IN REMEMBRANCE OF FEAR…
20 May 2011 by Cullen Roche
35 Comments
In case you haven’t heard, the world is going to end tomorrow. I’ll keep this short and sweet because I treasure my last few hours on this planet, however, I wanted to send some detailed parting thoughts:
- Remember to be very scared by the media at all chances you can get. This is serious stuff and if you aren’t scared you won’t succumb to the needs of the message they are trying to spread. So, the bottom line is, stay scared. Do not let yourself feel confident, happy or wealthy. You are scared, poor and miserable. You should stay that way. You owe it to yourself. The media says so. And more importantly, there are old rich white men who need to sell books and if you’re not scared by them you’ll never buy their books. So, do yourself a favor. Buy their books and services and stay scared. You deserve it.
- Absolutely, positively, do not start a new business of any kind or try to climb the corporate ladder. Productivity is WAY overrated. The world is doomed to end and in many ways we can thank our huge governments for that. They have stolen our prosperity and raped us all through inflation. Do not try to be innovative, creative, or think for yourself. You are doomed by your surroundings. There is no way out. Do not even try. Succumb to your reality and just accept the fact that you are a poor miserable hack who will never amount to anything. Sure, millions of Americans have succeeded before you and helped to create the most innovative and prosperous society that man kind has EVER known, but don’t let that fool you. It’s different this time. Trust me.
- Collect rocks. Remember, rocks are the only way for you to overcome the impending collapse and potentially prosper through this doom and gloom. Even if the world doesn’t end tomorrow you’ll be happy you accumulated rocks because, well, they’re pretty looking.
- Surround yourself with people who also think the world is ending and that we are all screwed. You’re only as good as the people you keep company with. Warren Buffett once said that he likes to ensure success by hiring people that are smarter than he is. That’s nonsense. Associate with people who are more scared than you. That way, you can all sit in bunkers and talk about the end of days and how screwed we all are. Think about how much better that will make you feel. Misery loves company. Do it.
Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot of advice for you. We’re all screwed. It’s ending tomorrow. And if it doesn’t end tomorrow I hope this message will still ring true with you because that’s the way it should be. We should all go thru life afraid of the government, afraid to takes risks, afraid to become wealthy, afraid to become prosperous, afraid to become innovative, afraid to become creative, etc. You can thank me in 50 years.
God damn I love your work.
Cullen,
I appreciate these sentiments and I know you’re just kidding, but it’s harder out there than you seem to realize. I know you’re in your little California bubble where it’s always sunny and happy, but life isn’t like that for all of us. I get the impression you’re a serial entrepreneur and a hard working one at that. You went to a good school and seem very bright. But we all don’t have that.
So a lot of Americans feel poor and hopeless. Thinking happy thoughts isn’t enough to turn this around.
This country wasn’t built by old rich guys. It was built by poor people. I am not saying that you should just run out blindly and smile as your life gets sucked down the tubes. I am just saying that a defeatist attitude is a sure way to fail. That’s all. I am plenty pissed about a lot of stuff going on. But it hasn’t stopped me from trying to succeed….
Right, not everybody is an entrepreneur. But we need our entrepreneurs to have lots of reasons for optimism. Otherwise they won’t do their thing so the rest of us can work in the industries they create doing our thing, whatever it might be.
I believe it’s this kind of optimism that is the key to marketing MMT to the world. Good one, Cullen.
Speaking of optimism – how about this market. It never goes down. It hasn’t gone down in almost a year. Is there anything stopping us from rallying right to 1500?
Even during the end of the world there is a market for entrepreneur’s.
Atheists Promise to Care for Pets After Rapture:
61-year-old Bart Centre has come up with a plan to look after those domestic animals not scooped up in the heavenly exodus. In July, he started Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, a pet-sitting service to care for those critters.
“Each Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such will still be here on Earth after you have received your reward,” the company’s Web site promises. “Our network of animal activists are committed to step in when you step up to Jesus.”
The terms behind the pet sitting are pretty simple. For an up-front fee of $110, Eternal Earth-Bound Pets, which says it has animal rescuers in 22 states, guarantees that it will take care of one pet in the event that the Rapture occurs within 10 years of payment. Each additional pet costs $15, and a 25 percent discount is offered when customers sign up again after the first term of coverage expires.
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/02/14/atheists-promise-to-care-for-pets-after-rapture/
Cannot wait to see if those bankers gonna be picked….or if God can be bribed….. But we should know next Monday.
)))))
Yeah, that would be a twist if it turns out Lloyd Blankfein actually WAS doing the God’s work.
Beautiful. Thanks for keeping it real, TPC. I’m off on a trip to Maui tomorrow morning and if the world doesn’t end while my flight is over the Pacific Ocean I’m planning on having a great time because I’m too stupid to know any better.
By the grace of God I was born in a time and place where someone with modest talent and a bit of ambition and discipline can find the opportunity to prosper. Sure, times are tough, there is too much unemployment out there, and many people through no fault of their own are struggling, but the history of humanity has never seen such wealthy societies. I went to the dentist yesterday and can scarcely imagine what that experience was like only 100 years ago. Throughout the ages the masses of humanity have truly lived miserable existances, and here we are today belly aching about so many things that are often nonexistant or imaginary. If only people could learn to live within their means and ignore the crap these fearmongerers are throwing at us in order to sell their agendas we as a society would be so much happier.
Your cells divide a finite number of times. “Live but day to day & learn as if you will live forever”.
Damn, I was getting used to being a poor miserable hack who will never amount to anything. See you on the other side…
I do believe in God and fear Him. I do believe in heaven. And I do believe in eternity. I also acknowledge as a human being that I am imperfect and corrupt.
I also believe that all this talk about the end of the world coming is just a bunch of bullshit propogated by fearmongerers that feel powerful when they can manage to scare the hell out of people. But as a cautious investor I would like the above comment to go on the record so as to hedge my bets.
Luckily for you Widge, God reads PRAGCAP!
Since humans first observed a lightning strike, earthquake, hurricane, typhoon, volcanic eruption, death etc…fear has driven the mind into mysticism. Shaman, priests and other spiritual leaders claimed to have special powers enabling them to interpret an act of nature and the specific gods who has wrought judgement and why…polytheism was born.
As one tribe conquered another, the conquered tribes pantheon of gods were adopted as lesser gods under the conquering tribes pantheon of gods. This was done to placate the conquered tribe. Over time the conquered tribes gods were fully absorbed into the conquering tribes gods leading ultimately to monotheism.
While I believe that as long as no one is harmed men/women can believe any religion they see fit. That said it is clear that religion has driven more of mankind into insanity than sanity. One only needs to open a history book to understand the carnage that religion has brought on the minds and bodies of men, women and children.
Mankind preys on one another and the weapon of choice has always been fear. Now the middle class in America is caught up in a state of fear. Fear of the end of the world, fear of too big to fail, fear of speaking out against the suppression of rights of working men and women for fear of losing a job, fear of challenging the modern day financiers as they strip mine our economy until there is nothing left to produce but more money.
Pathetic.
If the religion you know preaches fear, leave and find another.
The one I pay attention preaches hope.
Whether all the hopeful things come true or not doesn’t matter all that much. While I await what comes, I am in a better frame of mind. And some of the hopeful things will come true.
Lol
Mr. Roche,
I posted this on the other article – not sure if you saw. http://seekingalpha.com/article/270306-we-shouldn-t-be-concerned-about-inflation-really
What do you think? Too simplistic of an argument?
the sell-off at the end was clearly people getting ready for the rapture; i could have told them you can’t bring it with you
Set up a website proclaiming only what a lunatic could proclaim, spread the word until natural selection causes it to go viral then sell advertising space, subscriptions or mortgage securities to your investors who believe in your lunatic ramblings…poof… your rich.
Whatever is up there must be either slapping it’s forehead or knee.
If anyone attends any “end of the world” parties tonight…don’t drink the kool aid.
I rode the great depression down in faithful economic evolution of a better time. I will ride this baby again. The best thing is to not help the group to jump off the cliff and try to stop those lemmings from freight and running of the cliff. If the horde pushes me over by sheer numbers and body mass, I will send my pets to…ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hell too late!
TPC–aren’t you collecting some rocks as a hedge against the doomer meme gaining traction?
Keynes beauty contest. I collect rocks because other people think they’ll go up in value….not because I do….
makes sense- i know when i think something should go down i buy it.
Here is what I hope people will learn from this thread:
I hope that people who have a misconception of Christianity will seek out the Truth about it.
Just as people who have a misconception of the way our monetary system functions, perhaps so do people about the function of Christ Salvation.
Think about it, if there are so many people wrong about how our monetary system functions, could these same fallible humans fall victim to misconceptions of a religious doctrine?
I think it’s simplistic to use the rapture nutjob as a metaphor for people that think the current economic and monetary system is transforming or even collapsing. And the “end of the world” means different things to different people.
I think people that have read my posts here know I am a doomer of sorts. But I have to admit, I have done better with investments these past few years than at any other time. I saw the bubble getting ready to pop in early 2007. I was laughed at by people that I knew in banking. But I also said this was more than a banking crisis. The banking crisis is really a symptom of a broken political system… with domestic and international repercussions.
And I have a theory on how this thing plays out. I look at geopolitics, history, monetary theory, resource stocks and flows, etc… and guess what?
A golden sword will cut this gordian knot of a hypercomplex, hugely imbalanced global economy. Like it or not, for better or worse, those rocks are coming back. Central Banks know this, although they are also fighting this tooth and nail at the same time.
And guess what else? I will be starting a business soon as well. It’s not THE end of the world… just the end of a world we once knew, and the beginning of a new world. The time in between is the transition when the great shake-out occurs. New winners, new losers emerge. History is full of watershed events.
It’s the history of mankind. It ebbs and flows. Sometimes stable, sometimes up, sometimes down, in different places, at different speeds. And sometimes, things affect just about everyone at the same time.
For those that prefer the bunker mentality lifestyle, I can not in good conscience tell them they are crazy. No one knows 100% what the future holds. And if there ever was a time that we should be at least somewhat cautious, now is that time.
Personally, I think there is a balance. Live today, but have a plan as well for the worst. However you define the “worst case” scenario.
I wish all the best.
I oollect pretty pieces of paper. I’m told that they’re worth something and they are, until they’re not. Faith based systems are great while the faith is unchallenged.Paradigms shift. Can faith be maintained or does repression become necessary? Chartalists should consider the full implications of their belief system from the political as well as the accounting sides.
All social systems require trust and faith. Also regulation and verification. It doesn’t matter if they are pretty pictures, pieces of yellow metal or consumption goods. We need to have more faith in our abilities to trust each other and work togerther rather than looking to the heavens for our faith. In fact I believe that was the message delivered about 2000 years ago.
Some social systems require only obedience or heavy handed coercion.
Ummm , so the world didn’t end after all ?……. so all those things that I called the boss , last Friday , … better bring him a Gift Basket on Monday morning ?
…… I am not en-raptured by this at all . Come October 21 the world better end , ‘cos no one is talking to me now .
HAHA fantastic, I love the sarcasm.
Get ready to write another one like that for when the Mayan calendar ends Cullen. I think it’s December 21st 2012 but check again.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/motionlook
CR-thought you’d fine this interesting. Live feed of Puerto del sol Madrid protest. Thousands are protesting in the square denying government ban.
Good to see the world hasn’t ended and the citizens are making their voice heard. When the feed is streaming live from Pennsylvania ave. and Wall St. I’ll know WE finally have had enought also. That will be a good day
Widgetmaker you said you fear God but the rest of the verse says to “give Him Glory”!!!!
Oh! Was that what was supposed to happen yesterday? I totally forgot after we just had this conversation @ work on Friday! Doh! But the sprints at the track were sure fun (lol)…
And as to being scared? Sure, we all can be scared at times. But the difference between a grown-up and an adult is that the adult also realizes his competency and his self-assuredness and resolve. I can be down but not for long – it is too tiring to always be down. I think as an adult, you must have hope and resolve. Planning skills don’t hurt either.
And as to rocks, check out Spain/Italy. Looks like the fear trade is ON for the summer. The EU is not going to end well…
Cullen,
You forgot to tell people they should hang around Zero-Hedge, and wallow in the populist fear mongering BS in which that pathetic site traffics