What Did We Expect to Happen — Given Our Insane Priorities?

This essay may initially sound like a rant. But I assure you, it’s not. Rather, it’s a basic, “grounded” exploration of the fundamental beliefs and attitudes that underlie and perpetuate our crazed, self-terminating culture.

My aim is to name and examine the most basic root assumptions almost all ‘modern’ humans embrace or accept — and then examine their results: what these assumptions inevitably lead to or create.

For me, these baseline assumptions include such beliefs as:

1) Individualism is good and necessary — while sharing and community lead to dreaded “socialism.”

2) Existence is meaningless and cruel, so we need to bypass nature and create our own “alternate reality.”

3) Mastery and control of nature are vital to human progress.

4) Unlimited procreation and economic expansion are core aspects of human progress.

5) Ever-increasing wealth and consumption are essential to human happiness.

6) To top it all off, most of us are still mired in racism and misogyny — two of the most idiotic and destructive belief systems ever conceived.

However, I’m not concerned with “proving” the truth or falseness of any of these ideas. I’m laser-focused on the horrendous results they all lead to.

A tsunami of heartless greed and contempt

Here’s a scary scenario to contemplate: while the top 1% of humanity is doing extraordinarily well, the other 99% and the entire planet, including most living things, are suffering. The vast majority of humanity and the planet’s ecosystems are being gravely damaged by the heartless greed and power lust of the top 1% — and the truly infuriating part is that we and the planet are mere collateral damage in their greedy quest.

To them, neither humanity or the Earth itself matters in the least — except, possibly, as means to an end. To them, neither humanity or the Earth itself has any intrinsic value. Thus, inflicting severe pain and damage on 99% of humanity and the Earth IS just annoying “collateral damage” to these cruel “masters of reality.”

But, here’s the worst part: Modern humanity has fostered and fully embraced the “ideals” and harsh beliefs that have enabled the rise and dominance of the ruthless 1%.

We believe in and promote the glorification of the “separate individual” and the satiation of endless desires and neediness (see #1, 2, and 5, above).

We believe in and promote the idea that “progress” depends on subduing nature, extracting maximum resources, goods, and wealth, and using these things to create our own safe, “separate” reality (see #2–5, above).

We (especially in the US) believe in and promote the idea that “greed is good” and that it somehow leads to health, wealth, and overall prosperity for everyone (see #1, 4, and 5). More wealth is always better. Thus, we’ve got a growing class of multi-billionaires who are greedily amassing even more wealth — everyone else (and the planet) be damned.

And meanwhile … hate-filled racism and misogyny are spreading again like wildfire, fueling intensifying social chaos and hastening collapse on every level.

Resistance to change and healing ensures collapse

The problem — and it’s huge — is that ALL of these beliefs and assumptions are out of touch with our actual, practical reality; they are wildly delusional, dangerous, and destructive. I’d even go so far as to say that most modern beliefs are actually quite insane.

As we witness our modern “reality” crumbling around us, it is becoming ever clearer that we humans need to make massive shifts in our ways of thinking and acting. Yet, this isn’t happening, or at least, not nearly fast enough. It all boils down to a rather simple proposition: either we change our ways, survive, and thrive, OR we refuse to grow and change … and go down in flames and raging chaos. It’s time, now, for humanity to face reality and “grow up.”

As always, though, we have total freedom of choice in the matter.

Our innate freedom of choice is only meaningful, however, if we are fully informed and aware of our options. That’s exactly why I write on these topics: I’m trying to expose the deep rot and corruption at the heart of Western “civilization,” explore deeper truths, and clarify our realistic options.

Sadly, I’ve concluded that humanity as a whole has already made its decision — and has chosen to embrace and expand individualism, greed, and conquest. Need we wonder why the (somewhat) stable post-WW II order is now collapsing into widening chaos? Our current collapse is the direct result of a long series of poor, foolish choices over many decades. (Example: we’ve held global COP — conference of parties — meetings for 30+ years, now, with the stated intention of reining in fossil fuel emissions and slowing climate change. We’ve accomplished neither.)

We have pretended we want change and growth — while ferociously resisting and suppressing any real change and growth. We seem utterly determined to follow our current path to the bitter end … even though that “end” is our own destruction. Bitter fruit, indeed!

Our priorities lead directly to collapse

Since humanity keeps choosing and reaffirming our crazed, suicidal path, the only practical “way out” is through individual transformation and preparation. We can no longer hope for widespread social change. We can no longer expect or hope that humanity will get its act together and collectively “grow up.” Nope. It’s not gonna happen.

Instead, I’d say things have reached a critical point of no return for humanity as a whole, as many crucial “tipping points,” ranging from climate to ecological to social to economic, are now being breached. Simply put, the rate of collapse and destruction is accelerating fast — and there is very little we can do about it, now.

Why? Why can’t we do much about it? Because … well, this brings us back to the heart and purpose of this essay. The problem — the insoluble problem — is that we ourselves have set it up this way, through our intransigent beliefs and decisions. We have adopted and expanded a comprehensive set of dangerous, unrealistic, and often delusional beliefs — and we are holding onto these weird beliefs for dear life, even though they are rapidly killing us and our world.

Here’s the dark bottom line: if we hold onto our current belief systems, attitudes, and actions, we will keep getting the same destructive results. Guaranteed. If the roots of our “civilization” are willfully delusional, then the whole corrupt, endarkened enterprise must come crashing down.

It’s impossible to avoid reality forever.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.