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Comment by quickthrower2 | Hacker News Reader

Maybe that is the point? We are all brainwashed to think we need to secure ourselves financially. Most of us (on HN at least) could probably do barely any work now, and not die. But you'd have to sacrifice a lot of stuff we think we need. Me included, it's a hard trap to escape when everyone is in it.

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There's this big "Aha" moment I had while reading a book this vacation; I realised that I wanted to be financially secure since it was the only means available in today's society to be "set" - secure.

If I was to live in a small community where I'd know my neighbours, everyone did the things most valuable to the community - farm, smith, care, socialise, guard - and I knew everyone had each other's back, this would give the same feeling.

Alas, we live in a disconnected society, not even close to having local ties, so we feel we have to earn a ton of money in order to survive by buying our security.

what was the book?

Yeah but those small communities also had rich and poor. You miss one season of rain, and a significant number are now indebted or lose their livelihood.

But what if you had community ways of living but in the modern world with luxuries like irrigation?

Like a homeless shelter? We have that now.

Kids change that equation. All of the sudden you threshold for safety increases many fold.

It does, but how much of this is objectively the parent deciding?

And how much of it is FUD society.

I’m yet to meet the parent whose run the numbers and can tell me what is more likely that their one drink before driving will kill their kids or letting them play out.

So we rely on messages - and the media provides them. Tells us to be scared. The thing to be scared of is the new thing that’s interesting. In the early 2010s it was terrorism - but I haven’t heard that word for a while. Next it will be something else.

So I keep two thought processes going, one is protect kids of course, but the other is “am I being bullshitted”. What is the trade off by wrapping them up in a bubble.

Much of it is FUD, yes, but knowing that somehow does not help me tone it down.

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