Viewpoints : Crises or Crying Wolf?

There's 2 or 3 sides to the world now. 

One set's enjoying the orchestra of the numerous fiddles hired, well paid Neros are playing on an exquisitely crafted stage (to be followed with a master-chef prepared multi course dinner). They tolerate little argument or interference that breaks this engrossing, rapturous music and do everything in their power to try and make sure it continues - forever.

 

The other is a set that is not inside those concert or dining halls - for reasons as varied as opportunity, ability, circumstances, or a mere continuing of whatever they were doing earlier. Many of these end up supporting the wheels that keep the concerts running, without necessarily even knowing about them. Change has already happened to these, in the other direction - and they're paying the price already.

 

Then there's those who see bigger change coming, or even here, and cannot ignore it. Often they could just switch off and get into the concert, but cannot. They're trying to build lifeboats, and arks, and grow food in a pot, and grab electricity from the wind and sun and everything. Everything as it is seems wrong, worrying and worth questioning. The future is unknown but the present is certainly not pleasant. They see what's happening with the second set, the power that the first set possess but refuse to use, and worry even more.

 

Perhaps it always was like this. But the tension seems pretty heightened right now.

Growth - !,?,??,:(

Here's a good one I came across this morning

Have been thinking about "growth" as it has started to mean to us. We say we need growth economies to generate enough to fee the growing billions. 

Trickle down has failed, so I guess growth isn't what its made out to be? It probably does create opportunity - but its too random, too sporadic and too destructive as well.

Economic growth - growth in energy consumption/production - growth in consumption of goods one didnt really need - growth of waste - growth of disease and illness.

We're 7 billion - up from 2 billion since the advent of modern medicine, industrialization. All those cliched essays discussing technology being a boon or bane in the larger context suddenly seem less irrelevant.

Isn't it shortsighted/narrow to assume there's no other model? Can there not be one around sustainability - of populations, economies, environment, consumption, energy. That seems to be nature's way for sure - and we've sucked at most things we dont out of sync with nature. 

Are we caught up in local maximas as a specieis - totally unable to see that the cancer is spreading too fast and we're not nearly as smart as we've started believing we are? We don't even pause to consider other models, other ways of being, other modes of existence.

Will inertia of motion, and this local maxima of intelligence, kill us?

London Fires

London portends an ominous warning for all of us. 

Its not a happy world. Not too long ago, we'd have taken poverty/tough times in our stride and been thankful for whatever we got when we did. 

Our current growth models and their needs and structures help and serve a few, and that again in the short term. We almost design them to be win-lose, and just too many are shown unreal and sometimes illegitimate dreams, and then kept away from them. Our sense of achievement comes often from having "risen above". We have a stronger and stronger awareness of what we're not getting - and we invent newer needs and mechanisms to keep defining "risen above", in the wake creating a feeling of restlessness and impotence in so many who, in the first place, couldn't really be bothered about those 'needs'.

Watch out, you may be starting fires today that you'll need to fight tomorrow.

Posted via email from bangalorekaapi