Guides for empathy after a major catastrophic event?

[Artfuldodger]

Let's say almost everyone is wiped out by a natural event or even a man made event. Immediately it would be every man for himself. This is what many prepare for.
I'm wondering though that at some point in time after that, would man again have empathy to help his fellow man?
Also just to restart some new type of civilization after such an event. If so what would be some guidelines we could use? What could we learn from our past such as comparing what our Forefathers had to do after our Deceleration of Independence.

I would guess the empathy and helping neighbors would come first and a new civilization would come later. But neither before we fought and defended for our immediate families.

 

[Redbow]

Man would not learn from it he never has why would he now? He would revert back to his old self just a matter of time.

Some on a site a while back were discussing a human settlement on Mars is coming in the future. A guy chimed in and said, why send humans to Mars it won't take man very long and Mars will be as screwed up as Earth is now. I agree with that man whatever human beings put their hands in eventually things will go sour. Just my own personal opinion about the human race.

 

[Artfuldodger]

Reading this;
"Great civilizations are not murdered. Instead, they take their own lives."
"Collapse is often quick and greatness provides no immunity."

Just another way a civilization could fall but would that necessarily take out most life forms? I would think a disaster that removed most humans would make it easier to rebuild.

I would also think the progression of everyday living would happen very slowly and it would remain "each man for himself" for a long time.

Just like the people living in remote areas fo the US in the past. They didn't want or need too many guides other than helping each other and doing so without much government intervention. If a barn burned, they all got together and rebuilt it, etc.

 

[Artfuldodger]

Man would not learn from it he never has why would he now? He would revert back to his old self just a matter of time.

Some on a site a while back were discussing a human settlement on Mars is coming in the future. A guy chimed in and said, why send humans to Mars it won't take man very long and Mars will be as screwed up as Earth is now. I agree with that man whatever human beings put their hands in eventually things will go sour. Just my own personal opinion about the human race.

Maybe man makes "guides" the he can't keep? I can see your point but wouldn't man at least try out of necessity if nothing else? Maybe they could just agree to leave each other be. But at some point it seems like even smaller villages and/or communes would have to have some guides or down right laws to live amongst each other.

I like the idea of a lot of smaller organizations/civilizations more than larger ones. But even the Native Americans and later European countries expanded by taking. In a way it helps the smaller tribes/countries by providing security but in other ways it doesn't help.

 

[Ruger#3]

History has shown compassion prevails in the worst of times with isolated cases of evil.

Those that work in emergency response will tell you you map out short term and long term needs. That includes physical and emotional needs. Security and sustenance being physical needs.

 

[1eyefishing]

'Deceleration of independence'- Remarkably apropos...

 

[jrickman]

I think the assumption that it will be every man for himself is flawed, at least once you get out of the blue dots on the map into the red areas. It probably will be every neighborhood or extended family for themselves, possibly extending out to a municipal or county sized cooperative fairly quickly.

 

[OwlRNothing]

Same guidelines that made America great to begin with, and that we now ignore at our peril:

 

[Artfuldodger]

Same guidelines that made America great to begin with, and that we now ignore at our peril:

The Bible did come to mind but what if the 500 thousand survivors were not Christian or privy to any Bibles that survived the disaster?

Plus some guides seem so sensible one would think you don't need a guide such as murder and stealing.

 

[Milkman]

Look at what we Americans have done to our Country. Nuff said.

 

[Batjack]

Man would not learn from it he never has why would he now? He would revert back to his old self just a matter of time.

Some on a site a while back were discussing a human settlement on Mars is coming in the future. A guy chimed in and said, why send humans to Mars it won't take man very long and Mars will be as screwed up as Earth is now. I agree with that man whatever human beings put their hands in eventually things will go sour. Just my own personal opinion about the human race.

Name the one thing in the entire universe (other than humans) that moves into a place and rather than adapting to the place changes the place to suit it.... viruses. Humans are a virus on the universe and who's only accomplishment is to incorporate plastic into the environment.

 

[Artfuldodger]

I wonder why some individuals and even groups on a smaller scale seem to live in harmony while others it's more like The Lord of the Flies.

The Amish and other religious groups and some Hippie communes seem to have done pretty good while others of religions and Hippies haven't.

I remember one commune in Tennessee where the women had so many babies, they became expert midwives. Even the towns people used them.
I'm not sure "The Farm" was complete harmony but show me a place that is. They did find out Socialism didn't work and after a few years switched to "every man for himself" so to speak.
We have a Christian community here in Augusta where they all pool their money and dish it back out as needed. At least the used to do that, not sure if it's still in existence.

 

[gunnurse]

My family and neighbors are intelligent people. They have the same access to information that I do. It’s how they aggregate this knowledge into action that makes the difference.

I don’t know how I could allow my direct CLOSE family members to die from lack of food. I could, however, recoup a fair amount of valuable barter from them in return. Guns, gold, their belongings, etc. I have warned all my CLOSE family members for years to prepare. Whether they did, or not, is on them. My wife’s and child’s (as well as my infant grand child’s) life is on me.

Molon Labe.

 

[sinclair1]

Let's say almost everyone is wiped out by a natural event or even a man made event. Immediately it would be every man for himself. This is what many prepare for.
I'm wondering though that at some point in time after that, would man again have empathy to help his fellow man?
Also just to restart some new type of civilization after such an event. If so what would be some guidelines we could use? What could we learn from our past such as comparing what our Forefathers had to do after our Deceleration of Independence.

I would guess the empathy and helping neighbors would come first and a new civilization would come later. But neither before we fought and defended for our immediate families.

Kinda related but I often wondered why we put Tobacco in the gov seed bank for restarting civilization.
Would they put back into circulation to capitalize as they do now or keep it extinct?

 

[oldfella1962]

'Deceleration of independence'- Remarkably apropos...

I had to read that comment again - sure enough - "the decimation of....the degradation of....you know the thing!"

 

[oldfella1962]

Same guidelines that made America great to begin with, and that we now ignore at our peril:

Fair enough, but what about Muslim, Hindus, and other cultures? Or is this event confined only to the U.S.?

 

[Artfuldodger]

I had to read that comment again - sure enough - "the decimation of....the degradation of....you know the thing!"

Well it has sorta decelerated over time.

 

[oldfella1962]

Well it has sorta decelerated over time.

Especially within the past 18 months or so.

 

[Artfuldodger]

Fair enough, but what about Muslim, Hindus, and other cultures? Or is this event confined only to the U.S.?

Yes there might not be any survivors in the US or Europe. Probably pockets of survivors all over the world not even knowing others exist. Each taking a diverse path back to civilization.

It's a future event, it hasn't happened yet.

 

[2dye4]

Same guidelines that made America great to begin with, and that we now ignore at our peril:

That is what is missing in a lot of households these days.
I believe GOD is coming back and those who believe will rise and those who don’t will fall in ****.