Tipping Point II

This is a response I got from a reader on the message board.

"...I don't think that this will necessarily create a dystopian world, at least right away. The problem is that we are equipped to handle things physically, now more than ever, just not mentally...

"... our generation and the ones after it seems, will have nothing to fight for- and what I mean by that is that we have absolutely nothing animalistic, in America that needs to be obtained. ... we search and search and we begin to find more and more problems with the mind, with our spiritual selves, with the soul. And the worst part is, is that there is no real spiritual guidance to turn to. ... God, in some way has become dead. Other things have taken His place....money, fame, glory, etc. ... we know that something is missing and we need some sort of guidance, even though that guidance is dangerous. We need a hero.

"... Where did the focus on these things stem from?" (L.E. Thomas; "1984 And Other Dystopian Fiction," Facebook Discussion Group; 8 February, 2007)

This is my response to her:

I worry about the impact of an extraordinarily slippery slope, though it is a problematic position to argue from, that once things start to go bad it will become -- overnight -- unmanageable, uncontrollable, unpredictable. Much of human "progress" has been footed in the capacity to create MORE predictable outcomes. The culmination of all of this predictability and simplification has led us to become, as Lauren states, ill prepared mentally to overcome the unpredictable.

I would contest Lauren, going so far as to say that, with the broadening problems of childhood and adult obesity in industrialized nations in concert with the malnutrition and broadening poverty in less-industrialized and impoverished nations, that humanity is becoming less capable of physical responses to unpredictable changes.

The lack of direction that is exhibited here by Lauren, felt by myself and many others of my generation and generations to follow is a product of this alienation. As soft comfort -- in true dystopian fashion -- media outlets, corporate identities, and powerful organizations of all shapes fill the void with a slough of ideas grandfathered from the past.

Warfare

If anyone still believes that the Global War on Terror bears any justice, take a look at the century-long "War on Drugs." The Cold War, a "War against Communism" only collapsed as the economies of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union fell to the manipulations of Western nations and their economic superiority. There was no moral victory in the Cold War, the warriors could no longer be fed the lies. Fighting a war against peoples individual ideas and/or actions is as silly now as it was then. Terrorism, though a serious threat in Europe throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, was essentially undone in the 1990s with open, honest dialogues (Looking specifically at the conflict between Britain and Northern Ireland, here, and the progress that had been made in Sri Lanka before the tsunami). Terrorism became the most important battle in America's history just as the rest of the world had just about put that baby to bed. Now that the rules and enemies have shifted, the rules are being re-written. Warfare is approaching that fearsome state of "Constant Emergency" predicted by Orwell.

Religion/Spirituality

I appreciate Lauren's points about the waning spirituality of we, the inhabitants of the Industrial World. Certainly, the greatest "religious" movements among us may have been socialism in the form of organizations, worker's unions, the IWW. The common beliefs of the supreme importance of the little guy, the worker, the labourer, the ones who lack power, sought to shake all of the beliefs of past centuries. This is the fear of the powerful, of corporations, of governments. The Cold War was a war of ideas; the targets were not only communist nations, but any sense of socialist ideals that may emerge within the corporatist ranks. The rise of the religious Right is not co-incidentally linked with the end of the Cold War. American Neo-Conservative ideals exploited the lack of direction left in the wake of the Vietnam conflict and the profound public outcry against Uncle Sam's abuse of power. 1968 or 1975 could have culminated in another American Revolution, but, each political movement was scripted and spun to achieve specific objectives. Once Reagan -- an actor! -- assumed the Presidency, the Neo-Cons had perfected their means of maintaining control. People, true BELIEVERS all, were willing to return to being exploited; supreme importance returned, finally to the seats of power in all corporate entities. The 1980s, the "Me Decade," trumped spirituality with greed. What, then, is to be said of the children growing up at this time? More desperately, the children of today -- being spoon-fed Disney, Dora, and American Idol -- false idols that reinforce the established order.

Freedom

There has been no greater misuse of the term "freedom" than when it is "on the march." The brand of freedom that is presented by power does not admit that people have the capacity to overcome their betters. Stability demands that the mob be kept in check. It is this battle that is currently being fought; the front-lines are in the living rooms of America, of other industrialized nations. In the minds of the subjects of occupation in Baghdad, Gaza, and Kabul. In the minds of the opposition to global power in Tehran, Beijing, P'yong Yang, and Havana. In the policies of the non-aligned nations, in Caracas, in Tripoli, in Mumbai. What is freedom? To what extent am I willing to go to achieve freedom?

One World

Furthermore, a more global perspective is needed. America, as Lauren states, has "nothing to fight for... nothing animalistic, in America that needs to be obtained." Northern North America (the US and Canada), generally, rest in the good graces of the sociopolitical and economic scales. However, no nation, no corporation, no individual can alienate oneself from the rest of the world. The differences between nations do not exalt or celebrate the similarities between people. We are all human, we all require food, clothing, and shelter. We all pray for security, for success, for providence. We all will die. Still, apparently, this is not enough to understand one another.

As long as we believe ourselves -- each individually -- to be on the TRUE path, though we have no idea where it is leading, there will be conflict with the rest of the world.

There is something to be fought for, certainly, but that fight is averted at all costs. The struggle to know ourselves, to master ourselves, to make a more complete world for ourselves. The struggle to deny the necessity of subservience, selling our efforts for dollars, for rupees, for bhat, for yuan, for pesos.

In the old world, one could submit oneself to a discipline, usually in a monastery or convent, sharing in the efforts of all to achieve a higher purpose bound by common beliefs. Across the world, the beliefs were of many forms and took many shapes. Here, now, in this Brave New World, the only common beliefs are currency and power. How far are we from being singularly controlled? What more must come to pass before all people willingly relinquish all freedom for security? Alternatively, unable to cope with change, what will come to pass before anarchy reigns?