Beliefs and feelings you used to have, but now don't.

[Phototoxin]

9/11 whining, holocaust whining. I don't really feel anything.

 

[OniaPL]

I used to believe and feel like I could make a change, but now I know better.

Well, it was good to realize how stupid that was. Depression changed to apathy.

 

[Vault101]

shouldnt this be in off topic?

ummm..I never used to be cynical.....I think I decided at some point it was better not caring what other people thourght

and that some things in life really are overated

 

[DanielBrown]

Well, I used to be a very cocky and cheerful guy. These days I'm apathetic and a coward.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Huh. So the topic took about two seconds to derail.

I answered the question OP. Do I get a reward?

 

[SlaveNumber23]

In terms of beliefs I used to believe in the Christian faith due to that is what they taught me in my early years at school, I can't pinpoint when it happened but at some time I just stopped giving a shit about religion. I'm not technically Atheist but I see Atheism as the most reasonable belief. The truth is religion has no place in my life at all, I don't find it necessary at all and I believe that strongly following a religion, including Atheism is just stupid and pointless. I can see that having something to believe in is a good thing and most religions teach some good values, but following them to the point of fanaticism just becomes stupid and dangerous, as well as showing a weak mind/will.

 

[Master-Jedi]

Well, I used to be catholic when I was younger. My parents are pretty serious about church and stuff, and I have been to two catholic (or whatever) schools. Its just never really mattered to me all that much, and a lot of it doesn't make sense to me. Oh, and science is awesome. Because spaceships.

 

[Freechoice]

That all men are created equal.

That's just not true. Rather, it's the idea that people should be treated equally.

As said, I give to two charities, but cannot accept that I must live under the emotional burdon of the suffering millions (or billions) feel every day.

You don't have to do shit. The world's fucked and it's been fucked since time immemorial. Really, the guy you're quoting makes more emotional sense than you. He doesn't give a shit about his life and still wants to do good in the world.

You know what that is?

That's fuckin' Batman right there.

I'm gonna drop a hint right here.

That's what I love about the Escapist; there's always someone trying to passively assert their "intelligence" (read: opinion) rather than just say what the fuck they mean and not be a douche in the process.

You can argue your little semantic bullshit all you like, but when you actually put it into practice, altruism DOES exist. Yeah, it wouldn't be done if people didn't believe something good comes of it, but the important part is the self-destructive nature inherent in helping others as a primary motivator. To state your point, you've completely disregarded the quantitative value of an action. If you give a kidney to a dying child, you've saved the kid, but handicapped yourself. From a personal perspective, there is a significant physical net loss that has a greater lasting impact than the warm fuzzies you got from letting someone else live.

Or hell, what about Batman? He gives of his own of life to make the world a better place for other people. He could be living out his life as a billionaire playboy, but he doesn't. The man is a miser with little tolerance for anything that isn't crime related.

This guy doesn't care about his life but still wants to do good? So does everyone else in the world.

You should meet this Canadian I know. He doesn't give a flying fuck about you or a starving kid in Africa or Donald Trump and his money.

 

[Simon Pettersson]

Well I used to belive in reincarnation, but then I thought about living on this planet for all eternity and tossed the idea away ....

 

[dfphetteplace]

I can't agree with the general thrust of what the OP states about how he didn't feel remorse as a teenager and that he was a 'poorer person for it'.

There are defence mechanisms we have to block out the otherwise overwhelming grief that occurs in the world each and every day - nay, each and every second.

It is sad when a life is lost in a tragedy such as a shuttle accident. It is highly publicised and in your face, too. But calamities occur on a much greater scale all the time which we are aware of, most pronounced of which is the starvation, rape and war that occurs every moment in Africa.

I can't judge someone any worse a person because they get sick of hearing about a tragedy in the news. A life lost, regardless of publicity, is a terrible thing, and the difference is simply that you are already ignoring -millios- of these but feel guilty for getting tired about hearing about -7- of another.

It's a defence mechanism because to truly take in the horrible things that happen to Humans every day would basically just drop you into the foetal position.

Do you not think that I have to use a defense mechanism to do my job? I can still care for the suffering and plight of others even if I'm not curled up in a ball at all times. I don't think I can save or help every person in the world, but I do try to make my little corner of this world a better place.

 

[Zhukov]

I went through this one patriotic phase in my mid teens.

Yeesh. Sometimes I wish I could give my fifteen year old self a good slap.

Heh. No doubt when I'm 40 I'll be saying the same about my 24 year old self.

 

[Da Orky Man]

That all men are created equal.

That's just not true. Rather, it's the idea that people should be treated equally.

As said, I give to two charities, but cannot accept that I must live under the emotional burdon of the suffering millions (or billions) feel every day.

You don't have to do shit. The world's fucked and it's been fucked since time immemorial. Really, the guy you're quoting makes more emotional sense than you. He doesn't give a shit about his life and still wants to do good in the world.

You know what that is?

That's fuckin' Batman right there.

And, to be fair, the world is in the best situation it has ever been in. Average life expectancy is the highest it's been in human history, number of wars compared to the population are at an all-time low, a relatively tiny percentage of the population is in poverty, need I go on?

1.4 billion people is a relatively 'tiny' percentage?

Life expectancies in some countries is as low as 47...

Where do you get your numbers from?

PS:

http://www.gapminder.org/world/#$majorMode=chart$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=5.59290322580644;ti=2010$zpv;v=0$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj1jiMAkmq1iMg;by=ind$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj2tPLxKvvnNPA;by=ind$inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL%5Fn5tAQ;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp$map_x;scale=log;dataMin=295;dataMax=79210$map_y;scale=lin;dataMin=19;dataMax=86$map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65$cd;bd=0$inds=;example=75

FANTASTIC site for all things Economics. Above link is per capita GDP vs Life Expectancy.

This shows the life expectancy of each country in the world. The average is about 67:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html

Now, if we look at medieval Britain, it's about 31.3 years:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/241864.stm

In ancient Greece/Rome, it was about 28:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/393100/mortality

And is this PDF by the World health organisation, it shows that the global life expectancy at the beginning of the 20th century was just 31. it also shows a few other figures that you may find interesting:
http://www.who.int/global_health_histories/seminars/presentation07.pdf



Now, as for the percentage of the population in poverty, this first link shows that 75% of the world population lived on less than the equivalent of a dollar a day in 1820, while about 20% do now:
http://www.cato.org/research/articles/vas-0109.html

Now, for this one, look at the headcount title. It shows the percentage of the population in each area living under the poverty line:
http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm?1
And the poverty line is in PPP, so it's already been accounted for in terms of inflation.


Don't ask for evidence unless you've really researched this. I'm good when it comes to this.

 

[SEXTON HALE]

I used to believe that I was being watched by ducks.
Its called anatidaephobia I could barely leave my house!
But they lost intrest and went away.

 

[Weaver]

Sure is gaming discussion in here.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

I think everyone has those periods of angst. Those periods where "everything is stupid and I just want to live alone when I'm older." At least, I did. I criticized religion and wanted to be pretty much a hermit when I was older. But now, things just don't bother me as much as they used to. I regained my interest in religion and saw its uses. I still want to build a house in the woods, but only because I want to accomplish such a grand task. I'm really just not as bitter and angst-filled as I was a few years ago.

 

[Praetox]

I'm ashamed to say that when I was younger and a lot more stupid, I believed that old games were crap just because they were old. Now, I have seen the light and approach old games with the same enthusiasm as new releases. Currently playing RE2 after buying it on the PSN

 

[chexlltim]

i used to believe santa

i still believe in santa

 

[AnarchistFish]

I used to be a conservative, now I'm pretty far left wing (I don't think this is part of an angsty phase).
Used to be religious, now I'm agnostic and have little interest in church at all.
Used to be one of those metalhead twats who'd say things like 'only metal is real music!' and just scoff at any other genre. Now I realise that all genres have bad artists and good ones (except power metal; power metal can fuck off), you just have to look for the good stuff if you really want it.
Used to be a bit whiny and 'dislike humanity'. God, that part of me embarrasses me in hindsight.

I'd like to think I've become more open minded. Although I wonder what my future self will think of my present self.

 

[I-Protest-I]

Used to be a racist towards anyone of Pakistan or Indian descent, when I'd started working with them I realised they were people who just wanted to get on with their lives like anyone else. Why let a few dickheads ruin an entire race.