Wow! I hadn't read this piece before I posted my comment in the Elders group about feeling like I live in two worlds. Chris and Becca, you really nailed it! I figured I was not alone in my unease about the future, but I don't recall having seen it expressed as the feeling of living in two different worlds. I think I have come to accept my spouse's reluctance to engage much in resilience building and to commit emotionally to the Crash Course content. He did view it with me, and accepts the information on an "intellectual" level, but simply isn't interested in applying it to our lives. He accepts that I'm "prepping" and doesn't ridicule my efforts, but other than investing a few bucks in PMs, just wants to go sailing and skiing. (I was really surprised when he joined me on one of the PM purchases!)
And, Chris, I appreciate the nonjudgemental manner in which you expressed the desire to cling to the status quo amongst persons at or nearing retirement.
"And here is how the story breaks down right now, for a lot of people who are in the boomer generation, who are at or nearing retirement or can see it coming soon – they have everything to gain by preserving the status quo. They do not want their pensions to go away and their entitlements to go away; they have worked hard, and they have put into the system, and so they are ready to grab that brass ring."
It is very difficult to imagine life without the pensions and "entitlements" for those enjoying and possibly even dependent upon them. Aware retirees know that much of the status quo is terrible for them. Persons who have personal savings hate that they cannot earn money due to negative interest rates. And, certainly they detest the fraud, manipulation and corruption that pervades the financial/governmental system. Many elders care deeply about the challenges facing the upcoming generations, but have real concerns about survival when comtemplating the collapse of the current (dis) order. A nonjudgemental discussion about the ambivalence concerning the status quo would be refreshing. Elders are not "greedy geezers" who care nothing about the young. They fear that they have everything to lose when the status quo is broken.
Thanks for an excellent podcast. I look forward to the responses to the other questions.
