As humanity commemorates the completion of another earth's cycle around the sun, it dawned on me that I would be marking half a century of my own existence on this mud ball. So I revisited something I wrote ten years ago and found that not much had changed mother-ship's trajectory. I realized, while I had largely led a rather comfortable life, taking on the challenges of domesticity and a career, the existential questions facing us all still hung in the
balance.
A decade ago the human population had not surpassed seven billion. But the nature of its survival was less dismal than it is today. We have burnt carbon and discarded plastic like an alcoholic and now earth's veins are clogging and a cardiac arrest is imminent. But there is one thing that keeps the human spirit alive, the indomitable trust in the idea of "hope".
Hope that it can change the orbit of things to come with ingenious technology and innovation. No matter the odds, the confidence that it can win back time by challenging nature itself. And then there is the arrogance that not much has changed and life will go on as it has for centuries and we shall adapt. The planet is resilient and infinite and there is enough room for it to swallow all our refuse no matter what, is still a popular myth bought and peddled by many in power and their "blind leading the blind" entourage.
Humanity is no monolith. It is but a sum of diverse flawed individuals. A smorgasbord of folly, fortitude and formidable tenacity. And so 2018 was not that much different from years past. Natural and man made calamities, war, terrorism and other earth shattering phenomena made their mark like clockwork. Hunger, poverty, migration, rape and mass murder reminded us yet again of humanity's capacity for evil.
An argument is often made that writers, thinkers, scientists and artists often focus disproportionately on what's wrong with the world. The cynic trumps the pragmatist and the optimist.
Especially at years end, one should focus on the strides humanity has made in tackling some of the colossal challenges that it faces and not just on the devastation its actions cause.
Yes, humanity has conquered many diseases, the Internet is changing the very fabric of society in many positive ways, space exploration is advancing science, rich people are pledging more of their money to do good on a global scale, some nations are taking climate change seriously, some rain forests are being conserved and some endangered species are returning from the brink. And despite all that the media tends to magnify, more people are living in relative peace and security around the planet in a century. Probably this is why the human population rapidly grows, forecasted to reach 9 billion in the next few decades.
While there is relative peace, authoritarianism, fascism and right-wing politics are on the march once again. Democracy which seemed like a system that would readily take hold around the globe, especially after the end of the cold war and a collapse of communism, is again under threat. Identity politics, populism and religious tribalism are dividing people. Social media and the immediacy of the internet are helping disseminate these divisions with scathing effect.
The desire to believe in mythology with resolve and less in evidence, continues to grow. Society is created and crafted when people share stories. The fantastical ones and not the factual ones, continue to be the glue that bind. Hollowed by consumerism, in search of spiritual solace, many are adrift finding meaning in archaic practices, decrepit soothsayers and dubious leaders.
Humanity's penchant for greed and corruption always looms large, and gets larger as some nations experience an uneven and artificial phenomenon known as an "economic boom". The seduction of affluence can blind even the most informed. Consumption and the aspiration to live like the west, is reaching new highs, hoodwinking nations and peoples to gamble their future.
For nations that have always taken tomorrow's sunrise for granted, things seem uncertain. The less fortunate amassing at their borders, suck compassion out of even the most generous of them all.
Governments looking to get reelected pass policies and spend their way to the hilt, offering and deluding their citizens that the glory days will return or are yet to come .
But what they do not seem to understand is that resources are finite, and capitalism in its present form is unsustainable. If economic growth is the only benchmark for success, the roller coaster fluctuations of the stock market will be the new normal. Even the knee jerk experiment of capitalism inside communism, is fundamentally flawed and impractical in the long run. Every year is a litmus test, making certain that the fountain of endless affluence and growth is but an illusion.
So when, where and how do we begin to appreciate the future from the present and reverse course? When do we begin to look at ourselves beyond the trappings of power, politics, greed, religion, dogma and division and think of ourselves as the one ocean rising. When do we begin to accept that our progress and problems are interconnected and that nations and people are all essentially the same, sharing the same destiny. When do we recognize that no nation is immune to the ebb and flow of economic and social upheaval, despite their historical make up. And when do we wake up to the realization that walls do not work.
And so heading into another year of unknowns, instead of making new resolutions, if we as a species can acknowledge the mistakes we have made in the past, that would be a huge step in the right direction.
It is what it is.
A decade ago the human population had not surpassed seven billion. But the nature of its survival was less dismal than it is today. We have burnt carbon and discarded plastic like an alcoholic and now earth's veins are clogging and a cardiac arrest is imminent. But there is one thing that keeps the human spirit alive, the indomitable trust in the idea of "hope".
Hope that it can change the orbit of things to come with ingenious technology and innovation. No matter the odds, the confidence that it can win back time by challenging nature itself. And then there is the arrogance that not much has changed and life will go on as it has for centuries and we shall adapt. The planet is resilient and infinite and there is enough room for it to swallow all our refuse no matter what, is still a popular myth bought and peddled by many in power and their "blind leading the blind" entourage.
Humanity is no monolith. It is but a sum of diverse flawed individuals. A smorgasbord of folly, fortitude and formidable tenacity. And so 2018 was not that much different from years past. Natural and man made calamities, war, terrorism and other earth shattering phenomena made their mark like clockwork. Hunger, poverty, migration, rape and mass murder reminded us yet again of humanity's capacity for evil.
An argument is often made that writers, thinkers, scientists and artists often focus disproportionately on what's wrong with the world. The cynic trumps the pragmatist and the optimist.
Especially at years end, one should focus on the strides humanity has made in tackling some of the colossal challenges that it faces and not just on the devastation its actions cause.
Yes, humanity has conquered many diseases, the Internet is changing the very fabric of society in many positive ways, space exploration is advancing science, rich people are pledging more of their money to do good on a global scale, some nations are taking climate change seriously, some rain forests are being conserved and some endangered species are returning from the brink. And despite all that the media tends to magnify, more people are living in relative peace and security around the planet in a century. Probably this is why the human population rapidly grows, forecasted to reach 9 billion in the next few decades.
While there is relative peace, authoritarianism, fascism and right-wing politics are on the march once again. Democracy which seemed like a system that would readily take hold around the globe, especially after the end of the cold war and a collapse of communism, is again under threat. Identity politics, populism and religious tribalism are dividing people. Social media and the immediacy of the internet are helping disseminate these divisions with scathing effect.
The desire to believe in mythology with resolve and less in evidence, continues to grow. Society is created and crafted when people share stories. The fantastical ones and not the factual ones, continue to be the glue that bind. Hollowed by consumerism, in search of spiritual solace, many are adrift finding meaning in archaic practices, decrepit soothsayers and dubious leaders.
Humanity's penchant for greed and corruption always looms large, and gets larger as some nations experience an uneven and artificial phenomenon known as an "economic boom". The seduction of affluence can blind even the most informed. Consumption and the aspiration to live like the west, is reaching new highs, hoodwinking nations and peoples to gamble their future.
For nations that have always taken tomorrow's sunrise for granted, things seem uncertain. The less fortunate amassing at their borders, suck compassion out of even the most generous of them all.
Governments looking to get reelected pass policies and spend their way to the hilt, offering and deluding their citizens that the glory days will return or are yet to come .
But what they do not seem to understand is that resources are finite, and capitalism in its present form is unsustainable. If economic growth is the only benchmark for success, the roller coaster fluctuations of the stock market will be the new normal. Even the knee jerk experiment of capitalism inside communism, is fundamentally flawed and impractical in the long run. Every year is a litmus test, making certain that the fountain of endless affluence and growth is but an illusion.
So when, where and how do we begin to appreciate the future from the present and reverse course? When do we begin to look at ourselves beyond the trappings of power, politics, greed, religion, dogma and division and think of ourselves as the one ocean rising. When do we begin to accept that our progress and problems are interconnected and that nations and people are all essentially the same, sharing the same destiny. When do we recognize that no nation is immune to the ebb and flow of economic and social upheaval, despite their historical make up. And when do we wake up to the realization that walls do not work.
And so heading into another year of unknowns, instead of making new resolutions, if we as a species can acknowledge the mistakes we have made in the past, that would be a huge step in the right direction.
It is what it is.
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