1 May 2011

Sick Civilisation Syndrome

What kind of sick civilisation has regular displays of opulent ostentation, whilst more than 2 billion of its population struggle to find a meal every day?

What kind of sick civilisation has an economic growth system that requires that finite resources be exponentially exploited, with no regard to the needs of future generations?

What kind of sick civilisation eradicates species, destroys soil, acidifies oceans, pollutes rivers and creates swathes of toxic wasteland ... in effect destroying the very life support system it relies on for its survival?

What kind of sick civilisation eliminates indigenous tribes and rips out essential biosystems in order to extract minerals required to keeps its industrial system hyperactive?

What kind of sick civilisation, knowing that it is dangerously heating up the planet, continues to do so but at an accelerating rate, whilst making vain attempts to convince itself that it is acting?

What kind of sick civilisation perpetuates violence and war year after year, and fails to invest in creating the conditions for peaceable living?

What kind of sick civilisation is in constant denial about the onslaught it is wreaking on a defenceless natural world?



Answer:
A sick civilisation on its final deathbed. A civilisation in terminal decline. A civilisation that will almost certainly sputter out sometime in the 22nd century.

In his book; “Endgame”; Derrick Jensen asks the question “Do you believe that our culture will undergo a voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living? The answers range from emphatic nos to laughter. One fellow at one talk did raise his hand, then said, sheepishly, “Oh voluntary? No, of course not”.

We are a privileged generation. For we have the opportunity to witness the demise of our civilisation, and to lay the foundation stones for a sane and genuinely sustainable way of living.

It is what the Dark Mountain is all about. Every human being should be be engaged in this amazing and exciting adventure.

It is a joy to be alive at this time.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Mozz, a good site and good questions. Of course there will be no voluntary change because the matrix has people addicted to coffee and alcohol, for example. No one gives up addiction voluntarily unless they are prepared to renounce denial and embrace a new way of living. Also tends to help alot if there is a motivating factor ie life would be better without this drug/money/death and here's why: fear is a habit; joy is natural. Something like that.
    Sarah Connor

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  2. Hello Mozz. I like the blog site - great work.
    As Sarah says, voluntary change doesn't look too promising. I think that this is as much to do with habit as addiction, and the constant reinforcement of the status quo by most people around,by advertising, by the media, by politicians. Fear comes from the unexpected, ie startling events, and the trouble with that is that people become more conservative and less flexible when they're frightened.
    Colin.

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  3. Homo sapiens is a superb meaning maker with a natural propensity for making sense of the world, hence the universality of myth and story. Let us not be passive consumers but let us weave new myths and stories together to make our own active contribution. This site seems like a good place to do it.

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