Every generation has "end of times" sort of fears, though the causes change.
Some of it might be instinctive, some of it is very likely fear mongering, but I also have come to believe that some of it is pure self-importance - i.e. the world is going to end in
my lifetime.
But there is very little real evidence to support any of it. Yes, it makes some sense to be prepared for natural disasters in areas prone to such things.
But the idea of imminent global economic collapse just isn't supported. Renowned
value investor Warren Buffet is still buying stocks. Now before anyone argues with this, I have a rule: I only take economic advice from billionaires. I figure, "if someone knows so much they should be a billionaire by now".
I'll start believing all of this economic fear when Wall Street shows even the slightest sign of concern over it. Yeah, I know, the finance experts who devote their life to it are all idiots while the people stocking up on ammo know "the truth", right? Really?
What we have here is a bunch of faulty reasoning, misinformation, irrationality and the like. Just because excessive debt, for instance, is a long term problem doesn't make it an imminent crisis. A lot of that is just political BS, plain and simple. And if it's a difficult long term problem, the rational solution is
not to buy ammo, it's to evaluate the solutions. The idea that it's somehow more rational to prepare for "the end" than to consider compromise involving sacrifices, thus making an artificial future crisis inevitable, is not a remotely reasonable argument.
People routinely worry about stupid stuff and ignore real problems.
But I'm stocked up on guitar strings, just in case.