Good points expat -

I read and sometimes post comments to TOD because I just happened to stumble upon the immediacy of peak oil (I’m a geologist so I knew the concept well but truthfully hadn’t paid much attention to its implications) when I was surfing around the internet after a particularly bad week (personally) in these United States. The internet, TOD and Kunstler in particular, contained observations and opinions from people who actually had the perception to realize and articulate that something was (is) fundamentally wrong out there with our way of life. I had this building feeling that if you were a person who didn’t buy into this hyperconsumer lifestyle then you were just going to get rolled by those who have been consumed by it… I simply was not encountering any engagement on this feeling with any other people I talked with – just would get the classic “eyes glaze over, 1000 yd. stare, quick change the subject this is boring me” response. My girlfriend has been amazing because she does see what first brought me to TOD and agrees that we’re in trouble but I think she’s a bit more optimistic than me and thinks that things could get bad for a spell but ultimately we’ll all pull together… I argue with her that I don’t think human nature (genetics) bode well for that kind of happy thinking… but we’re still both works in progress – and we are struggling to prepare, as you suggest…

Thought I’d relate this to you because I think your observation about TOD contributors feeling as though they’re “part of a community” really is what has been most important to me. The reinforcement of these ideas has actually spurred me on to prepare for this when everyday influences and encounters try to suggest the exact opposite (“move along – nothing to see here”, bread & circuses etc.). Seeing items other people have written and saying to myself “damn, that sounds EXACTLY like what I think…” has been very helpful when, in my every day life and encounters, I feel that way very, very rarely…