Rapid Unraveling And The Demise Of Adolescent America
By Carolyn Baker
23 May,
2008
Carolynbaker.net
Well here it is folks-the great
unraveling so many of us have been forecasting during the past five
years as we've read the tea leaves and researched the unprecedented
convergence of myriad natural, political, economic, and environmental
realities. As most of you know, I'm traveling, yes on the road, across
this country. I was going to wait until arriving at my final destination
before writing about my experience, but with oil rapidly heading for
$200 a barrel, it feels important to do so sooner rather than later
because our lives have just changed more dramatically than we can
imagine, and we will only be able to comprehend to what extent as
the repercussions of the end of the age of oil reverberate through
what is left of industrial civilization.
In my travels I've seen exactly one RV on the road, a few SUV's and
vans, a number of small cars and motorcycles, and lots of eighteen-wheelers
going 55 MPH. Motels have a record low number of guests, and few people
are eating in restaurants. I thought about writing an article entitled
"Ghost Town USA: Echo Across America", but that was before
oil reached a new record of $135 yesterday. The speed of collapse
is taking even a seasoned collapse-watcher like me by somewhat of
a surprise, and I feel compelled to talk about it as it unfolds in
this moment.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of what we are witnessing-and there
are oh so many, is the ubiquitousness of blame. Attending almost every
report on skyrocketing gas prices is the question: "So whose
fault is it?" I certainly am not surprised by this, but I find
it unsettling to say the least. Because Americans in particular have
been absolutely recalcitrant and incapable of looking at collapse,
they are being and will continue to be increasingly blindsided by
it. Sadly, when humans are traumatized, their functioning becomes
progressively more primal and animal-like, and their capacity for
taking in and assimilating new information is markedly reduced.
When Peak Oil experts first began sharing their research, they told
us that food, perhaps more than any aspect of our lives, would be
impacted by it, and so it is. The double-barreled trauma now hitting
Americans which is putting both gasoline and food out of their reach,
is certain to result in reactive, vindictive behavior that will irrationally
target a plethora of scapegoats. Add to this a foreclosure or two,
a bankruptcy, car repossession, job loss or loss of health insurance
and you have a recipe for mayhem. Such behavior, understandable as
it may be, is adolescent in nature and therefore, untempered and unwizened,
making acting-out individuals exceedingly dangerous to themselves
and others.
Like me, you are probably witnessing the barrage of blame in your
community and nationally if you are paying attention to mainstream
news. Dmitry Orlov has given us a treasure-trove of information about
human behavior in the throes of collapse chaos. What is and will be
different from the collapse of the Soviet Union for Americans, however,
is the level of violence that is likely to proliferate as collapse
accelerates. Russians were never intoxicated with affluence and entitlement
as Americans are. Their history has been replete with suffering; ours
marinated in privilege reinforced by gun culture and firearm fetishes.
What those of us who comprehend collapse must understand as we navigate
the daunting days ahead is that what is happening to America and the
human species is an initiatory experience similar to those which have
been structured and honored by indigenous peoples for thousands of
years. The very best explanation I have read of this process is Nature
And The Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness And Community In A Fragmented
World, an extraordinary book by psychologist Bill Plotkin in which
he illuminates the stages of human development and emphasizes how
they have been skewed by a capitalistic, consumer-driven culture-and
how each stage might be lived in fulfillment in the context of a holistic
community. The current planetary initiation differs from the traditional,
tribal initiation in that the former is involuntary and unwanted,
whereas the latter is perceived as essential for the well being of
the initiate and the tribe.
In tribal cultures young people have the opportunity to experience
ritual rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood, that is, an
initiation, which involves some type of ordeal created and supported
by the tribe's elders. Ordeals may include rugged endurance challenges
in the wilderness, treacherous hunting experiences, or isolation for
a period of time in nature. In all instances, the experience is one
of discomfort and danger and literally sets up a brush with death
for the initiate. Many traditional societies, and some psychologists
such as Carl Jung, believe that the human psyche requires initiatory
experiences in order to develop in a functional manner and that without
them, one's emotional and spiritual development is impaired.
Since cultures are comprised of individuals, it follows that when
the individuals of the culture have not been initiated, the culture
itself is likely to remain in an adolescent state. Many cultures that
have experienced collective suffering such as protracted wars, famines,
and disease have in the process, experienced a collective initiation
which may produce some of the results of an individual initiation.
This may be the reason that some European countries that endured two
world wars appear to have a more mature relationship with the earth
community. For example, many of those countries are far more aware
of environmental issues and have taken more profound steps to live
consciously in harmony with the ecosystem as noted in a recent National
Geographic survey which ranks the U.S. last in environmentally conscious
behavior.
I believe that the collapse of civilization, now accelerating at dizzying
speed, is indeed a collective, planetary initiation of the human species.
It involves all of us, not just those "clueless Americans out
there", and it will deliver to each of us countless unwanted
ordeals on every level-physical, emotional, financial, social, and
spiritual. What traditional cultures which practice ritual initiation
understand about it is that what matters most in the initiatory process
is not whether the initiate survives physically, but that that person's
consciousness is transformed-for her own enhancement and for that
of the tribe.
What I want to reinforce for all of us is how imperative it is in
the days ahead for us to walk consciously, cautiously, and compassionately
through the fires of this long, protracted initiation. Beyond our
physical, financial, and logistic preparations, we must continuously
work-and it will be work-to open our hearts and minds to the larger
purpose behind the ordeals. We must ask ourselves what each particular
experience wants to reveal to us, how it comes to us to open our eyes
and cleanse the doors of our perception. We will be incessantly reminded
that civilization has come to all this-depletion and exhaustion of
the earth community and all of the suffering that attends that. In
a sense, I believe, we are fortunate to be living in this time and
on this planet because something greater than our finite human egos
is delivering a message with unmistakable clarity: Living estranged
from the earth community as if we are the only and the most important
species on earth does not work, and collapse wishes to make certain
that we understand unequivocally and irrevocably that our only survival
and our only serenity will be found in living as if we and the earth
are one.
Moreover, because we and the earth community are one, it is imperative
that we reach out to our neighbors and community members. Their awareness
may range from totally clueless to that of fellow collapse watcher,
but bonds must be made and trust built-for our well being and for
theirs. In the days ahead, we will need them, and they will need us.
The more familiar we are with each other, the less likely that any
of us is scapegoated or victimized by panicked, hungry people who
feel victimized and powerless to cope with what they perceive they
have been dealt.
The time for a sense of entitlement is over. We are not entitled to
anything; I repeat: We are not entitled to anything. Each day, each
moment, each breath, each bite of food and drop of water, each smile
or warm hand on our shoulder, if we are fortunate enough to have them,
are precious gifts to be savored, treasured, and given thanks for.
As I have been writing in recent months, I hold a vision of possibility-the
potential for small pockets of survivors to create local outposts
of conscious community in which individuals can live compassionately,
practicing out of necessity and choice, those behaviors that sustain
themselves and the earth. Those who have already begun this process
may have an advantage, but none of us will be immune-nor should we
be, in my opinion. It appears that this momentous initiation is the
only way in which humans can fully and finally comprehend the toxicity
of civilization.
Many citizens of the former Soviet Union discovered through the experience
of collapse what ultimately mattered most. Yes, there was violence,
crime, paranoia, hunger, thirst, deprivation, and astounding loss,
but unprecedented compassion, trust, bonding, cooperation, and support
flourished in the midst of total societal disintegration. For me,
collapse is the opportunity for an outpouring of the latter qualities
that causes me to at least partially welcome the demise of all that
has prevented us from living and sharing them. Perhaps finally, amid
a frightening unraveling, we will grow up-becoming mature human beings
who ultimately find it impossible to tolerate anything remotely resembling
industrial civilization because we will at last have become adults.
© Copyright Carolyn Baker
