I
used to believe that the arc of the universe was long, but that it
bent towards justice. Now, following the election of Donald Trump and
the chaos that has followed, I have stopped believing that. I now
believe that without some major catastrophe, real progress is not
possible. The arc has been exposed as a sine wave.
After the brutal murder of Charlie Kirk, many people are calling for calm. Bernie Sanders and others point out that the foundation of democracy is ability to disagree in a civil fashion. I hear very sensible voices speak of finding common ground and shared values. We are neighbors, after all, and ultimately we all want the same thing.
In my arc of the universe phase, I, too, would have made similar proclamations. But with my new sine wave mindset something keeps needling me: we’ve been talking for a long time, now, and there really hasn’t been any meaningful progress. So, what’s the point?
I see this play out especially when it comes to the environment. I remember, just a few years ago, feeling hopeful that society was waking up to the fact that our current oil-fueled over consumptive lifestyle is unsustainable: the massive loss of nature, the pollution, the endless trucks of trash, the warming of the planet. But now, after decades of careful hard work by environmentalists, scientists and activists, the modicum of progress that was made is being rapidly undone. Like constructing a sand mandala and watching it disappear in a hurricane, and then a flood.
In a rational world we would be well on our way to a better world. We would have eliminated poisons, adopted local organic farming as the primary infrastructure of our food system, found ways to make nature flourish, changed our development practices, and implemented a clean energy economy. Instead, we are moving backwards with fresh new battles to fight. Meanwhile, the trees keep coming down, the pesticides keep flowing, the earth keeps warming, the trash keeps burning, the species counts keep going down.
I want to live in a place where leaders are serious people working for the public interest, not a bunch of performative sociopaths backslapping their way to the next big development project. I want to live in a place where wealth makes concessions to nature and human health, not the other way around.
What is going to spark real change? Sitting down and having conversations with people who either don’t think the destruction of the planet is an issue, or don’t care as long as they can buy plenty of mansions and jet skis? Personally, I’m tired of trying to persuade them and we are running out of time.
I don’t hate the opposition and I don’t want violence. However, I do know this: when it comes to the environment no common ground path seems possible. I’m tired of compromise and I’m tired of talking. Only something drastic will truly knock us out of the sine wave and into the arc.
