Final Years

I have now entered the beginnings of my eighth decade. Time is relentless in its forward motion. Life is inherently fragile and finite – this is a fundamental reality of existence that impacts not only our rather miniscule existence but our home world, the earth, the sun whose solar furnace gives us sustenance and even the galaxy in which our star together with its planets represents a small part.

I have spent much of my adult life embroiled within the world of politics at some level. At this state of my existence, I find this kind of involvement entirely unproductive. I have grown terribly weary of the apparent inability or unwillingness of a significant portion of humanity to effectively incorporate reason, intellect, understanding, thoughtfulness, kindness, compassion and love into the conduct of their lives. As a result, humans seemed to be locked into a destructive and mindless pattern of ignorance, bigotry, hatred, aggression, violence and retribution that has haunted the entire history of human civilization.

There does not seem to be any reliable and persistent remedy for this uniquely human reality. I no longer have the wherewithal to maintain this involvement with what seems like an insolvable problem. It is for the coming generations to apply their collective energy to the problems we face.

My fundamental goal for my remaining years - as long as the health of body and mind will sustain me - is to keep my essential sanity intact in this human world with its penchant for chaos and upheaval. To do this, I need to persist in my determination to avoid delusional states of being; keep my eyes wide-open; continue to appreciate the inherent beauty of existence, embrace the powerful dimension of love and contribute in whatever way possible to a better world for those who follow me in this dance of the generations.

Another Dimension to Life

 

Although it is true that the practical aspects of living, as embodied in economics, politics, human relations etc. require my attention, I am a sentient being endowed with the remarkable gift of self-consciousness. To me, my life is precious as well as the lives of all others around me including immediate friends and family. I am but a singular member of the entire human family and of all things living that adorn this most magnificent planet. I am by nature an ephemeral creature with a limited lifespan. As such, I have limited capabilities and in I am, in fact, control of very little.

My conscious mind allows me to take in the many wonders of this most amazing universe, most of which transcend nearly everything that is perceived as important within the scope of human vision. I have an innate capacity to examine my surroundings and attempt to make sense of all that I take in - to appreciate the essence of the air that I breathe and that sustains me, for example. I try to pay homage to the sheer magnificence and scope of the cosmos that envelops existence. I can purposefully focus on love that is the necessary ingredient in all sustainable human endeavor and defines our humanity. I can choose not to be transfixed or be subsumed by those aspects of human life that bear little resemblance to the real nature of existence.

I can use my conscious mind to be attentive to whatever any new day may bring and open my myself to the extraordinary variability of light and shadows that dances before me; to be aware of the depth and range of color, tone and texture; to truly listen to others when they speak and make every attempt to communicate a true aspect of myself; to embrace the precious moments I may have with care and appreciation.

There is a world of possibilities that beckons me. This world encompasses both the real and the imagined; the possible and the improbable; a future of harmony and peace; a future of chaos and disbelief. I do know that the universe that dances within the terrain of my inner-self is populated by wonder, and by a deeply held hunger for understanding the nature of things. My inner self is occupied by creativity, by art, by writing and the natural beauty of existence and the power of love.

The Upcoming Presidential Election – November 5, 2024

I must proclaim at the outset that this election cycle has been the most bizarre, surreal, unsettling and disturbing environment for a national Presidential election that I have ever experienced. I never would have imagined the current political, social and cultural milieu that we are in as a people and nation when I first was eligible to vote.

It has taken on a distinctly Orwellian character where lie becomes truth and truth lie. Where misinformation and purposeful misdirection has become the norm. Where one candidate Donald Trump, in particular, is seemingly incapable of even a glimmer of personal integrity – devoid of any recognizable moral compass. Where social media has become a conduit of falsehood, overt bigotry, hatred and mean-spiritedness. This aspect has gotten so severely distorted that death threats directed at those who hold differing views have become commonplace.

In this nation’s relatively brief history as a democratic republic, it would have been unthinkable that a person of Trump’s character, diminished intellect, morally bankrupt aspirations would have ever been considered as “presidential material.” This is a human being who has clear and unambiguous clinical symptoms of suffering from mental illness. This is an individual who is a convicted felon and actually attempted, as a lame-duck president, to unravel the results of a presidential election that he clearly lost.

To add to the apparent national insanity is the fact that a majority of the Supreme Court, two of its justices have shown clear evidence of conflict of interest and unethical behavior, have ruled that a sitting president apparently has the authority to take actions aimed at undermining the very foundations of democratic government. This ruling effectively supported the ability of Donald Trump to run for re-election thereby giving the fox free access to the chicken coop.

How did all this come to be? How is it that we could be on the threshold of electing a person totally unsuited and incapable of being in a position to use such power and authority? How is it that we could, as a people, consciously choose to put into power an individual who has clearly asserted with pride and determination his natural affiliation with autocratic rule – with national leaders of the likes of Vladimir Putin of Russia. How did we come to this place where we could effectively participate in our own undoing as a free and democratic people?

There is no singular answer to these questions. We do know, of course, that this type of convergence of forces is clearly recognizable in the history of human civilizations. Also, it is patently clear that a sizeable proportion of the American people have been effectively excluded from the “American Dream.”

We do know that national wealth is skewed heavily towards those who have a hold on wealth and power. We do know that our perception of ourselves as a prosperous people is more an illusion than a tangible reality. Too many of us have felt excluded for too long. This reality has left a residue of fear and insecurity that can be readily exploited by those in positions of inordinate wealth and power. Those in such a position who are decidedly unscrupulous understand how to manipulate these feelings to their own advantage.

There are additional aspects of the American character and psyche that are contributing factors. As a people, our emphasis on the primacy of the individual has had a marked impact on the sense of our participation in community life i.e. the Commons. This proclivity to pay overweening attention to self has diminished our capacity to care for others.

Also, our tendency towards the use of aggression and violence to address personal and communal problems has made us insensitive to the plight of others. This has been made apparent as exemplified by the overwhelming personal possession of arms and armaments and their use or threatened use.

Lastly, the continual use of horrific violence in our history from the institution of slavery, the near genocide of Native American populations and foreign policy objectives that have exploited our vast national arsenal of weapons of mass destruction has, in my mind, exacerbated our capacity for violent aggression as an accepted means to resolve problems.

In conclusion, if we possess any real aspirations to address and correct these underlying issues there is hope that we can restore a sense of sanity and purpose in our lives as a people of these United States.

My Worst Fears

If my worst fear becomes real and a clear majority of American voters choose the likes of Donald Trump as their leader, then I have no real choice but to surrender to this new reality – for the people have spoken. However, I reserve the right to speak out for what is right, just and fair. I reserve the right to speak out against lies; against blatant violence and aggression directed against minorities, the innocent, the enfeebled and the weak. I reserve the right to remain true to myself.

In just a few days, it will become vividly clear whether the American people choose a path for the future that encourages truth, reason, intellect, compassion, fairness and justice, or one that finds comfort in bigotry, outrageous and provocative lies, repression, violence and hatred. That latter choice will certainly bring many days of darkness, chaos, senseless retribution, vengeance and grief.

It is not only in the United States that these kinds of stark choices are evident. It is my contention that the real source of this potential for unnecessary social chaos and dislocation lies within the architecture of the human brain. As humans, we have collectively failed to learn how to discipline the innate tendency of our lower brain to react violently and without reason to the conflict that necessarily comes with living in community with others, especially within a complex human environment.

I am inundated by great sadness and often overwhelmed by the undeniable reality that humans continue to make choices that ineluctably lead to unnecessary pain and suffering. Where the simple recognition that all peoples are members of the same human family would change everything.

Ode to Existence - Revisited

 

Ode to Existence

Revisited

Enmeshed and so often, entrapped

within this human world

distraction the norm,

conversation distilled into

a kind of relentless babble

born on the wings of bits and bytes,

joy equated with pleasure

and childish excitement,

happiness to be forever

pursued and hoarded like treasure,

a synthetic world of trinkets

and idle possessions,

heirlooms acquired,

building vast fortunes

of synthetic and finite illusions,

all with little consequence

all with little meaning.



And yet,

the reality of existence

moves along its

indefatigable path,

within the boundaries of

the wondrous cosmos.



Surrounded by the matrix

of the living world,

passengers aboard this fabulous spaceship

Earth,

caressed by capricious winds,

greeted by morning mist

tossed upon perilous water,

enlivened by sunlight,

subdued by nightfall,

intimidated by fearsome storm,

forever surprised by the intrinsic beauty

delicate intricacies of nature’s tendrils

that reach into every corner and crevice,

every delicate spring blossom,

every blade of undulating grass,

every tree no matter how massive or

diminished,

every creature within its domain,

every idle thought that triggers

perception,

every substantive or meaningless dream.



Surrounded by this most amazing

universe,

this most fabulous galaxy

decorating the heavens with

innumerable stars,

witness to the dance of the planets,

subtleties of light and dark,

to the wild configurations of

shape and form and texture and color.



Blessed with this most awesome capability

of the sentient mind

to uncover the mysteries of

the nature of things,

to explore the vast and inner terrain of

self,

to find meaning,

to explore possibilities,

to appreciate detail and

discover function,

to search for truth

and find it,

to know peace

and appreciate the essence of love.



Life is a voyage and a journey,

bounded by explosive birth

and the finality of death,

constrained by the

vagaries and vicissitudes

of unfolding time,

life is to be affirmed

by wrapped attention,

life is to be possessed

from moment to moment and

neither squandered nor abandoned.


Finally, I would like to finish on this optimistic note regarding humanity’s future -

There is a deep-seated and persistent hunger that manifests itself globally; this hunger is for a more equitable, just, peaceful and saner world. There are many communities throughout the planet that are working towards this goal in innumerable ways. These organizations are clearly growing in size and number and are becoming more and more interconnected. If this trend continues, it offers significant hope for meaningful change, for it may ultimately expand the idea of family beyond the rigid boundaries of genetic affiliation to encompass all of humanity. This is my fondest desire, for there is so much needless suffering in this somber world that humans have created for themselves.

There is a formidable wealth of imagination, ingenuity, intelligence, generosity and potential that is bound up in the lives of billions of humans whose lives are unnecessarily cut short or minimalized by poverty, disease, conflict, war and scarcity – all of which are wholly preventable.

If that cumulative potential were only released; if war was only made obsolete; if the untold wealth diverted to weapons and instruments of death was only redirected towards enhancing human progress, what a different world we would have. If those who have been taught to look elsewhere for salvation would only look to each other for answers, what a different world we would have. If only all of us would find peace within ourselves and reflect on the well spring of our own behavior, what a different world we would have. If only humanity would speak the word love and truly mean it and accept the implications of this kind of surrender, what a different world we would have. If only we would comprehend the emptiness of greed, prejudice and mindless acquisition, what a different world we would have. If only we would remove the blinders that obstruct our minds and see the beauty inherent in diversity and the universality and interdependence of all of life, what a different world we would have. This is my fondest wish.

A Persistent Hope

In spite of this nagging sense of despair, I still remain hopeful – that hope lies with the next generations to follow.  I can summarize this hope in the following way.

There is a deep-seated and persistent hunger that manifests itself globally; this hunger is for a more equitable, just, peaceful and saner world. There are many communities throughout the planet that are working towards this goal in innumerable ways. These organizations are clearly growing in size and number, and are becoming more and more interconnected. If this trend continues, it offers significant hope for meaningful change, for it may ultimately expand the idea of family beyond the rigid boundaries of genetic affiliation to encompass all of humanity. This is my fondest desire, for there is so much needless suffering in this pathetic world that humans have created for themselves.

There is a formidable wealth of imagination, ingenuity, intelligence, generosity and potential that is bound up in the lives of billions of humans whose lives are unnecessarily cut short or minimalized by poverty, disease, conflict, war and scarcity – all of which are wholly preventable.

If that cumulative potential were only released; if war was only made obsolete; if the untold wealth diverted to weapons and instruments of death was only redirected towards enhancing human progress, what a different world we would have. If those who have been taught to look elsewhere for salvation would only look to each other for answers, what a different world we would have. If only all of us would find peace within ourselves and reflect on the well spring of our own behavior, what a different world we would have. If only humanity would speak the word love and truly mean it and accept the implications of this kind of surrender, what a different world we would have. If only we would comprehend the emptiness of greed, prejudice and mindless acquisition, what a different world we would have. If only we would remove the blinders that obstruct our minds and see the beauty inherent in diversity and the universality and interdependence of all of life, what a different world we would have. This is my fondest desire.

Song of Despair

How long

before the clock of needless death

and true madness

finally stops ticking.



How long

before those granted power

stop condoning and encircling

applauding

those who proclaim the

right to slaughter the innocents

reigning death and horrific destruction

from the sky

reminiscent of the darkest days

of Vietnam,

condemning those who

recoil from such an extreme

desecration of life.



How long

before we speak out

loudly to

those who proclaim lie over truth

bigotry and hatred

over compassion, kindness

love,

before we reject

chaos, needless suffering and death and

choose peace and harmony instead.

How long

before

we understand

that without a moral compass

the human world will fall into

a hell of its own making.

A Divided Nation

Given the current state of an obviously divided nation, it becomes quite apparent that the world of modern humans is constantly inundated within the fabric of illusions that provide a false representation of the essence of our collective humanity. This artificial world is buttressed by a constant and torrential storm of information where the demarcation between truth and prevarication is ambiguous at best.

It is regrettable that after thousands of years of human civilization, the human species remains collectively driven by fear, suspicion, bigotry and hate. These feelings are powerful enough to propel humanity to unimagined extremes of violence and degradation. It is equally sad that although science has clearly demonstrated that all humans are members of the same species – the same human family, horrendous and destabilizing divisions over politics, religion, ethnic origins and imagined racial differences persist.

I personally have grown weary of all the unnecessary suffering that comes as a direct result of actions, both personal and collective, driven by hatred, bigoty, closed-mindedness, calousness, ignorance and a basic insensitivity to the human condition.

In my estimation the fundamental quality of being a sentient creature on this most remarkable planet is the ability to experience and appreciate existence. We all share this remarkable capacity to communicate with and understand each other. It is such a profoundly important gift to not only consciously experience existence, but also to seek to encompass and truly comprehend existence in all its many forms and aspects. A singular lifetime does not afford me the ability or capacity to embody all of existence, but at least, allows me to enjoy and participate in the adventure of living.

 

What Kind of World Will We Leave Behind?

I have been personally examining the possibilities that may lie ahead for the human species in the years ahead by attempting to extrapolate the more immediate impact of the kind of communal decisions and choices being made throughout the world during the current era. In this examination, I have chosen to look at what I consider to be a so-called “worst case scenario.”


From the perspective of the global political environment, I see some disturbing tendencies. There seems to be an unsettling rise in the popularity of autocratic rulers who have openly expressed a blatant attraction to fascistic principles even within the Western-style democracies. Important examples of this trend are evident in the policies and pronouncements of such leaders as Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Vladimir Putin of Russia. These leaders are currently involved in brutal and ongoing wars against avowed enemies that barely disguise an effort to expand their dominion.

These wars are taking such horrendous tolls on the lives of their powerless foes – the Palestinians in the case of Israel and the Ukrainians in the case of Russia. The toll of this savage aggression endured by ordinary citizens in each instance is sadly reminiscent of the behavior of the Third Reich during World War II. In addition, the popularity of Donal Trump in the United States as the 2024 Presidential election approaches is surprising and notable especially in regard to his often-stated affinity towards autocratic rule in place of adherence to the rule of law, and political democracy.

The underling reasons for the popular support for autocratic rulers and repressive policies and political agendas is complex and multi-faceted. However, it is my contention, that the essential driver for such tendencies is fear, and that fear arises from an internal sense of instability and uncertainty regarding the future for those who have assumed that they hold dominant positions within the social order.

In many ways this unfolding of events is terribly reminiscent of the cycle of the rise and fall of human civilizations that echo throughout human history. The unfortunate tragedy of these kinds of historic events in the present technological era is that so much is at stake in regard to the immediate future of the human species.

Autocratic rule does not bode well for the future state of humanity for a variety of reasons. The foremost of these is that the lie is used to supplant a striving for truth - the unmitigated use of falsehoods and propaganda to propel forward an arbitrary and inherently dangerous agenda is a proven tactic to purposefully exploit the underlying fear and uncertainty of the population. We have seen this in the case of Netanyahu who has allowed lawlessness on the part of Israeli settlers to terrorize unarmed Palestinians in the West Bank and elsewhere often resorting to burning down houses and shooting innocent individuals with total impunity, held Palestinians captive in Gaza for the last sixteen years and committed terrible atrocities against ordinary Palestinians in Gaza with merciless bombardment, resulting in tens of thousands of needless deaths, provoking mayhem and the likelihood of terrible famine in much of that very crowded region. We have seen the insidious nature of autocratic rule on the part of Vladimir Putin in Russia in his relentless pursuit of incorporating by violent means the Ukraine sovereignty into the Russian empire. Lastly we have seen the repeated use of the lie and callous and provocative propaganda during the presidency of Donal Trump who has more or less embraced a clearly racist ideology and who has contributed to the tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths in the midst of the COVID pandemic by downplaying the severity of the onslaught of the disease - disregarding the advice of public health experts and who proudly proclaimed that Climate Change is a hoax. This trend towards autocratic rule and its accompanying social and political repression is not isolated to the above examples – in fact, it seems to be a worldwide phenomenon.


If this trend continues throughout the human world, then the voices of peace, social and economic justice, equality of opportunity, reason and intellectual pursuits would be effectively muted and suppressed. The ultimate consequences of this predilection towards obeisance to autocratic rule and governance would prove to be unsustainable in the long term.

As has been repeatedly demonstrated in human history, pursuits of the intellect, science and broad-based thinking would be profoundly discouraged. As a result, the absolute need to address the overweening issue of Climate Change would have no traction. As a matter of fact, the conditions that contribute to this human-created problem would be seriously exacerbated. Climatologists have periodically enumerated the new reality that would emerge on planet earth if their warnings go unheeded. This would include the fact that regions of the earth that are inhabited by hundreds of millions of humans would be essentially unlivable due to the extreme heat and humidity. These would include regions in the Middle East, Asia, especially India and the African continent.

Should this calamitous situation become a reality, it would mean the forced emigration of huge populations of humans – the kind of migration that would certainly provoke horrendous conflict and would engender an unsustainable living environment for a substantial portion of the earth’s human population. This kind of impact precipitated by Climate Change is a major one, but certainly not the only ramification of unfettered and calamitous change. Others include the impact of rising temperatures in the world’s oceans leading to the probable extinction or diminishment of many species of marine life that currently provide a necessary protein source for many animal species including Homo sapiens. In addition, the change in climate would precipitate savage and unrelenting storms in many regions on the planet resulting in additional stress upon human survival.

The collective impact of these alterations on the living planet would likely result in the gradual and ineluctable diminution of the human population, ultimately resulting in and end to the technological age due to the degradation of the advanced infrastructure that is required to sustain it.


If this kind of scenario actually unfolds, the severely diminished human populations would most likely coalesce into tribal relationships over the ensuing generations. The lifestyles of these “New Humans” would conform to earlier neolithic ways of living if the state of the local natural environment supports agriculture or be more likened to a paleolithic culture should the local environment support a hunter/gatherer style of living. The net result would be a rich variety of tribal societies that may or not come into conflict depending upon the degree of competition for survival. In any case, the memories associated with technologically-based human civilization would gradually fade from communal recognition. In a sense, the human species would have been rebooted. It would take a prolonged interval of time before the living world fully rebounded from the trauma of human-caused environmental degradation. How humanity would evolve in such a setting is difficult to imagine.


Keep in mind that this vision is entirely speculative, and, of course, it is conceivable that humans in the current era could make choices that would significantly alter the future for the benefit of all creatures on this most remarkable planet. It is also conceivable that the ultimate outcome of a failure to act responsively in attempting to avert this kind of calamity may not be as dramatic or catastrophic as this bleak scenario describes. However, the future that does enfold will most likely result in a scale of pain and suffering that would have been totally avoidable if only humanity acted intelligently and cooperatively to avert a disheartening future. In the final analysis it is up to all of us to take significant action at the present time for the sake of future generations.