December 21, 2012...doomsday? Or the Great Awakening? Or maybe just another day in the midst of an era of rapidly evolving spiritual and technological advancement.
After all my generation has already survived a few apocalyptic close calls. Heck we grew up in the Cold War, when every Friday felt like a close call as we practiced civil defense drills, hiding under our desks with hands over our heads in preparation for the big one.
I was 4 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated and for a four year old who sees the president as one of a Holy Trinity, along with Santa Claus and God, it certainly felt like a shadow of destruction was looming near.
When Ronald Reagan was elected president there were some of us who thought that signaled the beginning of nuclear war; he even joked about it saying 'we will begin bombing in five minutes'.
Then there was the Harmonic Convergence of 1987, which most New Agey folks felt would usher in an era of great Peace and enlightenment. Nice thought, but since then it seems we've been busy looking under rocks and bringing out all the creepy stuff in order to make way, perhaps, for a Great Awakening.
I really don't claim to know the answers although I am entertained my the numerous theories floating around out there, even if some of them border on the realm of 'disturbing'.
What I do know is this, our technology has evolved at a mind boggling pace over the last 100 years or so. I remember my sitting with my grandfather watching one of the several rocket launches of the 1960's (this was always a big event in those days, even in school we'd get to have the television wheeled into the classroom so we could all count down 10,9,8...to 'we have lift off') My grandfather told me the story of the first car he remembered seeing. He was a child at the time, living in a small town in New York. The car was owned by a wealthy and eccentric woman who was eager to parade about the town square in her new toy. Apparently she hadn't bothered to learn how to drive..who would there be to teach her? So she circled around and around the town center, probably at about 5 mph. screaming that she didn't know how to make it stop. The townspeople were rather amused at her pride gone awry, but not entirely unsympathetic and ran chasing after her in order to try to figure out how to stop the car. Finally some men ran to the hardware store, bought some sturdy rope and created a barrier across the street in hopes of trapping the rogue vehicle. It slowed things down substantially until the car finally ran out of gas where it sat, the object of combined wonder and mistrust, until someone rigged up a team of horses to pull it away. Horses they understood, horses were reliable and cooperative, not so much with the 'horseless carriage'. I loved that story for so many reason, not the least of which being that the heroes of the day were horses, but on that particular day it took on a whole new level of meaning as I realized that in my Grandpas life he had seen humankind evolve from horses to moon landings. I realized how overwhelming it must have felt for him and how it probably enhanced the humor of the first car story in his mind.
Now in my own lifetime, I am seeing and using, devices that are not unlike what we saw as children on Star Trek (the original with William Shatner) and other futuristic sci-fi films. Not only am I using them I have become pretty well attached to them, although I hesitate to say I am dependent on them, that's a word I use selectively. Nevertheless they have become an integral part of my daily life, something I would only have dreamed of as a child.
Technology has opened doors that never existed 30 or 40 years ago. I can have an instant conversation with someone halfway around the world. I always call it time travel when I do this..because it is usually the next day for the person I'm chatting with. The Arab spring would not have been possible without the communication we have available at our fingertips. On the other hand neither would the sterile, frightening reality of drone warfare. Any development is only as ethical as those who make use of it.
I can only imagine, and there is some historical reference to support this, that the Renaissance and the appearance of the Gutenberg printing press, may have evoked some similar doomsday predictions. With any sweeping cultural change, especially that which opens doors of communication and new knowledge, there will be certain people who react in fear. Change can be scary, anything that shakes up our preconceived notions with new information, even if it promises a better life, also brings uncertainty. Sometimes it's easier to be comfortable in ignorance that disrupted by enlightenment.
So are we headed for doomsday or the golden age? Probably neither, but it does feel a bit like the human race is chasing the car around the town square trying to figure out how to slow it down until we figure out exactly how it all works.
© 2010-2012, Jennifer Hazard
Showing posts with label fear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fear. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Ageism, Racism and Fear-The Blockades to Progress
I'm gong to go on a little rant, there are some things I need to get out of my system. And there are some things that desperately need to be heard.
Here we are in the most exciting, frightening and emotionally charged social-political atmosphere since the 60's. There is so much potential right now at this moment in history for true empowerment and justice...you can feel it in the air. All over the world people are taking to the streets employing diverse strategies to send their message to the ruling elite that we are pissed and we are not going to take any more. Of all these groups there are many who also dare to take their message a step further and say we are hopeful, we are creating a new future for ourselves and the generations to come.
Now I'm not the most patient person in the world, never have been...but I've been around for a little over a half a century and that in itself forces one to accept the truth that change happens slowly. It probably should happen slowly. Decisions made in the heat of passion, anger or frustration are generally not well planned and are often doomed to fail, we all know that. But the changes we see happening now are not the result of some new trend...they've been simmering and brewing in the cauldron of discontent for decades. Now, before the whole thing boils over it's time to take a look at the recipe.
Anger, ok we've got plenty of that, along with discontent, these are after all essential ingredients for change given the nature of human beings. Let's stir it up a little more....I'm looking for some unity and hope....hmmm maybe a little floating around but that anger is so congealed it can't quite blend in. Stir with a whisk...frothy slimy mixture and damn that anger isn't dissolving. What is wrong with this potion? Let me look at the book...uh oh "anger, when not properly blended may congeal to a substance known as mistrust". Crap. Now what? and how did this happen? who was watching the kettle?
One can argue whether social change follows a distinct formula or not, but I do think I can say that there are some things we have learned from our past mistakes; things that I hope we do not repeat.
Number one is not learning from past mistakes. History repeats itself only because we, people, allow it to do so. We do this by failing to review the past. We refuse to listen to our Elders, thinking that our times are different and so are we.
We all have to take responsibility for educating ourselves, asking questions, listening and utilizing critical thinking to make our own informed choices....and I think we really need to encourage other people to do this. As we (people my age) become The Elders we have a responsibility and the honor to share our experience and wisdom, even if only to admit our mistakes and analyze what we may have done differently. The Youth have certain things to offer us Elders as well. Times have changed. This generation has been raised with a very different set of skills, both technological and interpersonal, than my generation. I don't see a lot of effort in our movement (locally) to bring people together in multi-generational forums where we can exchange our knowledge and talents.
To do this takes time and effort, yes, but taking the quick and easy way out has never produced real sustainable results.
Here we are in the most exciting, frightening and emotionally charged social-political atmosphere since the 60's. There is so much potential right now at this moment in history for true empowerment and justice...you can feel it in the air. All over the world people are taking to the streets employing diverse strategies to send their message to the ruling elite that we are pissed and we are not going to take any more. Of all these groups there are many who also dare to take their message a step further and say we are hopeful, we are creating a new future for ourselves and the generations to come.
Now I'm not the most patient person in the world, never have been...but I've been around for a little over a half a century and that in itself forces one to accept the truth that change happens slowly. It probably should happen slowly. Decisions made in the heat of passion, anger or frustration are generally not well planned and are often doomed to fail, we all know that. But the changes we see happening now are not the result of some new trend...they've been simmering and brewing in the cauldron of discontent for decades. Now, before the whole thing boils over it's time to take a look at the recipe.
Anger, ok we've got plenty of that, along with discontent, these are after all essential ingredients for change given the nature of human beings. Let's stir it up a little more....I'm looking for some unity and hope....hmmm maybe a little floating around but that anger is so congealed it can't quite blend in. Stir with a whisk...frothy slimy mixture and damn that anger isn't dissolving. What is wrong with this potion? Let me look at the book...uh oh "anger, when not properly blended may congeal to a substance known as mistrust". Crap. Now what? and how did this happen? who was watching the kettle?
One can argue whether social change follows a distinct formula or not, but I do think I can say that there are some things we have learned from our past mistakes; things that I hope we do not repeat.
Number one is not learning from past mistakes. History repeats itself only because we, people, allow it to do so. We do this by failing to review the past. We refuse to listen to our Elders, thinking that our times are different and so are we.
We all have to take responsibility for educating ourselves, asking questions, listening and utilizing critical thinking to make our own informed choices....and I think we really need to encourage other people to do this. As we (people my age) become The Elders we have a responsibility and the honor to share our experience and wisdom, even if only to admit our mistakes and analyze what we may have done differently. The Youth have certain things to offer us Elders as well. Times have changed. This generation has been raised with a very different set of skills, both technological and interpersonal, than my generation. I don't see a lot of effort in our movement (locally) to bring people together in multi-generational forums where we can exchange our knowledge and talents.
To do this takes time and effort, yes, but taking the quick and easy way out has never produced real sustainable results.
I see a lot of young people around here jumping on bandwagons without really "looking under the hood" to see what's driving the engine. I see a lot of us older people holding back, keeping our heads down and hoping for the best. We're driving our old classic bandwagons doggedly along ignoring the check engine light that's flashing before our eyes. Once in a while we all get together and talk shop, but so far there hasn't been a lot of follow through, and the community remains unstable.
And then there's the racial/ethnic division. Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cites in the country, and there is a lot of mistrust between all races. This has got to stop. We need to get past our overly sensitive political correctness and really get to know one another. This means open, honest and trusting dialogue. We can respect the effects of past injustice...hell worse than injustice, outright ethnic cleansing...without keeping a scorecard of who owes who or who suffered the worst. What we need to be asking is how do we prevent those kinds of atrocities from ever happening again. I think taking a look at the global community and seeing instances where this is still going on, usually well funded by US tax dollars might just be a unifying concept.
And then there's the racial/ethnic division. Milwaukee is one of the most segregated cites in the country, and there is a lot of mistrust between all races. This has got to stop. We need to get past our overly sensitive political correctness and really get to know one another. This means open, honest and trusting dialogue. We can respect the effects of past injustice...hell worse than injustice, outright ethnic cleansing...without keeping a scorecard of who owes who or who suffered the worst. What we need to be asking is how do we prevent those kinds of atrocities from ever happening again. I think taking a look at the global community and seeing instances where this is still going on, usually well funded by US tax dollars might just be a unifying concept.
My point is that our personal histories, biases, injuries and personalities will bleed through into our communal contribution. They will inevitably cause conflict. Someone might get offended, even if no offense was meant. We have to talk it though, look honestly at where those feelings of injury or insensitivity are rooted. Are we able to have conversations respectfully? I think we are.
What do we have to offer to our community if we ourselves are unwilling to stand by our own values..or if we think we know our values, but fail to implement them in everyday action. Collectivism is challenging because it respects individual voices while also minding the best interests of the community (and this includes the environment, the non human species, the voiceless and invisible members of society) and this is unfamiliar territory for Americans. We have been raised in a society that praises and rewards rugged individualism and self determination. I'm saying that respect for the individual and collectivism are not mutually exclusive...they can co-exist, it just takes work, commitment and very honest self examination. But on both the personal and collective levels there is a real need for education, including the tough task of self examination, soul searching and ego busting in order for us, collectively, to make well informed decisions and actions and implement them in a way that creates real and sustainable change.
Thoughts?
What do we have to offer to our community if we ourselves are unwilling to stand by our own values..or if we think we know our values, but fail to implement them in everyday action. Collectivism is challenging because it respects individual voices while also minding the best interests of the community (and this includes the environment, the non human species, the voiceless and invisible members of society) and this is unfamiliar territory for Americans. We have been raised in a society that praises and rewards rugged individualism and self determination. I'm saying that respect for the individual and collectivism are not mutually exclusive...they can co-exist, it just takes work, commitment and very honest self examination. But on both the personal and collective levels there is a real need for education, including the tough task of self examination, soul searching and ego busting in order for us, collectively, to make well informed decisions and actions and implement them in a way that creates real and sustainable change.
Thoughts?
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