How the People will react

When confronted with possible evidence that the quality of life in the USA is undergoing irreversable degradation leading to personal hardship, extreme inconvenience, and a forced change in lifestyle, such as facts, figures, and competently analyzed statistics; there are several ways in which people will tend to react.

These reactions are:

• Denial
• Greed
• Hatred / Blame / Ridicule
• Tolerance
• Paranoia
• Indifference
• Jealousy
• Escapists / Quitters / Suicide
• Hoarders
• Complainers
• Sentimentalists
• Optimists
• Rationalists
• Religious fervor

A deep schism will polarize Amercian society. Optimists may be severely impeded in their ability to problem solve and bring about corrective and preventative measures by the actions of people unwilling to contribute to the common good.

MENTALITY THAT GOES AGAINST SOCIETY

People who have a ‘me-first’ mentality may not able to sacrifice/share their time, energy, compassion and material goods including personal property (land, housing) for the sake of a larger group.

At some point society may break down into localized communities if and when central government is unable to function efficiently. In agriculturally sustainable areas people will band around farming communities from which they will derive foodstuffs.

There would be an exodus away from cities where transportation and the sheer quantity of humans requiring basic necessities is too dense to support any type of trade infrastructure. 

In the absense of official policy; without government regulations being enforced, and lack of an organized police presence – safe conduct becomes the responsibility of the individual citizen. Human rights violations would, unfortunately equalize the balance between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ accomplished through loss of life and abuse.

In such a chaotic state of affairs many communities will fail; focusing the rigors of  daily existance on hand-to-mouth survival. It would be difficult under these circumstances to organize any type of cohesive leadership that would act responsibly.

THE REAL NAME OF THE GAME

Having painted such a scenario; can we not see immediately that the name of the game is to create a majority of optimists?

Some see the approaching decline of civilization as a prolonged period of suffering, while others, resigned to the fact that it won’t go away – have opted for hope, optimism, rising up to the challenge, banding together to create a new future, and emerging eventually to a re-birth of humanity. One might say that the deck of cards is ‘about to be shuffled’.

Take your pick: Hot or not?

Wikipedia.org has an entry entitled: End of Civilization which is most interesting. As with everything you read on the Internet, caution must be exercised – the writers are almost always biased and present their point of view to the exclusion of others.

The ‘List of Catastrophes’ included in the article should be carefully analyzed. While it is obvious that some events are more likely to occur than others, and some not at all (laughable) – the truth is that several or more events will be simultaneously triggered at some point in the near or distant future; perhaps during our lifetime.

As such, here is a list of the most credible risks to human civilization which should concern every man, woman and child on this planet:

BELIEVABLE

• Global pandemic
• Ecological disaster
• World population and agricultural crisis
• Unforeseen consequences of technology
• Mutual assured destruction (Nuclear War)
• Economic collapse
• Overpopulation
• Peak oil
• Famine

I would encourage people to do more research on these so-called ‘hot topics’ in order to prepare yourself for a minimalist lifestyle that may provide a better chance of sustainable comfort and survival.

The World is slowly going insane

This can’t be happening. Life is supposed to be good. But all around us (US) the quality of life is turning downhill. Most of us have realized this already, watching it from the extreme comfort of our well manicured lifestyles once thought to be immune from all forms of contamination, bugs, terrorists, and the neighbor next door.

Because the change is so gradual, it will only become a shock to each and every one of us at some point. We don’t all get the shock at the same time. Some got it years ago, like Al Gore. To say that he was ‘ahead of his time’ is true, but eventually the USA and the rest of the world will ‘wake up’ and heed the ominous signs that have been there all along.

The average person doesn’t like to be shaken from his comfort zone (security blanket/living sofa/two SUV garage) and they pity people like Al Gore who are out in their underwear running around icebergs. Who needs it? “Such is not for me”, they cry.

But like a tsunami, those who don’t see it coming are not the last to know. They are only the first to be surprised when it hits without warning, so it seems.

HOW TO BE SANE

It’s not easy to be wise, and waking up early can be a curse if the world isn’t ready. Be kind, rewind and don’t rock the boats of others. Be humble, wake them gently with kind words and high contrast facts. Separate the wheat from the chaff, and be persistent.

Don’t turn radical. The sky is falling; yes – but don’t rush out and cut off the chicken’s head. There’s plenty of time. We cannot rewind, but there’s a renaissance and sense of creative challenge to manage those aspects which are under our control.

Most of the concern is about currently manifesting conditions that will play out their consequences beyond our lifespan. We will suffer hardship and misery as one, as will our succeeding generation. As John Lennon so simply proclaimed in 1970, “Give Peace a Chance” now applies in a broader sense to the world’s socio-economic and quality of life index regardless of race, religion, or nationalistic affiliation.

For better or worse, we’re in this boat together. Make the most of what resources we’ve got at our disposal, and leave no stone unturned. A little Zen philosophy can work wonders