I fear that nuclear war could be happening soon…
Global tensions seem to be rising, and superpowers are allowed to be more and more reckless. It feels like the third world war is imminent, a nuclear war which would end everything.
I am so scared… I am so paralyzed to do anything now. Am I overreacting? Also, what should I be doing?
Get involved and build resilience in your local community. It’s super beneficial for your mental health, social health and you can do something tangible that does make a difference. This resilience will help build and maintain and more importantly sustain the structural and social support for things like general strikes. It’s quite literally grounding in practice and people always need to eat. It’s a place to meet people that also care.
https://web.archive.org/web/20240105073255/https://effectiveactivist.com/zine/
It is only in the oppressor’s benefit to do otherwise. Remember these are the same people causing both issues.
Edit: Also check out !zines@slrpnk.net for inspiration. :)
More in the same vein:
Their linked guide is a great summary. The archive.org link above is partially a workbook to help people figure out where to start with these things too with considering personal abilities and needs… There are so many options!! !citizenscience@mander.xyz too, is a form of praxis through the building of public knowledge, skills and to help inform policy. No matter what happens, there’s always something to do.
I was born in 1975, and during the eighties a nuclear war was always just about to happen. I can’t tell you what you should be doing, for the most we just lived with it. What helped was there was no 24/7 news cycle back then, so maybe try to block out the news to maintain a healthy consumption level?
From what I understand, global nuclear war was an ongoing concern by the mid-50’s, when the nuclear arms race got in to full swing. Along the timeline of the ensuing Cold War, there have evidently been a shocking number of close calls, with global war being averted by a single individual in some cases.
Let that sink in, if you will-- a SINGLE … fecking … person choosing to do the adult and humane thing, for the good of all us other humans, and most life on Earth.
Holy shit, does that person(s) deserve one hell of a victory parade, y’know?!
Now one note of interest might be that the USSR’s cache of nuclear arms may not have been well-maintained over the years, so modern Russia might be sitting on a far more limited amount of live weapons than exists on paper. FWIW… which of course probably isn’t much, in the end.
Most of the problems and anxiety of the USA in 2025 comes down to the FACT that POTUS has more singular power than any king of any nation. No one is even hinting at changing that for the future.
What does an 80 year old man with dementia and one foot in the grave care about launching nukes? No one in a nation of pussies will stop him.
No one is even hinting at changing that for the future.
That’s not really true, though. AOC, Sanders and others have been ceaselessly vocal about these matters, directly influencing change. And unless there’s systemic, nationwide fraud at the voting booths in November (I mean, much more than the usual), then the so-called “GOP” currently in charge is going to be in deep trouble from that point on. At least going by precedent and current rules, which of course might be somehow subverted by the Orangies, such as a declaration of martial law, etc.
No one in a nation of pussies will stop him.
The people manning the actual equipment are still military lifers, far as I know. From what I understand, it’s those types of folks who’ve historically prevented global nuclear war every time there was a chance of it happening.
This article may help: https://positivepsychology.com/circles-of-influence/
And a graphic that sums it up:
I’m just another internet rando, but looking at the same events everyone else is, I do think the masses will turn this around through solidarity. I believe: It will be before any nukes are used. It will be after long lasting climate change. But it will prevent the downfall of humanity. There will be human and natural healing. Most people will be okay.
What do I have power over to make this happen? Mostly numerous, small, interpersonal interactions.
Well said. Focus on what you can influence and realize most things are outside of your control.
You step outside and touch some grass. If Lemmy is starting to affect your mental health, you need to put it down.
Think about it this way, if nuclear war does happen then you ain’t gonna have much time to worry about it.
If it really is paralyzing you and affecting your day-to-day decisions, you should see a therapist to help you put things in context and develop good coping mechanisms.
I actually think the threat of nuclear war is pretty low compared to other points in history.
Now the entire world turning into a Nazi state on the other hand
The chance of that happening is insanely low. Superpowers have been threatening it since the 80’s and no one has any intention to do shit about it.
Also, everyone knows it’s a lose-lose situation- but no one will admit it. They all want everyone to believe they’ll be the only victors…
Did you forget about that dementia ridden, sociopathic, egomaniacal moron in the whitehouse? Man would fire a nuke by accident, let alone if someone had the audacity to criticize him in any way.
Read some history.
There was much more saber rattling going on in the Cold War than there is now.
The 0.01% aren’t going to risk their life style to prove a point.
Yeah, the heightened potential for nuclear annihilation is terrifying but there’s frankly nothing you can do to survive it. Even if you somehow lived though the bombings, there’s no corner of the globe where starvation nor irradiation would not reach. The Earth would be uninhabitable and death would be certain for most land animals.
It’s a tragic way to die and for the human race to cease to be. But it’s only death and that’s certain to happen one way or another. There are countless other ways you could die that are either within or beyond your control. Many are far more likely to happen than nuclear war. Do you fret about being killed in an accident every time you step into a car?
I know it’s a lot easier said than done but try to live in the now rather than the future. Plan for tomorrow but recognize that, unlike the present, the future is not guaranteed. Don’t take the present for granted, go do things that bring you fulfillment now because ultimately that is the only time that you have control over.
You can die any number of ways at any time for any reason. Why fixate on one? Probably more likely to die in an automobile accident or some mundane bullshit than nuclear war.
Control the controllable. This axiom also applies to most things in life.
if you find you have constant anxiety or are having intrusive thoughts or are obsessed with something and are unable to control it then please please please see a doctor or therapist if you can
there are lots of approaches and therapies you can use to train your brain to cope with anything better and have more agency and feel a happier life
Touch some grass, go to therapy and stop watching the news.
A global, world-ending nuclear war is still unlikely at this point.
There’s a fair few steps in between filled with horrors that we get to pass first. Such as when superpowers realise that since nobody can realistically use nukes, conventional warfare is back on the table (e.g. if China invades Taiwan and the US intervenes, will either side nuke the other’s population centers? Probably not).
Then follows the realisation that superpowers can use nuclear weapons in a conventional war, but in a more tactical way (as a little treat). Don’t bomb a city, bomb a navy, or an airfield or army base instead.
Global nuclear war would only happen if a nuclear state is threatened with total destruction. But fully destroying a state hasn’t been the playbook for some time now. Instead, take whatever peripheral stuff you want, and strategically weaken the enemy state in key areas (e.g. take out an important figurehead, like the US did with Maduro, or fund/arm insurgencies like in Syria). Let civil unrest then do the rest and topple the government for you. Then use diplomatic/economic/military pressure to sway the fledgling new government into your sphere of influence. With a bit of luck the country itself isn’t totally ravaged and can become profitable fairly soon.
