No Return

Once upon a time people had lost touch with the planet. Maybe it was the result of the millennia-old doctrine that the human species should “...be fruitful and multiply” by filling the Earth, subduing it, and achieving dominion “...over every living thing that moveth upon on the earth.” Of course if “dominion” meant the kind of destruction they had wrought there would be nothing left to have dominion over. Maybe then it was the result of a self-centered unwillingness to make decisions with the future well-being of all living things in mind. Or, perhaps it was the result of the unintended consequences of countless individual and collective decisions that had been compounded and distorted over generations, regardless of their intent. Whatever the reason, people found themselves facing numerous existential threats. That their scientists recognized and labeled the uniqueness of the time as the Anthropocene was a sad endorsement of the profound global impacts they had caused. Signs of ecological collapse were everywhere: from the invention, use, and proliferation of nuclear weapons; to the encroachment of civilizations on sensitive habitats and resulting mass extinctions and loss of biodiversity; to the introduction of synthetic materials and their pervasive use affecting human and non-human living organisms with unforeseen synergies; to the unchecked extraction and combustion of fossil fuels and the associated release of heat-trapping gases that insidiously permeated and altered the functioning of the natural systems upon which all life on the planet depended. While many had raised alarms as habitat was consumed or contaminated, species went extinct, waste accumulated in vast manmade islands in the sea, and global temperatures rose, it took the climate change protests of a 15-year-old girl named Greta sitting outside her country’s Parliament building rather than attending Friday classes to capture the world’s attention. Sadly, by that time five key opportunities to step aside from their self-destructive ways had been missed and those people had lost their way.

The first opportunity to turn back might have occurred shortly after any of their numerous errors were made. Had they acknowledged the consequences of their actions soon after they were observed, they could have managed course corrections. It’s to be expected that people will digress from an ideal path from time to time, everyone makes course corrections. But for an entire society to deny that so many fundamental flaws in their interaction with the natural environment were occurring and instead proudly and defiantly march along with blinders firmly affixed, speaks to a collective mental illness. Those with the greatest control over the collective rudder were too enamored of their dominion over the planet and too greedy to admit how dangerously far they had strayed. Correcting one’s mistake and turning away from the negative before it is too late cultivates one’s virtue.

A return to a virtuous path could have been achieved quietly and without fanfare had leaders listened to and acted on the advice of those who were observing and documenting the hazards. Had they learned the lessons of past civilizations or listened to modern science, the necessary course corrections could have been made sooner and easier. Ancient civilizations had come and gone, but the simple truth was that humanity had survived for at least 6,000 years before the Anthropocene era of existential threats became apparent within a single lifetime. And when the truth of the situation was documented by science, the knee-jerk reaction was to deny the facts, tighten the blinders, and spread misinformation and doubt so the masses would not listen to the lessons of the past or the facts of the present. Sadly, the lifeline of wisdom was not grasped. Tough decisions are made easier by following the example of good people.

Repeated attempts to return to a path of virtue did occur. Moments of clarity flashed and segments of society moved in a positive direction but inevitably the special interests of the powerful thwarted meaningful course corrections. Society was enticed by material goods and comforts into ignoring the negative consequences. Misinformation about negative consequences was spread by those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo for material gain. Schizopocene is a more apt historic label for that period when societal was plagued by the collective mental illness of materialism. There was a disconnection from long-term value and an infatuation with illusions of value derived from ephemeral objects of adolescent entertainment. Society waffled between times of urgent concern and mobilized action only to slip back to the convenient bad habits of indulgence and waste which led to widespread depression, uncertainty, alienation, impotence, and apathy. Seek stability to overcome the dangerous position of repeatedly being lured from the light by uncontrolled desire.

Solitary returns to a virtuous way were achieved by some. Despite a collective societal illness, there were those who recognized the insanity of the path being marched upon and who made the bold, difficult, and painful choice to step aside from the madness. They of course were labeled by their former compatriots as the mad ones. Estranged from their former comforts, without societal support, and unwilling to succumb to the enticements of the familiar patterns they were escaping, they sought refuge in solitude or small pockets of enlightened self-interest. They were outcasts, weirdos, and misfits who knew that another path was necessary and attainable and sought to brighten their own corners of the world.  Surrounded by bad influences, one seeks the light alone.

The noble-hearted among them were willing to stand up and admit that mistakes had been made. For many, it took children protesting on behalf of their collective futures on what they saw as an increasingly impoverished and inhospitable planet to shake their collective minds out of their stupors,  heed the warnings, and take action. A critical step in attempting to right the ship and chart a course to a more equitable and sustainable future was to acknowledge the error of society’s way and make the tough decisions needed to correct past mistakes that trailed behind in their wakes having untold unintended consequences. When they began to accept that something is wrong, they enabled themselves to discuss the mistakes they had made and collaborate to find solutions. One objectively examines one’s faults, confesses mistakes, and resolves to overcome them.

Unfortunately, the sad reality is that people of that time missed their opportunities to turn back from the brink. As their world continued to break one extreme heat record after the other and deniers of its human-caused reality continued to hinder societal action, they charged farther and farther toward their unsustainable future. Society’s world view was out of sync with the existential threats they faced and they had missed opportune times to correct course. Collectively, their ignorance, obstinacy, closed-mindedness, suspicion and arrogant self-centeredness had superseded their noble virtues and they found themselves on the verge of relegation as another failed experiment in human history. One has missed the opportunity to turn back and must suffer the consequences.

All the signs pointed to impending ecological and societal collapse. How long would it take for the cycle to end and present another chance to effect positive change? Could they endure that long and if so, what would the world and humanity look like after the march had steadfastly continued until then? If the Schizopocene ended and people came to their senses, would they rediscover freshly scoured beaches where footsteps could not be seen or tire treads in asphalt?