[iKevinShah]

RIP Abe. This is pure shock to me.

Reading through history books I had thought, wow what crazy times - A Global pandemic (Spanish Flu), revolutionary technology (Aeroplane, etc.), Killing of influential people and then war.

We are halfway there and signs don't look good. Am I being too pessimistic?

[Spooky23]

No. We’re in an age of unrest, with plenty more to come.

[pif]

> A Global pandemic (Spanish Flu), revolutionary technology (Aeroplane, etc.), Killing of influential people and then war.

Uhm, you are mixing facts a bit: aeroplane came before WWI; the shooting of an archduke started WWI, but the flu only arrived at the end of the war.

[iKevinShah]

Correct, so did the revolutionary tech of our times (Internet). But yeah pandemic came after the war

[ianai]

I don't think WWII happens without WWI and the interregnum clearly contributed to igniting WWII in many ways. Conditions after WWI never fully cleared to a period of world peace. More like, world divisions and clashes outside of global war. Then fascism and the Nazi rise, etc.

Edit-to be clear, this is a good moment to reflect on the tendencies towards war in the current era. It's the time to push back. Certain forces are clearly pumping out "accelerating" propaganda via the internet. Those same forces clearly have territorial disputes in mind along with global aspirations. The time to counter them is now, before WWIII fully ignites.

[DisjointedHunt]

The illusion of peace the world has enjoyed since WW2 is slowly wearing thin.

[nemo44x]

Historically we have lived in fairly anomalous times. However, we entered the nuclear age which changed a lot of things. So I’m still unsure if it’s an illusion or the new reality.

Of course when it comes to nukes the dark reality is that everyone has to be successful at not using one (because then they are all used) every single day for eternity. That seems impossible and an eventuality.

[bigDinosaur]

I know what you're saying but nuclear weapons have been used. There's no guarantee the use of one or two will lead to all out nuclear destruction (yes, I know the WW2 situation was unique). But if only one was detonated in war tomorrow that would be the third such use, not the first.

[jaywalk]

Well, the country that dropped the first two just so happened to be the only country that had them in the first place. So that's entirely irrelevant.

[bigDinosaur]

I don't see how it's irrelevant, it set the precedent for their use. They have been used, that's done and dusted, any use now will be the third use in war. If you think precedent is important, that's not irrelevant at all.

[nemo44x]

To my point, they were all used. I imagine they’d all be used in short order again.

[orwin]

I'm a bit concerned tbh. I've read a lot about how NSDAP in Germany and league leaders in France reused old ideas from their adversaries (anarchist and communists) to sell themselves as 'concerned citizens'.

[wyclif]

Shinzo Abe was an honourable man. He was a force against communism and the CCP, and a good friend to the US and the UK.

[wahnfrieden]

He may have been honorable but there’s absolutely no honor in that

[unicornmama]

Things do not look good. The absence of fear is terrifying.

We are in the denial phase. Next comes panic, and then desperation.

[permo-w]

>The absence of fear is terrifying.

when there's a terrorist attack, "don't let them win, don't be afraid", and now you're saying people should be afraid?

[unicornmama]

Terrorism isn’t what we should be afraid of.

[ianai]

I'm reminded of the saying (sorry I don't remember a good quote, but one is from Farscape): "fear at the prospect of death while calm shepherds its certainty."

[unicornmama]

Fear is what motivated Jewish members of my family to flee Europe as Hitlers rose to power. Fear is an important driver for survival.

[ianai]

been on my mind a lot lately, too.