A very small number of, mostly, men working in financial markets causes the Global Economic Crisis in 2008. Epidemiologic studies found there was, directly attributable to the financial collapse, 5000 – 6000 extra suicides in the USA, 290 excess suicides and attempted suicides in Italy, and similar figures around Europe for suicide, mental health, self rated health, mortality, and other health outcomes, with a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry estimating that as many as 10,000 suicides across North America and Europe could be attributed to the financial crisis, a rise in the rate by 4.5% and 6.5% respectively. Experts from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the increase was four times higher among men than women with most of these deaths being middle aged white men from professional occupations, from all classses. These figures for the USA almost exactly reflect the casualty rate for the two recent wars fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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The economic downturn killed just as many American as the two wars, without any prosecutions or incarcerations. You could argue that the persons responsible for the Global Economic Crisis killed just as many persons as the enemies of the USA overseas. And nothing happened to the culprits. There is a great documentary on this subject called 
that outlines a lot of this stuff.
In fact, the bank were bailed out by the government, by the taxpayer, to the tune of billions of dollars, yet the bankers still awarded themselves multi millions in bonuses.
If you think about that, this represents an attack on these countries. This was an economic attack. The self-serving actions of a very small number of persons cost the USA alone $14 trillion, yet there were no consequences. They were actually rewarded. The country did not fight back.
A country, or any group, that is not prepared to defend itself is not really a group. It is logical for an everyday person to question whether their country actually exists as a entity. This is why you hear persons say things like ‘Big Business runs the world now’. People have lost faith in their own governments to do the right thing by their citizens and defend them against attack. Banding together to defend yourself from outsiders is one of the definitions of a country or any group.
This has led to the recent political shockwaves like Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. People are confused as to what it means to be American or British, who or what belongs here or there, and who or what to be loyal to. Nations are attempting to defend themselves against attack from foreigners. Yet, as the documentary says, it is actually an inside job.
The western world is in a deep state of confusion. People feel like they do not belong. Some academics have even conjectured that a lot of the world is walking around in a state of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This leads to persons doing stuff like joining ISIS. They want a sense of purpose. They have been taken in by the propaganda, they do not realise that it is a blood thirsty criminal group, but they want a sense of meaning; a sense of purpose.
She wanted something to die for to make to life beautiful
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If you survey people on the street and asked them, ‘What would you die for?’, most people may say their families, or say nothing. For most of humanity, the immediate answer would be, ‘I’d die for my people, of course. If our city or encampment got attacked by the enemy, I’d die defending it’.
Now, no one would give that answer. Which shows we live in safety, we are not obviously threatened by an enemy day-to-day and live in luxury, which is great, but deprives people of an sense of purpose and meaning.
People need to feel like part of a group. They need to challenged in a way that serves themselves but also serves others. They need to feel part of a Tribe.
Sebastian Junger – war journalist, author (War and Perfect Storm) , and documentary maker (“ Restrepo ” and “ Hell On Earth “) – wrote extensively about this in his latest book, ‘Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging’.
Junger discussed the financial crisis and it’s effects on the population in his interview with Joe Rogan on The Joe Rogan Experience. You can watch the whole interview below.
