tecoyah

Given the many things this world has going on, and the effects they may have on your life....what causes you the most distress in the grand scheme of things.

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Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. - Buddha

Charlatan

I worry about a lot of things but the only thing I worry about that troubles me is Government Path.

The main reason is that this one sets the policy on most of the others, it is the one that effects me both in the here and now and the future. It is also the one that I can actually do something about.

That said, I wouldn't say that I worry about it per se, rather I pay attention to it more than I do other things.

I like to stay informed about the other subjects but to worry about things that I cannot change seems counter productive.

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

ubertuber

It was a tough call between economics and government path for me, but I went with economics. Our debt structure and financial commitments to social security/medicare are simply staggering, and right now we're just digging the hole deeper. I truly think that this situation creates the potential for a cataclysmic economic event at some point in the next couple of decades.

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Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

Ustwo

None of the above really. Worry bring unneeded stress in ones life, and makes you miserable about things you can't even control.

Terrorism: It needs to be dealt with in some fashion, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

Global warming: Due to my scientific backround I view this about as worrisome as an asteroid strike. Its happened before, it will happen again, and not a damn thing we are going to do about it right now besides worry. Hell I'd be more worried about asteroids as we CAN do something about them.

Economics: Personal or global, one I've done my best to secure the other is a factor beyond my control.

Disease: Worth being worried about, but only if you have one. I've been taking anti-biotics for over a month due to a nasty spore forming infection, so I'm mildly worried about it, but once its taken care of, I won't worry about getting one. If people are talking about the bird flu (tm) then I'm most definately not worried, its akin to a natural disaster, nothing for me to do but wait and see and avoid the hype.

My childrens future: Parenthood 101 there. There hasn't been a parent worth a damn who hasn't worried about their childrens future.

Government path: I suppose if I lived in Europe this would be a bit more troubling as they have more issues to deal with which I think will make their governments unstable, but for me, even if the party who can't seem to call a terrorist a terrorist comes into power, we have enough checks and balances to keep any lasting harm from happening. Some day it will come to a head, but that day is not now. (If you pm me I'll put you on the list of the spared )

What is really on my mind as a source of concern (not really worry)?
1 - We have friends which may be transfered to Texas. These are the best friends my wife and I have.
2 - Wife is talking about child number 2 soon
3 - I've been somewhat bored as of late and can't find an outlet for it.

Even so being worried serves no purpose, being worried gets nothing fixed, makes you miserable, and in some cases neurotic. Enjoy life.

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Agents of the enemies who hold office in our own government, who attempt to eliminate our "freedoms" and our "right to know" are posting among us, I fear.....on this very forum. - host

Obama - Know a Man by the friends he keeps.

Toaster126

My biggest worry is the apathy of the average American. In my book it counts as apathy if you just bitch and don't do anything about it also, since it ends up being the same about of nothing.

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"The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand)
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)

Willravel

Childrens future. I don't want to leave behind my garbage for my posterity to lean up. I feel it's my responsibility to do as much as I can to leave them a decent planet and society. I suppose that option above can encompass any of the others aswell.

FoolThemAll

From this list...terrorism, followed closely by government path.

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I wonder if we're stuck in Rome.

flstf

I am mostly concerned that our economic system and therefore our governments may be on the way to failure. This is probably because I do not really understand what keeps our economy going. I don't understand how we can continue to build wealth when almost everyone I know is employed in the service sector and hardly anyone is building anything. Is it really possible for us to prosper if all we do is perform services for each other (deliver each other pizzas)?

I am also concerned that we will wake up one day soon and find that our money is useless since it is only backed by the good faith of our polititians. Someday I suspect that people with something of value to sell like food will not accept these pieces of paper with pictures of dead presidents printed on them.

I talked extensively with my father and other older relatives before they died about how they made it through the great depression and people were closer to the earth back then. Almost everyone had family or friends associated with farming and there was a lot of bartering going on. My father's family made beer and traded for farm products for several years. I'm afraid that most of us today will have to ask for help from our failed government.

hunnychile

Being stranded on the toilet and totally running out/having no toilet paper and/or kleenex.


Second to that is: flushing the toilet and having it overflow with a gigantic turd in the water that flows out of the bowl and onto my bathroom floor.

I am totally serious here, too.

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"I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

ubertuber

What did you vote in the poll? I can't quite figure out how to square that with our options.

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Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

Gilda

None of the listed things is near the top.

I worry about being able to care for my family like they deserve or losing them.

I worry about social situations almost constantly.

I worry about being good at my job.

I worry about whether I have it in my to be a good mother.

I worry about turning left at solid green lights and across traffic.

I worry about Grace getting AIDS at work.

I worry about Sissy being assaulted by a man she's dating.

I worry about ice on the road on cold days.

I worry about whether I'll have insomnia or nightmares tonight.

I worry that maybe I'm so negative that it drives people away.

The things on the list? All of them a little bit, but they get buried quickly.

Gilda

snowy

Out of those on the list, I worry about the path of the government most. Why? Because it impacts every other thing on the list.

Mostly, though, I worry about making ends meet.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Grasshopper Green

None of the things listed are something that worry me daily, but if I had to choose, I'd choose government path. As snowy said, it impacts all the other things on the list, and it's really the only thing on the list that *I* personally can help control. The rest is out of my hands. (well, except for my childrens future, which is something any parent worries about)

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"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa

amonkie

It was a tie for me between Global warming and children's future .... every other thing will impact their future .. and seeing the extremely mild winter here in Rochester just confirms, for me at least, Global Warming is going to screw with our world as we know it.

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Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

Psycho Dad

The one thing I have to concern myself with at the moment is my father. It would seem that the time has come to perhaps put him in a home. After that, it will be a waiting game to see who goes first. Him or my wife's step-mother.

Nearly all the others (Terrorism, Global Warming, Economics, Disease, My childrens future, Government Path) seem to be too dependant on people giving something up to reach a common ground. While I believe that there are individuals that are willing to do that, I doubt there are societies and governments that are.

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Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

Marvelous Marv

Government path. There doesn't seem to be enough opposition to out-of-control spending, and I know whose property they'll want to take when the crunch comes.

Interesting to see the polar opposites, Ustwo and Gilda. I would have a hard time getting anything done if I spent as much time worrying as she does, and I can't think of a time when worrying accomplished anything positive for me.

I also wonder if there's a thread on the subject of Psycho Dad's post.

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"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Margaret Thatcher

Gilda

It does keep me from acting in social situations, but for the most part I get done what needs to be done. I just worry about doing it right or messing it up while I'm doing it.

There isn't much positive to it, though there can be. It's a motivator. If I'm worried about whether the doors are locked and the alarm turned on, and that causes me to go check doors and windows and the alarm, my family is a little bit safer than if I never worried about that and they occasionally got left off. If I'm worried about turning left across traffic or solid green lights, that causes me to be cautious and lessens the likelihood I'll cause an accident in those situations.

Worrying by itself has little benefit, but it can lead to actions which are beneficial.

Gilda

msh58

probably the debt. I mean that almost always catches up with a person at least in terms of personal debt, selling off anything a person can when the income isn't coming in. government path probably second.