncertain times.
Thank you for your response and interesting perspective, Lieven. I was wondering whether my post would receive any replies.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 18:32
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Paulo Roberto wrote:
Thank you for your response and interesting perspective, Lieven. I was wondering whether my post would receive any replies.
You're welcome. My view is of course from a Western-European perspective. I'm not sure that events like the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet-Union are seen as equally important in other parts of the world.
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Paulo Roberto
Local time: 14:32
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER | Watershed moments | Aug 29, 2025 |
Yes, those were events with a global impact, in my opinion.
Here in Brazil, it's still being talked about today.
It is intriguing that history appears to move in 80-year cycles of crisis and renewal, and we have reached a full cycle now since World War II ended.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 18:32
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Paulo Roberto wrote:
Yes, those were events with a global impact, in my opinion.
Here in Brazil, it's still being talked about today.
It is intriguing that history appears to move in 80-year cycles of crisis and renewal, and we have reached a full cycle now since World War II ended.
Indeed. History tends to repeat itself. It never happens the exact same way, but nowadays you need little imagination to understand that war eventually once more will come upon Western-European countries, something that was basically unimaginable 20 years ago.
I was still raised with great awareness of the horrors of WW2 and the Shoah, but there's not much left of that these days if you look at the awareness young people have, the global numbness about the genocide and severe violations of human rights in Gaza and at the "popularity" of authoritarian leaders. That's exactly why I believe it all will happen again eventually. In hinsight we were extremely naive to believe that "no more war" was actually possible.
My, it's definitely not "International Day of Optimism" today. 😊
[Bijgewerkt op 2025-08-29 11:21 GMT]
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:32
Italian to English
| They want war | Aug 29, 2025 |
The people who want war seem to be in command of all the mainstream news media. Fortunately we don't have to rely on the mainstream news media. Don't let them get you down.
"The people, unfortunately, are still very ignorant, and are kept in ignorance by the systematic efforts of all the governments, who consider this ignorance, not without good reason, as one of the essential conditions of their own power"- Bakunin
| | | | | I totally second that! | Aug 29, 2025 |
for me, it feels (has been so for a while now) just like the title of that Berman book: "all that is solid melts into air"
times of rapid and massive changes in technology, economics, politics, social structure(s), ways of life etc. (and thus, times of vast uncertainty emerging in a lot of forms and aspects) have a way of hassling, even haunting one in the mind and in the soul, which I find quite understandable given we are beings with limited spans of existence and the world around... See more for me, it feels (has been so for a while now) just like the title of that Berman book: "all that is solid melts into air"
times of rapid and massive changes in technology, economics, politics, social structure(s), ways of life etc. (and thus, times of vast uncertainty emerging in a lot of forms and aspects) have a way of hassling, even haunting one in the mind and in the soul, which I find quite understandable given we are beings with limited spans of existence and the world around us keeps getting more and more complicated and unpredictable every other day, overwhelming us with the crushing sense of losing control.
then again, I'd like to maintain my faith in human-beings' amazing capability of making things right when they need/have to, which Marx defines as "yet man does change in the course of history... he develops himself, he transforms himself, he is the product of history, and since he makes his history, he is his own product."
and I choose to (and I do think this is a choice to be made - this much at least) uphold my hope for things to take a turn for the better, sing along with Baez: "we shall overcome".
well, "maybe I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" (or am I?)
[Edited at 2025-08-29 13:05 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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It's funny how so many people in Europe seem so obsessed with Trump, a foreign leader whose policies don't have nearly as much impact as those of our own oftentimes incompetent leaders. Is Trump responsible for the chronic shortage of affordable housing in Europe? Is he responsible for the excessive immigration we've seen here in recent years and decades, which, incidentally, is the main cause of the shortage of housing being experienced in so many European countries? I don't think so.
| | | | | Ai development | Aug 29, 2025 |
Tom in London wrote:
The people who want war seem to be in command of all the mainstream news media. Fortunately we don't have to rely on the mainstream news media. Don't let them get you down.
"The people, unfortunately, are still very ignorant, and are kept in ignorance by the systematic efforts of all the governments, who consider this ignorance, not without good reason, as one of the essential conditions of their own power"- Bakunin
Part of AI development is that it's actively used in current wars:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI-assisted_targeting_in_the_Gaza_Strip
* https://time.com/6691662/ai-ukraine-war-palantir/
* https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/battlefield-ai-revolution-not-here-yet-status-current-russian-and-ukrainian-ai-drone
Then, tech moguls obviously have a huge economic interest to maintain war, as it's helping them develop GenAI.
And, it's very clear that warfare has been a multimillion-dollar industry over the last 30 years, so tech companies seek military investments.
That's another narrative they hide from the public, among others.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:32
Italian to English
| Not responsible | Aug 30, 2025 |
Gerard Barry wrote:
Is Trump responsible for ...?.
Trump is not responsible for anything. He is a product. Politically weak and inept with a mental age of about 10. Doesn't know what he's doing, or why. But surrounded by people who try to manipulate him. And he's easy to manipulate. But the trouble is that he trusts the last person he spoke to. Then he speaks to someone else, and trusts them instead.
“As democracy is perfected, the office [of president] represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move towards a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
HL Mencken in the Baltimore Sun (26 July 1920)
| | | | | American politics | Aug 30, 2025 |
I personally couldn't care less about American politics. All I know is that their infantile polarisation bores me to tears and I don't blame anyone for rejecting a Democrat party that has become increasingly radical over the years (regarding abortion, immigration, identity politics, transgenderism, Covid, etc.). In Germany they want to ban the opposition (i.e. the AfD). If Trump tries anything like that in the US, we can talk about authoritarianism.
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I don't have the time or the inclination to read the information in those links, but do they mention anything about banning the Democratic party? If not, then I don't think it's quite the same thing as what the Germany government is trying to do.
| | | | Radian Yazynin
Local time: 21:32
Member (2004)
English to Russian
+ ...
| From The Heart of a Dog by Bulgakov | Aug 30, 2025 |
Quote
Sharikov: "What is the foremost event in my life?"
The foreteller: "Your foremost event is yet to come!"
Unquote
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