Prince Ea – Depression? Watch this | USA Declining Life Expectancy – Deaths by Despair

Prince Ea Silent Epidemic of Depression

Deaths by despair among the college educated and working class and declining life expectancy rates and poor health from diets low in nutrition have contributed to the physical and emotional health issues of many Americans. And just as the mass extinctions occurring across the globe and the heating of the planet causing extreme weather are human induced and IN OUR CONTROL, I feel that the human condition of physical and emotional illness is also IN OUR CONTROL, induced by negligence and nativity and a system that is closed and protecting the wealthier high dice rollers, and excluding the possibility of small entrepreneurs to even participate on the playing field. 

There must be a paradigm shift from top-down to horizontal, in which everyone is involved in reaching out to help everyone. Right now, I don’t think that anyone in this small community had a clue or a say about their corn fields being torn away to make way for a huge (private industry) Sheets Gas station and truck stop now parked at the edge of their town, and subsequent Sheets 18 wheeler trucks barreling down Main street. In an age of declining oil resources and the more than obvious need to divest and get away from this polluting industry, I feel that this private ownership bombardment is ruthless and should not be acceptable. This new sprawling gas station and truck stop just seems so wrong, at a time that extreme weather is a fallout of global warming and the last thing humans should be doing is further investment in the oil and gas and combustible engine industry.

Education! Education! Sharing the insights, leveling the playing field. Creating common areas for community and residential gardens and fruit trees. We live on a planet that is a garden. Why are fruit and vegetables bar coded?

Startling news in an article July 22nd, 2021 New York Times regarding the US declining life expectancy report.

“Even before the pandemic, the U.S. was mired in an alarming period of rising mortality. It had no modern precedent: During the second half of the 2010s, life expectancy fell on a sustained basis for the first time since the fighting of World War II killed several hundred thousand Americans.

Deaths of despair

“While some of the reasons are mysterious, others are fairly clear. American society has become far more unequal than it used to be, and the recent increases in mortality are concentrated among working-class Americans, especially those without a four-year college degree.

For many, daily life lacks the structure, status and meaning that it once had, as the Princeton University economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton have explained. Many people feel less of a connection to an employer, a labor union, a church or community groups. They are less likely to be married. They are more likely to endure chronic pain and to report being unhappy.

These trends have led to a surge of “deaths of despair” (a phrase that Case and Deaton coined), from drugs, alcohol and suicide. Other health problems, including diabetes and strokes, have also surged among the working class. Notably, the class gaps in life expectancy seem to be starker in the U.S. than in most other rich countries.”

I have been looking for housing and living without a roof for the last week, having returned to the state where I was born and raised to sort through my storage locker, and doing it quite well. I am indeed a survivor who plans ahead for what I’m packing and bringing along with me. I have been surprised and shocked by the continued growth of this once sleepy area; construction, housing developments, investment in the oil and gas industry along with shrinking corn fields. I will be doing a video blog (vlog) shortly, as I daily am able to catch more hours of sleep. In the meantime, I have always eaten well (fruits and veggies), drink lots of water and maintain a daily routine of heart rhythm meditation and remain open and resilient to the various factors which influence my circumstances. 

I believe that mediation is a form of prayer, in which an individual reaches out in silence to a larger entity, for me, God is Dog, Nature, the intelligence of the very, very small, the subatomic in fact.

In my search for housing, I continue to ride my bicycle profusely which keeps me in good shape, and I continually feel gratitude and recognize the positive aspects of all situations, I feel a joy with very, very small things. I notice in my travels, comparisons and returns, for example, to quaint towns and villages which once were my ‘hometown’, are now bustling, heavily trafficked with trucks and extremely loud belching engines and fumes down the main streets. Corn fields have signs advertising multiple sales into creating housing developments, gun shooting warehouses and industries.

I found many, too many, American flags, banners draping patriotism across their lawn and few and far in between signs expressing inclusivity and open borders. I’ve already received hate mail for expressing that Black Lives Matter and Injustice Anywhere is Injustice Everywhere.

As I spent the day cycling and investigating, I found that the typical signs I see on peoples’ lawns and porches are “We Support our Police”, “Trump”, “Beware of Dog”, lots of flags and the occasional “Welcome to My Porch” “Black Lives Matter” and “You are welcome in my neighborhood in Spanish, English and some Asian language. 

The postman in Palmyra said that many properties are for sale and another guy echoed the same statement a few minutes later. Yet whereas previously there were “Room For Rent” signs, I guess these got sort of Covided out. 

Here’s a pic of one person’s local Trump spirit. 

scary!

I stopped to take a picture of this lovely wildflower, growing between the street and the curb. I can identify with this! 

Carol Keiter aka nomadbeatz welcomes donations for her writing, photography, illustrations, eBook and music composition.

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