I’ve Got a Real Bad Feeling About This…

Lately, I’ve noticed a growing feeling of dread swirling and darkening within me. It can be summed up as “I’ve got a real bad feeling about this.”

What ‘this’ do I have a real bad feeling about? Oh, just… everything going on in our world right now. It’s not just that cruel psychopathic freak Donald Trump… or the goddamn wrecking ball he and Musk are wielding against our government and ‘illegals’… or the global rise of the fascists and ‘strong men’… or two ongoing, vicious wars… or Trump’s mind- and economy-boggling trade war chaos… or accelerating, wild climate disruptions… or the accelerating collapse of global ecosystems and human morality… or being stuck in the middle of the ‘sixth extinction.’

It’s all of it.

It’s the fact that all of these horrendous events and processes are happening simultaneously. It’s the ever-clearer truth that humanity has engineered the widespread collapse of almost everything we hold dear — including nature, society, culture, morality, trust, and even the very idea of ‘truth’ itself.

We haven’t usually intended (except for a few fanatics) to engineer all these insoluble problems and collapses — but whether intentional or not, the fact remains that we have done it. In our foolishness and blindness, we have oh-so-cleverly arranged a scenario of complete devastation.

Patterns of collapse are emerging within humanity and our societies

I’ve also noticed a compulsive wondering dogging my mind: What if the patterns of collapse and destruction intensifying in the natural world around us are fully reflected in the human world of societies, industries, morality, and economics?

I’ve known for decades that modern humanity operates under the severe delusion that we’re somehow ‘separate’ from nature. Our entire ‘modern’ world is built around the bizarre idea that we humans are superior to nature and can do with it what we will… and we have taken this weird belief to heart and acted on it unceasingly, all across the planet. Thus, we have a global civilization that has increasingly ignored, harmed, or even savaged nature in the pursuit of ‘progress’ and ever greater comfort and convenience.

But there’s something vital we haven’t considered or admitted, and it’s quite probable we’ll refuse to accept it even though it’s scientifically and logically obvious. Since humanity IS part of nature, and is just as bound by nature’s ‘laws’ and principles as any other part of nature, there’s every likelihood that as collapse intensifies in the world of nature and ecological systems there must also be a corresponding collapse in the world of human affairs.

As my dark ruminations put it: What if the patterns of collapse and destruction intensifying in the natural world around us are fully reflected in the human world of societies, industries, morality, and economics? What then?

What would that mean, and how would that manifest in our world?

Even as collapse intensifies, we still believe we’re invulnerable

Here’s what I think (and I’m sure many scientists, sociologists, and psychologists will vehemently disagree): Due to humanity’s neglect and abuse of the natural world over the past century, an unstoppable process of collapse has been created and is now accelerating. And since humanity and every human society exist within nature — well, to be blunt, as goes nature, so goes humanity.

Since there is NO separation between humans and nature, in reality, we humans are just as affected by collapsing ecological and climate systems as any other aspect of nature. But if we fully accept this truth, we also must realize and accept that the collapse of human-created systems and societies must accompany ecological collapse… though there seems to be a significant ‘time lag’ involved.

Sadly, because of this prolonged time lag, we still think we’re somehow ‘above it all’ and invulnerable. But that’s merely because the horrific effects of all our meddling and overt abuse of nature haven’t fully hit home yet. We’re still enjoying our delusional, comforting ‘glide path’ as we (the vast majority, anyway) continue ignoring or denying all the collapsing natural systems around us.

We continue on our merry, manic, and destructive way. But the dark storm clouds have already gathered. Now they’re starting to unleash their fury.

Immorality, amorality, and corruption are spreading like wildfire

Here’s the crucial question: How do all these dangerous shifts and changes in the natural world around us manifest in our human-made world? I don’t believe for a second that it’s a ‘coincidence’ that many societal, economic, and governmental systems are quickly unraveling now. It’s no ‘coincidence’ that most democracies around the world are fading and quickly morphing into autocracies or authoritarian regimes.

I fear that the most dangerous, yet least understood, aspect of collapse is the slow, insidious process of mental and moral deterioration that’s now accelerating. Increasingly, the ‘law of the jungle’ is reasserting itself as rampant immorality, amorality, and corruption spread like wildfire. Attacks on science, education, the press, and scientific and educational institutions are ramping up, as are multi-pronged efforts to undermine reason and empathy and instill fear, resentment, and hatred instead.

I’ve written several times over the past three years about the burgeoning craziness, cruelty, and irrationality of our society. Sadly, during this period the problems have only gotten worse. As we’ve all witnessed since Trump 2.0 started in January, his administration’s lawlessness and defiant contempt for court orders is leading straight to an extremely dangerous Constitutional crisis in the U.S. And this is just the beginning; it’s merely the tip of the iceberg of looming societal collapse.

Our mental, moral, and social foundations are also collapsing

Is there anything we can do about these looming crises and intensifying collapse? I hate to say it, but the truth is: not much (if anything). Why? Because we have set it up this way and created the perfect conditions for accelerating collapse on all levels. We did it to ourselves — and are still busily screwing ourselves.

It’s all ‘coming home to roost,’ now, and all that remains is for humanity as a whole to experiencein full the ugly, nasty repercussions of our delusional beliefs and actions.

We’re about to learn, the hard way, that we are not separate from nature and have never been separate. Worse, we’re about to learn that our human societies and cultures are all totally dependent on stable, functional ecosystems and climate systems. In our blundering ‘progress,’ we’ve undermined and often wrecked the very systems we depend on — and now we’re all subject to the horrific and destructive results, including ever-increasing mental, moral, economic, and societal collapse.

We’re about to learn that it’s impossible to avoid and deny reality forever. The bill has come due.

I dread what we’re all about to experience.

—

This post was previously published on Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs.

***

You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project

You Said ‘Race’, but Are You Actually Talking About Race?

Understanding the Nonbinary: Are You Confusing Gender With Sex?

The Difference Between Compassion for Those With Disabilities & Ableism?

‘Masculinity’ Is Having an Identity Crisis