Crazy Or Aware
This question was posted by a FB friend. She was wondering if things
were somehow fundamentally more insane at this time in history, or
if perhaps she had only recently become sensitized to, as Marvin
Gaye sang, "What's going on."
My reply was basically the observation that there are so many things
at play in the world today that have never been at play before in
human history. Granted, the nature of the human beast probably
hasn't changed at the DNA level in any significant way. But the way
we are "nurturing" ourselves in the year 2013 has never been so
drastically different. To wit:
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There have never been this many people on this planet, they crowd every nook and cranny.
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Those people have never increased their ranks at such astronomical rates. A species has never affected global climate in such drastic ways, and still maintain functional denial that it is not happening.
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There has never been so much wealth distributed so lopsidedly (both parts of that sentence are critical).
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Mankind has never actually possessed the means to destroy itself.
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There has never been such an instantaneously, totally interconnected, massive communication capability. Coupled with that, there has never been such a fantastically broadband conduit to ceaselessly bombard whole populations with specific memes and jingoisms and packaged ideas.
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Only now have we gained the ability to manipulate consciousness with Skinnerian and other, infinitely subtler mechanisms.
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We have never, until about a hundred years ago, had access to the extremely dense energy resources (ie, petroleum) that have fueled several generations of exponential industrial growth and private consumption.
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We have never been, since the species discovered its spiritual nature, so completely divorced from a spiritual (not religious!) focus.
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The number of humans who believe fundamentalist credos that absolutely condemn any competing credos has never been so overwhelmingly huge.
The time is out of joint. The center cannot hold. The fool will stay
asleep. But the wise will not be blamed if they decide to slumber
again as well. For there is naught against the tide, the forces are
already in play, and sheer numbers and momentum must lead to a set
of unpleasant inevitabilities. No, it is not possible to specify the
details, the combinatorics are far too complex. But we can surely
guess that huge Corrections will take place. And there is no place
to "go" to avoid it. There is only staying aware to see it.
Watchman, what of the night? Keep your lamps trimmed and filled with
oil.
"For none know the hour, and none know the day
And none have the power to keep that day at bay."
© 2013 Chuck Puckett