[Note: If you’re looking for a ‘positive’ fairy tale about our current reality, please switch stories. If you’re interested in exploring the grim truth about our current reality, read on.]
The first part of the above headline — “What If It’s Already Too Late?” — could ostensibly refer to several different, intensifying crises.
But I’m actually referring to all of them, collectively: ongoing, accelerating problems like climate change, ecological degradation and destruction, increasing gun violence, increased misogyny and racism, and the intensifying collapse of democracy.
The question “What if it’s already too late?” implies another question: Too late for what? The answer is pretty obvious: the ‘what’ we’re already ‘too late for’ is stopping/controlling these vicious trends, and turning them around.
After much study of these issues, the devastating conclusion I’ve (reluctantly) come to is that all of these accelerating trends have gotten SO powerful and out of control, and have so much momentum behind them, that they’re almost impossible to stop.
That’s why, speaking realistically, societal and civilizational collapse are now practically inevitable. That’s why ‘collapse awareness’ and collapse acceptance may be our only realistic options, going forward.
Example #1: Accelerating climate disruption
For example, take the issue of so-called ‘climate change’ — which I prefer to call ‘intensifying climate disruption,’ since that’s a much more accurate description than the intentionally-mild phrase ‘climate change.’
Leaders and politicians around the globe always hasten to assure us that we CAN solve this problem if we work together and just put our minds and our will to it — but we’ve known about this vast, complex issue for over three decades now … and we still have done very little to combat it.
The collective will just … isn’t … there.
There have been numerous conferences, scientific reports, stern warnings, international gatherings, and even several (supposed) international agreements to bring down carbon and methane emissions — but we have never met any of our stated goals, and further, we have never even seriously tried.
Or rather, I should say that the world’s biggest polluters — China, the U.S., India, and Russia — you know, the ones whose actions are required in order to really make a difference … have been dragging their feet, big time, and are not even close to fulfilling their emissions goals. On the other hand, quite a few small-to-tiny nations like Bhutan, Polynesia, or other island nations are quite eager to meet these goals — but even their combined impact would be negligible.
Our modern way of life and our oil-based economies are inextricably intertwined
The U.S. likes to tout its ‘progress’ in this area, but the sad truth is that every year global emissions keep going up, like clockwork, and our pitiful efforts to bring the situation under control are going nowhere.
All the ‘green’ technologies in the world simply can’t undo OR replace the carbon-burning industries and technologies that power modern civilization — especially since we also depend on oil to create plastics, which are now found in almost all consumer products, all around the world.
To be totally blunt: no large nation or large economy has any incentive, in the short term, to do anything substantive to reverse or mitigate climate change/disruption — because our economies and our modern way of life both depend on keeping our current oil-based systems going ‘as is.’ We’re fine with tinkering around the edges — and pretending we’re dealing with the problem — but in truth, we’re NOT dealing with it effectively at all.
Thus, global CO2 and methane levels keep rising, and are forecast to keep rising for the foreseeable future. This means that climate disruption, droughts, floods, extreme temperatures, and extreme weather events will keep increasing both in scope and intensity, and will have increasingly dire impacts on our societies. That’s the simple, crushing truth of the situation.
Example #2: Rising gun violence in the U.S.
Another example is rising gun violence in the U.S. Already there are far more guns than people here, and enough ammunition to supply several years’ worth of armed conflict or ongoing violence. Liberals and progressives have been trying for decades to exert some control over our escalating ‘gun culture’ and institute some common-sense reforms — but they have had almost zero success.
And the dominant mindset re: guns is lovingly permissive — as in, “We love our guns!” — and often dangerously lax. At this very moment, the U.S. Supreme Court is debating whether to reverse a ban on ‘bump stocks,’ which are special attachments that convert a semi-automatic weapon like an AR-15 rifle into a fully automatic weapon — so you can pull the trigger back once and it just keeps on firing, endlessly, until you run out of ammo.
The debate around ‘gun rights’ in the U.S. has gotten so lopsided, and so bonkers, that the Supreme Court is actually considering reversing this ban — and allowing more trigger-happy Americans to more easily mow down scores of their fellow Americans. And our leaders and the supposedly ‘liberal’ media are doing next to nothing to reverse this trend, while Fox ‘News’ and other right-wing outlets constantly go all-out to ‘defend Americans’ gun rights’ and ‘protect the Second Amendment.’
In this area as well, the bottom line is that crazy, anti-social, and dangerous trends and policies rule the day, and show no signs of abating or diminishing anytime soon.
#3: The looming collapse of American democracy
Lastly, I want to focus on the rapid deterioration and looming collapse of American democracy. The pattern of democratic ‘backsliding’ has been accelerating both here and around the world, and this trend also shows no signs of diminishing anytime soon.
In fact, in this bizarre election-year-like-no-other, we’re facing the horrifying prospect of another Trump victory — and then being ruled by a lying, paranoid, abusive, and vengeful demagogue who may also, not coincidentally, be the first-ever U.S. president to be convicted of serious crimes against the U.S. … and yet still be our elected and actual, functional (?) president (unless or until he’s thrown into prison, which is quite unlikely).
Crazily, that’s because our Constitution says nothing at all about qualifications or disqualifications for being president, other than being a natural-born U.S. citizen and being over the age of 35. Due to these oversights, or an almost total lack of guidelines, we’re now faced with a multiply-indicted candidate (facing 61 criminal counts in all), Donald Trump, successfully running for president, and about to clinch the GOP nomination — and then, while the campaign is heating up over the summer, Trump will be on trial on numerous serious charges, and may well be convicted of several.
Yet he’ll remain the GOP nominee, no doubt, and may end up still serving as America’s first convicted-felon president!
But unfortunately for us, the alternative scenario may be even worse. If Trump loses the election, starts screaming ‘Fraud!’ and ‘Another Stolen Election!’ (as we all know he will), and unleashes his violence-prone MAGA cult followers on the nation, it would be a total nightmare. It would get very ugly, very fast; many people could die, and the big-time losers in all this would be American democracy and the American people.
Truly, the U.S. is facing a sociopolitical shitstorm of epic proportions this year, and into the next — at the very least. Trump, Fox ‘News,’ and a cowed, subservient GOP have all helped ensure that our semi-democracy won’t survive much longer in its current form — and may cease to exist altogether. The U.S. may already be on its wobbly last legs as we speak.
And some form of authoritarian/Christian nationalist ‘alternative government’ (aka tyranny) seems to be gathering strength, and is waiting in the wings for our semi-democracy to collapse and ‘give up the ghost.’
Confronting collapse honestly and directly
I could go on detailing another half-dozen crucial issues (at least!) leading us directly toward civilizational collapse — but that would get very repetitive, and we’d be here for a very long time. Plus, I don’t really need to explore every terrible trend in great detail.
My point, if it isn’t already obvious, is that collapse is already happening, NOW, on many different fronts, and in almost every area of life. Naturally, no one wants to admit this fully and deal with all the awful ramifications — but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the truth, play dumb, and just stick our heads in the sand like obedient, avoidant ostriches.
Just because the truth is ugly and painful doesn’t mean we should look away or deny what’s really happening. That’s the way of the masses, mass media, our government, and those in power, perhaps — but it doesn’t have to be our way.
How can we ‘deal with’ ongoing, intensifying collapse(s)?
That brings us to the crucial “What Then?” question. If all the above is true, and collapses of all sorts ARE happening and intensifying around the globe — then what? How can we possibly ‘deal with’ ongoing collapses of this magnitude?
Of course, much depends on what we mean by ‘deal with.’ I think it’s clear, by now, that our societies and our modern civilization in general are NOT doing much at all to ‘deal with’ these accelerating problems. So, we can take large-scale, effective societal ‘dealing with’ our situation off the table.
It’s just not going to happen. It’s already too little, too late.
It’s already becoming crystal clear: our so-called ‘modern’ civilization is NOT going to make it. It just … won’t.
That means it’s up to US — you, and me, and our families, friends, and personal networks — to find or create ways to get through the coming ‘tribulations.’ (And no, I’m not a closet Christian — I just think the term ‘tribulations’ fits this time quite well.) At this point, I think we all need to expect intensifying collapse, on almost every level — climate, weather, supply chains, economy, politics, social functioning, you name it — and should plan accordingly.
But again: what does plan accordingly really mean? I’m not in favor of big-time ‘disaster prepping,’ building bunkers, and, in general, engaging in self-centered ‘survivalist’ BS — mainly because, if society and our economy go through severe collapse and are barely functioning (or not at all), we’ll all, including so-called ‘survivalists,’ be … well, totally screwed.
Unless you already live ‘off the grid’ and far from other people, and also have a large working garden and a large stockpile of food and money squirreled away, then you are dependent on our current systems (for electricity, food, gasoline, etc.) and need them to function in order to survive. Probably 95% of us — or more — fit this latter description (including me).
The time for inner and outer preparation is NOW
This article has been dedicated to telling harsh and very uncomfortable truths — and here’s another one: If the destructive trends I focused on continue ‘as is,’ which is highly likely, then any remaining ‘normalcy’ may soon (within the next half-decade) come to a grinding halt. So the time to prepare, both inwardly and outwardly, is NOW.
If you haven’t already started to prepare yourself inwardly for the coming collapse(s) … well, better get to it. Talk with others and share honestly about what’s coming. Talk about it with your family, friends, and loved ones. Get healthy. Get therapy, if necessary. Don’t get taken by surprise!
Equally essential are the outer preparations. We probably have a few more years left of a semi-functional economy and government — so use this remaining time wisely, and DO stock up on some essentials like canned foods, grains, water, and cash. (Plus, starting to garden and learning about wild edible plants would be wise.) I don’t advise hoarding vast amounts of food, water, or money — but I do think having 2+ months’ worth of these items could prove quite important in a ‘partial collapse’ scenario.
That is, these and similar preparations could be quite useful, even vital, IF the various collapses we’re facing accelerate slowly. However, if climatic, social, or economic changes really rev up, and things start collapsing fast on multiple fronts — well, all bets are off, and we can, as the old saying goes, just ‘kiss our asses goodbye.’
Mild-to-moderate collapse(s) will be survivable — but mega-scale collapse probably won’t be
In my view, mild-to-moderate collapse may well be survivable — but large-scale, rapid collapse probably won’t be. At this point, intensifying multi-front collapses are highly likely, and in fact many are already well underway — but they’re also an unknown ‘new frontier’ that’s highly unpredictable. So we’d all better pay close attention, and pray that they stay at or below the ‘moderate’ level.
And then, as collapse accelerates around us, all we can really do is hunker down and … wait. We wait, and wait some more.
We wait for the madness to slowly pass … and lend a hand where and when we can … until all the tumult, social chaos, and violence die down, and we can begin to build a new — and hopefully better — society.
That’s the best-case scenario — which holds at least the possibility of survival and an eventual positive outcome.
As for the worst-case scenarios: believe me, we won’t want to experience — and probably could never ‘deal with’ — the more severe, rapid-fire, and catastrophic versions of collapse.
I sincerely, deeply hope none of us have to see or live through that.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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