DON’T PANIC
Every day the “news” has “the sky is falling” stories. Write them down! Keep a journal. In 6 months, when you go back and read what they wrote you will find it did NOT happen. You’ll find more joy just ignoring the “doom and gloom.”
PENNIES.
“Pennies are going away!! Gasp!!”
No. Don’t worry! Several other countries have stopped using pennies and everything is fine. Canada did it several years ago and they haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.
SOCIAL SECURITY.
“They’re increasing the requirements!!! Gasp!!”
Yup. True. But the requirements to earn your 40 credits hasn’t changed in decades while the average wage has doubled and tripled. It is about time. You can earn up to 4 credits per year (same) and you will be fully vested after 40 credits or 10 years of 4 credits per year (same). The only difference is that you have to earn a little more to earn a credit ($80 actually). That’s a grand sum of $3,200 over 10 years. You can easily earn your credits with a minimum wage job in any state, including Mississippi.
INSURANCE SUBSIDIES.
“They’re taking away subsidies for “affordable” insurance!!! Gasp!!”
Well, that’s not exactly true. Those individuals and families who earn up to 4x poverty level always have had and will CONTINUE to have subsidies.
What is being blathered about are the temporary expanded subsidies made available to those families of 4 who are earning in excess of $130,000 per year (solidly upper middle-income households). If you’re family of 4 earns less than $120,000, your family still will receive subsidies.
MMGW.
“The temperature of the world is increasing because of human activity!!! Gasp!!”
True and (possibly) false. Recent scientific discoveries show that the world’s temperature is increasing much faster BECAUSE of the environmental meddling by earth scientists. Too fast they reduced greenhouse gas emissions. They pushed and pushed for the end of coal-fired electricity. They pushed and pushed for lower auto emissions. Etc. The result is that the clouds have been losing their reflective ability. Since the clouds have lost so much reflectivity the earth is warming faster than if we had done nothing at all. … Do-Gooders! ….
The good news … even if the world warms humans will survive. We could easily survive a 10 degree increase. The bad news … you’ll have to move to Canada. (Its a joke … don’t spit your coffee!)
CRIME.
“OMG, criminals are everywhere, all the time!! Gasp!!”
Not really. Like everything there are hot spots. For instance, there is a zip code of Chicago where about 75% of Chicago’s annual murders happen. Don’t go there unless you have a death wish. It turns out that in the United States there are about 7-10 counties where about 40% of all murders happen. Get the list and avoid those counties like your life depended on it. (???, kinda’ does.)
It also turns out that robberies and carjackings are for the most part local events, too. Don’t drive in those areas at night (sometimes even during the day).
Safety and security are location issues. Don’t go to central Africa now, for instance. Civil wars and violence are up. Stay out of Mexico if you don’t want to end up being a cartel statistic. Pay attention! The safest place to live is in the suburbs and rural areas. Some urban areas aren’t bad either.
KIDS.
“I can’t tell my kids the truth about the world!! Gasp!!”
First, pull up your big boy panties! Second, get your head out of the media box and look around! You are the adult. You need to do some SERIOUS research. You will find that the media sources LOVE to frighten you…it sells! Look at a few outside sources and even some research documents where alternative views are allowed. You will find there are sensible people who present more logical and nuanced data. Now that you’ve opened your brain box you can think better.
So, when you see that the world is not as crazy as you’ve been told (no, honeybees are NOT all dying off, for example), you can think and explain things without giving into abject terror. Now that your brain is not on “media crack” you realize that your kids are not stupid or mental zombies (same thing). If you talk reason they will understand reason. If you talk emotion they will respond with emotion. Choose reason and avoid emotion. Reason is calming and empowering.
BALDNESS.
“My mother’s father is bald. I’m going to lose my hair!!! Gasp!!”
Partially true. Some types of baldness are genetically carried to you that way, but if your mother isn’t losing her hair (there’s a special name for that), then it is unlikely there’s a direct connection between your maternal grandfather’s baldness and your follicular challenge.
Baldness IS a genetic thing, but it could have been that your great, great, great, grandmother carried a recessive gene which suddenly became your enemy.
Oh, and stress is an unlikely cause. And, the reason you went bald is NOT because you are an over-sexed male. You might be over- or under-sexed, but neither causes baldness.
Time to get a grip!
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
See more GUEST POSTS from Don
“The sky is falling !” Don’t let the headlines cause you to panic.
“ESSENCE Magazine” had this headline today: “Is It Just Me Or Did Every Bill Go Up This Month? Here’s What’s Actually Happening In The Economy.”
Reality: Your bills go up every year. The economy is working as it always has. Don’t panic.
I really enjoyed this conversation about the realities of the news. Satan wants to question everything and take the truths away from God. He always has. Even in the garden and look where that got us.
Did you know that if you want to know if a money bill is real or fake, you study the real, so that you can recognize the fake. The same is true about TRUTH. TRUTH is God, and if we study God, then we will recognize the FAKE or False immediately. Especially if we keep our eyes of Christ Jesus alone.
I love this analogy, it makes it so much more understandable for the average person, I’d never heard it put that way before! Love it!