The pandemic sweeping the world has brought a lot of things to light. Many, many people prefer to believe in something that isn’t true, if it makes them feel better about themselves and their immediate surroundings. Delusion is the word for this state of mind and it seems to be a perspective as contagious as the virus itself.
As someone following, researching, and reporting on the state of the environment for the past 20+ years, I have always felt that delusion was widespread but only now, as we all face this monumental challenge, did this mental contagion express itself so ubiquitously. But looking back, this disease was always present and visible, though less recognizable.
So many natural systems are extremely stressed out by human activities, yet, little effort is being made to reverse these trends. The vast majority of people don’t do much of anything to make things “right”. As I have written here previously, I fully understand that most who are economically-strapped and time-limited are not in a position to do much given the way our society is structured (i.e., they are dependent on a hyper-capitalist economy that exploits their labor and compels them to consume commercial products until they literally drop—by another well-known disease known as affluenza). However, if one is on a ship that is crashing, it makes sense to get off the ship or at least attempt (really hard) to redirect it.
Let’s briefly look at the current situation. Since the beginning of the outbreak, increasing numbers of people were calling for a return to “normalcy”. Primarily, their appeal was couched in economic terms. The argument goes something like this: we absolutely have to save the economy, even if it costs thousands, perhaps millions, of lives. Now, we find this has become the dominant attitude; bars have opened (or are soon opening) in many parts of country. Despite warnings from key epidemiologists and virologists, politicians are feeling the heat from swarms of constituents (some strangely brandishing high-powered weapons).
All of this is happening despite the reality that the United States has already witnessed the most deaths from this virulent, yet microscopic, virus. Thousands of first responders have lost their lives in order to save others. More will undoubtedly perish/suffer as well, especially as hordes of people flock to bars, parties, and shopping malls. These actions are being criticized by some but these responses are being overwhelmed by our collective compulsion to “shop” our way out of misery. And as with most ecologically harmful actions, the unwise decisions of the irresponsible and inconsiderate among us will make matters worse for all.
Yet, how many are asking key questions that deserve clear responses? Was this pandemic inevitable? (No, it wasn’t; I will likely write more on this later.) Why weren’t we prepared (and why does the U.S. appear to be among the least prepared of all)? Why are first responders’ lives being recklessly disregarded despite their exhibiting amazing bravery and compassion for an extended period of time. This extreme callousness by some leaders and residents alike is reminiscent of the way we treat our soldiers before, during and after combat. Absolutely despicable. Yet, the caskets keep getting filled and there is, yet, almost no accountability for the immoral acts of those in authority who have the power to mandate things like PPE for all responders, virus tests for all (not just the few and symptomatic), expanded resources to public health centers, and so many other consequential “life and death” programs and opportunities. Clearly, we need to really dig deeper and expose the lack of preparedness and other serious misgivings of our current government, media, and economic structures. Failure to do this serves to feed delusion and ensures that it maintains its hegemony in our collective psyche.
To be sure, I have one of the most serious cases of delusion. I claim to have dedicated my life to make things better for all. I have tried a lot of things and I continue to do so. However, I still go about my business like most others. I also don’t have the courage to be a “first responder” nor the wherewithal to put my neck out there too far to expose the system for all its shortcomings. A blog that twenty people read doesn’t count for much. Much more needs to be done. A lot, lot more (my next Blog). I realize this and I am still trying to figure out what is next for me and possibly for us. Yet, the more I think about it, the more delusion creeps in, particularly when the wave of delusion from so many others seems to be growing exponentially in force.
If others wiser and more insightful than I have ideas for what we can do to cure delusion, please let me know.
[I recognize that this blog is less optimistic than most that I write. It identifies a mental “disease” that might be more difficult to cure than the virus at hand. Any disease that is going to be eradicated must first be properly understood and deeply investigated. To begin that process is my goal here.]
Yes, to the truth, as best we can sort it out! Including standing to face reality rather than sinking to a dependence on optimism. Because I bridge so many communities, never quite fitting in, I do get the skewed logic of the gun-toters. I’m a way-leftist who has no issue with responsible gun ownership right down to legit self-defense. And because I have researched cultural myths, beginning at age 14 with the idea that fat people overeat (it’s myth), and much more since then, I’m aware of many places where “expertise” is sold to the highest bidder, truth be damned. Ours is a corporatocracy, rule by the CEOverlords, well-propagandized for a century or so, and though their target is entirely wrong, the gun-toters are right about the creeping fascism and its solidified central power, of which our corporatocracy is a significant form.
I disagree with the circulating idea that elders should be sacrificed by the young because old folks are denying them freedom; you’re right, it’s rampant. And I understand that the gunned-up ones are egged on and underwritten by figures like the Koch brothers. And yet they are not entirely wrong on the loss of freedoms, they’ve just gotten lazy in selecting the target for their ire. We don’t rage up the hierarchy because it’s dangerous to do so (Derrick Jensen’s 101). But the rage has to go somewhere, and sloppy logic combined with self-preservation sends it either horizontally or downward. Still, this is the time when, if we can direct some of that rage toward appropriate targets, we have an amazing opportunity to really fix things. For the landbase, for its inhabitants, for our own health-damaged lives.
We will have serious ‘sides’ building in this process. Your studied solutions are not necessarily my also-studied solutions. If we can focus on truth as best we can find it, on the reality of the effects of different solutions, and accept differences of view, and most especially if we can center ourselves in community, connection, and care for one another, we can build well beyond those ‘sides.’ Some of our truths will be the best of science — framing, testing, evaluation, and discussion of understood value — but all of it needs filtered through lived experiences, and this is where the old are especially valuable. Some of the effects will challenge our deeply-held beliefs, and reconciling this will be painful. Plus, the idea that innovation is only among the young is another myth; women, especially, innovate out of necessity, and we are often skilled in it! But with community and care, we can wreak mutually-beneficial change. Can. Will we? As I’ve long said, what else did I have to do with my life?