Whats going to happen to my family???

[bac511]

Finally,I get to post one of my own.

I have so many questions, so many concerns. As a working mother from a Midwestern RED STATE, a woman educated, but not extremely politically savvy, I have so many fears about the current administration, and so many fears about those who have chosen to follow Bush's extreme path.

How bad is it going to get around here? Should I prepare for the worst and how do I do that? Can we survive the next four years or are the policies and pathways of the Bush administration going to haunt us forever?

Social security? Retirement? Jobs? Women's health? Mental health? The School system?

Are we really heading toward a Dictatorship??? Are the people he is going to place is positions of power truly going to change the course of our democracy?

I have 2 small children. A husband who works 8 hour days and probably gets paid for six by the time the government takes our money away. We pay our bills, we can afford groceries, and we can even take a vacation now and again... Should I prepare for this life to change?

My husband was in the Navy for 4 years and hasn't been active for over 15...should I prepare for him to be called up? I hear horror stories of 61 year old grandfathers being asked to update their records. Should I tell my father, retired from the Army post Vietnam, to shine up his boots? What about the college age kids who work for me...are they going too?

I read so much, here and elsewhere...and it terrifies me. Even my poor poor mother has entered into depression thinking about how this government is going to negatively affect her children and their families. Can I console her, or will I be joining her?

I don't really know what I want from you all. I suppose I don't want to be afraid, but I also know I don't want to be caught unprepared. I voice my opinions to my friends and family and more than half of them think I am crazy and completely disregard me. I suppose thats what the government wants...control over their thoughts. Make them fear when they want them to and make them believe what they want them to.

Are they really telling us all just a bunch of lies? Does the government really not care about us? Has it really gone that far? I don't want to believe the conspiracy theories, but maybe it's not a theory!

I could go on and on, I just wanted to post my thoughts and thank you all for yours...I have learned so much here. It's just a shame more people don't take this seriously.

Thanks again for listening to my ramble and I appreciate any comments in return.

I'll end with my favorite quote I have picked up somewhere around these parts... "IF YOU'RE NOT MAD, YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION."

This blue dot in a red state is DAMN MAD!

[Beetwasher]

1. We're Not Heading Toward A Dictatorship

We're already there.

Yes, it's all lies, pretty much everything. Pick up a copy of 1984 by George Orwell. That's where we are now.

I wish I had answers for you and I could tell you everything will eventually ok, but I can't and I won't lie to you. Many of us will be lucky to live through the next four years and beyond.

Live life, smell the roses, love your family and hang on tight.

[JaneDoughnut]

2. I'm scared too

Not just for my family but the whole world.

I guess, individually, the best thing we can do to prepare is try to become more self-sufficient. Pay off as much debt as possible before the interest rates go through the roof (as they almost have to), find alternatives to social security, and decrease your dependence on the machine.

Continue with efforts to get the left mobilized, so we can take back power in the future. Get started at the local level and get youth and local activists running for office.

Oh, and don't be scared to speak the truth! When this is all over, those of us who weren't afraid to criticize the Bush administration will know we were in the right.

[bac511]

3. How can you pay off debt,

when it's about the only thing keeping you afloat?
Living paycheck to paycheck isn't a good way to reach independent wealth, thats for sure.

[fudge stripe cookays]

6. Work several jobs if you have to....

but pay pay pay it off. That debt will strangle you when the interest rates go up.

Failing that, see about getting a 0% introductory interest card. When the 0% expires, hop it over to another 0 or low interest card. It can save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

Good luck.
FSC

[LSparkle]

7. I'm in that boat, too

and now that I know it's only going to get worse, I'm absolutely despairing. If I think too much about it, it only makes me less capable of taking any action -- better to just focus on getting through today.

[enough]

9. Yes, I love that advice that's constantly repeated now:

"Get rid of your debt."

Who the hell would have debt if they didn't need to? It is exactly the ability to "get rid" of debt that separates the rich from the poor.

[Orangepeel]

16. some people take on debt unnecessarily --

a new car, too big a house, "entertainment" expenses on the credit card. Those are the people who can (but probably won't) do something now to prepare for the future.

If you really can't survive without debt, then I feel for you. I wish I had a solution (other than the one we both worked for the last 4 years), but unfortunately, I don't see it getting much better.

[knowbody0]

4. dear dot

only our silence will defeat us. 62% do not go along with george's "agenda" he believes awarded him by mandate. he's too fast and too furious only three weeks after the disputable election. snake eating its own tail.

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Whatever you do, pay off your debts NOW.

Pay them off as quickly and as thoroughly as you can. Lay off the vacations for a little while until you are out of debt.

Try to get a Euro-bearing bank account. Our currency is getting ready to take a MASSIVE header. (If you ever read about the way Germany was after World War I, that's what it sounds like). If you have 401Ks, or investment accounts, try to see about investing in European firms.

Start your own vegetable garden and tend it well. Any extra source of food is a bonus right now. Stock up on bottled water and batteries.

If there are any ways to remove your family from the country (relatives overseas, marketable job skills for any kind of job change, bilingual?), try them. If you are worried for your children, it may be the only way. They're now talking about massive testing and drugging of our children? That alone blows me away. I don't have children, but I can empathize with you.

I don't know how bad things will get, but preparation is a way to make sure your family at least has the bare necessities.

FSC

[annabanana]

8. We are, indeed, in a tough spot.... but despair isn't the way to go.

As you continue to read in these forums, you'll meet many, many people who are working to change the direction of our country. You will meet some geniuses and some loonies. There is a membership of over 57 thousand, and this is just one of many on line forums where there is real journalism, and real activism.

If you are truly in a sea of "red" it is easy to feel that the situation is hopeless. Any dissenter is fitted with a "tin foil hat" and called a crazy conspiracy theorist. :tinfoilhat:

The government is currently under the control of a radical group of "neo-conservatives" that have hijacked the Republican Party. Do you really think that the GOP in it's traditional form would be responsible for the huge budget deficits that will bankrupt our children? Of course not.

The changes we will see will be incremental, for the most part. The really rich will be fine, of course, but the middle class is going to pay and pay and pay, and those who are already struggling will find their road that much harder.

We are working at a major disadvantage, since the mainstream media is owned and controlled by very big corporations who have benefited financially from the economic policies of this administration, and they are loathe to bite the hand that feeds them.

Keep reading, keep posting, don't despair and Welcome to DU
:toast:

[m berst]

10. fear

The fear you are experiencing is a completely sane response.

Many people are denying what is right in front of them - "you are imagining things and going off the deep end" they will say. Others are in that painful and stressful anxiety state - "could it be real? Are bad things about to happen?" - dreading and worrying themselves sick.

There is a third course - "it looks like, as near as I can tell and to the best of my limited understanding and wisdom, that a very terrible thing has in fact happened and it will probably get worse. It has happened in the past in other places and there is no reason to think that America would be indefinitely immune to tyranny and all of the horrors that come with that." This frees us up to make calm intelligent reality-based plans.

Hanging on the threshold in anticipation is what is stressful - the difference between the two is similar to the difference between dreading a surgical procedure and actually going through it. We can endure much when we know what we are facing.

Here is an analogy with the tyrants who are stealing our government as the "wolves" circling a homestead. (Not meant to be accurate regarding the actual behavior of wolves, this is about the humans.)

Denial - "There isn't a pack of wolves about to rip us to shreds. You are just imagining it."

Anxiety - "Oh my God! There might be wolves! Are there wolves? I think there are! Wolves would be bad, wouldn't it? I'm sure I can hear them snarling! Why does everyone tell me I am crazy?"

Acceptance - "Pack of wolves at 12 o'clock, about to attack. Move the children to the cabin. Set up a perimeter and keep in close communication. Sleep in shifts and make sure your partner knows where you are at all times. This is frightening, but we can't change that and there is no sense in spending any time wishing that things were different. We may not be able to save the ones who don't believe us, so don't put the rest of us at risk worrying about people who won't face the truth. Now let's get to work."

[BPD2258]

11. It's okay....

Hello bac511,
I also live in a RED state and I can tell that you're very concerned about this. I don't believe you have anything to worry about. The good thing about America is that we get to vote out people who do a bad job every four years. I don't know about you, but time flies and we'll be looking at the next election before you know it. I don't think your husband is going to get reactivated after 15 years. The armed forces is voluntary and I believe that the government will give very good incentives to potential recruits to keep them that way. Just keep the faith and stay alert and everything should be fine. This country has been through much tougher times and much worse presidents and everything works out in the end. Please don't despair. You're not alone out there! : - )

[FlaGranny]

14. Name me ONE president worse than Bush*.

Herbert Hoover? No, he wasn't worse than *, at least Hoover was not deliberately pretending to be on a mission from God. I'm also not too certain about getting to "vote out" bad people any more. Proove to me that our votes count.

[Karenina]

17. What flavor kool-aid was that?

[BPD2258]

18. I like Hawaiian Punch...

Are you insinuating that because I told this person that there is no reason to fear the future that I must be a Kool-aid drinker? If that wasn't posted for me, then never mind. If it was, how sad. This person needs to be reassured that the end is not nigh. The last time I looked, the right-wingers held the monopoly on prophets and seers. I remain positive about the future even in the face of those who have decided to "go to the mattresses" on these forums. It is not the end of the world and we will survive. Hang in there, bac511!

[jbm]

19. welcome to DU ,BPD!

I love your optimism! I'm glad you joined us. :toast:

[grasswire]

12. here is the problem

The danger for the poor is the coming inflation required to keep the dollar afloat. We're seeing it already in grocery prices. It will get worse. The prices of necessities will rise. When there is no cushion, times may become very austere.

The danger for those loaded down with credit is that interest rates on your outstanding balances will go way up. Way up. The same is true for people with variable rate mortgages. You should refinance NOW and get a fixed rate mortgage. You should transfer credit balances to a fixed rate card, if possible. It will still go up, but they are required to notify you in advance.

Keep in mind also the predicted crash in real estate prices. Some are advising to sell now to get the equity out of the home, rent for a while and then buy cheap after the crash.

And of course, when the spiral begins more people will lose jobs, etc. etc. etc.

[Yavin4]

13. What You Can Do

1. Keep track of all of your spending and cut back to the bare bones. If your personal spending cuts don't hurt, then you haven't cut enough.

2. Kill off all of your debt now.

3. Drive a fuel efficient car and take public transportation as much as possible.

4. DO NOT OVER-SPEND ON CHRISTMAS!!!

5. DO NOT CHARGE ANYTHING UNLESS IT'S A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION

6. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE, AND DID I MENTION SAVE?

7. Be prepared for long stretches of unemployment. Have about a year's worth of expenses saved up just in case, and don't get depressed about being unemployed, millions of Americans will experience unemployment in the years to come.

8. Think about taking in a border to help with expenses, preferrably a female border just to be safe.

9. Get involved politically in your neighborhood.

[Nordic]

15. that doesn't address the real issues

like what are they gonna do to our kids?

"mental health testing"? Yeah right. That's just a way to find out who they should get rid of and who they should turn into soldiers.

They've got our eyes on our kids. And probably us.

These guys aren't gonna give up power unless they are forced to.

Think about it.