Abscondo

The Crisis of Meaning

I post because I want to be heard.  To be heard is reassurance that I exist.  When I know that I am heard, I know that I am supposed to be content.  So why am I still not content?  What is still missing?

Go to Facebook or Twitter during any second of any day and watch your friends do the same.  I don't need to explain this to you because I know you do it too.  You feel it too.  To post is to scratch an itch -- the relief is temporary and unfulfilling.  To write and record a song is the same thing, only 1,000 times more intense.  To write a book is also the same thing, only 10,000 times more intense than that simple post on Facebook.  Bloggers know it, musicians know it, writers know it...but we do it anyway.  We do it for the simple reason that we wonder whether our lives really have any meaning if we do not succeed at projecting that meaning to the outside world.  We want to know that our lives have extrinsic value.

Our current obsession with becoming famous is also fueled by this same emotion.  If a million people could hear my voice or somehow understand me, that would be better than one person hearing my voice and understanding me, right?  Or what if I could create a product that would be loved by 10's of millions?  Would I finally feel content that I have found meaning?

Ironically, we pretend we don't care about such impractical, unrealistic ideas like "the meaning of life" -- but I think we are fooling ourselves.  I think everyone is concerned with their meaning of life.  Single people often believe that their meaning of life will be revealed when they meet that special someone.  But, even after we have met that special someone, even after we build wonderful lives together, we continue trying to define, validate, somehow possess something as elusive as meaning.

Let's go even further.  We also identify with movements,  institutions, brands, and organizations because we seek meaning.  We are Christian, Hindu, Liberal, Conservative, Green, Harley-Davidson owners, H&M shoppers, Football fans, film buffs, Indie music fans, etc., etc. because we believe that being part of these "clubs" will give our lives meaning in the outside world.  We profess the values of specific movements or industries because we want to believe that, in doing so, we will belong....and in that belonging we will come to know a meaning that lasts longer than scratching an itch.

But does anyone really find their meaning in any of these ways?  So many celebrities have everything any of us could dream of...and yet we watch them go through embarrassing melt-downs before our eyes on reality TV.  They act completely ridiculous.  But, in truth, all of us do.  Could it be any different?

Something is fundamentally broken.  Our lives are being run by corporations.  The only meaning of a corporation is to make a higher profit this quarter than last.  That's it.  So the highest value, at the top of our society, is money-worship.  Not very meaningful.  Everything a corporation does...all the brands, all the sports teams, the media, all the films, all the content, everything...it is only there to serve that one purpose.  Our governments are also at the mercy of the financial industry, the oil industry, the defense industry, etc., etc.  So we cannot believe in business and we cannot believe in the State.  Where is the external meaning in this system?

Are we supposed to be naive enough to look for meaning in religion?  You want me to live my life in a silly and unsuccessful attempt to conform to ridiculous stories written by corrupt men thousands of years ago?  Sorry, you've lost me there.  I was talking about the meaning of my life, on Earth, in reality.

I ask again, where is the meaning?  I know this is depressing, but I also know you feel it too. 

New Year's Eve and the passing of time

To celebrate the New Year is to celebrate time.  We count down to a midnight -- a moment in time.  We turn another year forward on the calendar and, if only on this one night each year, we all confront the the passing of time.

We tell ourselves that time is fleeting.  We wonder where it went.  Yet, if we are being completely honest with ourselves, we also know that there is enough time.  If we make good decisions and live well, then the day is long enough to do with it what we want.  If we show up each day and do our best, then the year is long enough to make tremendous progress in our lives.  If we take care of ourselves, eat wisely, and exercise, then life is long enough to allow us to live all of our dreams.  It is!

Yes, we do have enough time!  But only if we respect that each moment, that each day is precious.  There is time to have lots of fun (but not too much fun).  There is time to work really hard (but not too hard).  There is time to learn new skills (while still staying balanced).  There is time to diet (and time to feast).  There is time to exercise (and time to lay on the beach).  There is time to be on stage (and to watch a performance).  There is time to travel (and to stay at home reading books).  There is time to be a daddy (and to be a husband, lover, friend, son, son-in-law, and citizen).  There is time for intellectualism (and time for silliness).  There is time to be rich (if we don't spend too much time shopping).  There is time to be drunk (if we can tolerate the hang-over).  There is time for everything we want to do today, this week, this month, this year, and in this one lifetime.  Oh, and too much time could never be spent in love.

In 2012 and beyond, my deepest wish to all of you is that you seize each moment...that you recognize both the preciousness and, paradoxically, the abundance of time.  Of course our time on Earth is limited.  But if we make the most of it, there is also enough of it.  Happy New Year!

#OccupyWallStreet, #OccupyXmas (Thanksgiving Day podcast episode)

 

Abscondo Podcast - 40 - #OccupyWallStreet, #OccupyXmas

On this Thanksgiving Day podcast, Mark discusses the OccupyWallStreet movement, OccupyXmas, Adbusters Magazine, and discusses a theory about why the mainstream media is covering the movement.  Click on the gray box above to listen to the podcast.

 

Love is made, not found

The topic of love is something I’ve seldom felt brave enough to approach on this blog.  How can one make any generalizations or draw any conclusion on this topic without sounding trite?  Yet how can any truth-seeker avoid the topic that dominates so many of our thoughts for most of our lives?  Perhaps each of us have our own love philosophy (whether or not that philosophy actually works very well for us).  I’ve decided to share some pieces of mine.

Just like yours, my love philosophy has been formed through so many years of personal experience and observation of others.  There is only one reason you should care at all what I have to say on this topic; I am proud to proclaim that I have been deeply in love with the same woman for 19 years.  Sofia has been my partner for more than half of my life.  We met at a ridiculously young age and have each grown through the years to become completely different people (over and over again) and yet have also grown closer at the same time.  I don’t believe that this love is by chance and I don’t believe this relationship was found as much as it was made.     

Let me try to describe our relationship only so that you can compare it to your relationship ideal.  Let’s start with a core element of any relationship – romance.   Yes, there is passion.  Not all of the time, but there is passion. :-)  We do expect each other to be excellent lovers, no matter how many years we’ve been together and how many thousands of times we’ve made love.  I’ll spare you the details, but it is not unusual for there to be candles, lounge music or trip-hop, and sometimes there’s even incense burning.  :-)  I'm quite satisfied with this aspect of our relationship.

But obviously romance is only one part of any relationship, so let’s cover some of the others.  I would say that we’re not annoyed with each other.  Nothing she does really gets on my nerves and I never get that attitude from her either.  Also, our relationship is almost completely open and honest.  It hasn’t always been that way, but we’ve learned that anything less than honesty is something less than closeness.  Dishonesty creates a void of silence.  In that void we tend to feel loneliness.  So we have become honest and open with each other even to painful extremes at times.  Also, to the highest reasonable extent, we try not to limit each other’s experiences and opportunities for personal growth.   

Then there’s the “functioning” part.  I think we handle the business of life very well without allowing it to cause too much damage to our romantic relationship.  We strive toward 50/50 equality in effort and contribution.  We both stay focused on financial and career goals.  We’ve paid for each other to attend university, worked together in business, built a home together, and have both worked from home for the past 6 years (which means we’re basically together 24 hours a day most of the time).  We’re also raising a 20-month year-old and this isn’t really harming our relationship either.

I’m not saying there aren’t problems, that there isn’t occasional frustration, or that there haven’t been serious issues we've had to work through.  But I am proud and fortunate to say that my relationship with Sofia is excellent, that we do work through our problems, and that we do love each other unconditionally.  I think what I’m describing matches most people’s definition of a pretty great relationship.  Did we just get lucky or are there specific ideas, rules, and ways that we approach the relationship that make it consistently work over all of this time?

When I listen to other people talk about love and relationships…when I think about some of the attitudes so many of us have and watch familiar patterns...I can see quite clearly how people sabotage their relationships.  So many of us end up looking to the promise of the next relationship without learning anything from our failed relationships of the past and present.

In fact, most people sabotage their relationships even before they meet their partner.  That’s because they aren’t looking for a human being; rather, a “human product” that meets certain criteria and behaves in predefined, desirable ways.   While most women want long-term stability, most men want either a beautiful accessory or a second mommy to take care of them.  In dating, women only pretend not to be thinking about a man’s money and status, his ambition, his desire to have (or not have) children, his ability to be faithful, and so many other traits that make up her version of a desirable partner.  Men so often dishonestly play into these female tendancies for the promise of sex.  In doing so they, too, fail to see the woman as a human being (as oppose to an object that is there to manipulate for selfish reasons).  What can be built that starts this way?  This phase, as blissful and beautiful as these beginnings are, is too often just a thinly-veiled and sometimes deceitful negotiation (though this is difficult to recognize through the beautiful haze of a new relationship). 

Do most people date each other as human beings?  Isn't it more like a negotiation for a role or job interview?  How much effort is given toward working on and defining those things that will make a happy, successful relationship  (whether intended as long-term or not)?  How much effort goes to "qualifying people out" for arbitrary reasons?  How willing are women to allow true honesty or are they scared to find out what a man actually has to say?  How willing are men to be honest even if given the chance, and to allow women the chance to be honest as well?  How can anybody bond and really connect if they can’t be authentic and don't fundamentally accept each other? 

Are most single people judging their partners with a checklist or are they seeing their potential to change, grow, and build a better life through the right kind of relationship?  Are they in the habit of disqualifying people from their lives through technicalities, or are they open to lovers as they actually are?  Does the idea of love have a destination in mind or is it unconditional (at least conceptually)?  Is love something to be created or something that is effortlessly found?  Is the question more about what he/she gives you or what you give him/her?  Are there two equal souls in this or are you negotiating what you need as an individual?

If two people who are attracted to each other are willing to selflessly and honestly look at each other and accept each other for who they are…if they are willing to change and willing to encourage each other to change…if they are willing to work through problems rather than running away from them…then it is only a matter of time until they achieve that relationship that is perfect for them.  In this sense, the only way that a relationship can fail is if one or both of the participants choose failure by choosing not to accept, not work on something, not to explore, not to grow, and not to try.  If you are unwilling to do all of these things in your current (and, yes, imperfect) relationship, you will not be satisfied with the ultimate outcome because it, by definition, will be so much less than it can be.  And if you leave that current relationship for the promise of the next, your ultimate result will be the same if you do not change your mental models. 

Of course I'm not saying that there aren't good reasons to leave someone: maybe he's not trying in the sense I'm describing, maybe you're not physically attracted to each other, maybe there's simply no way to find that life path that will work for both of you as a unit.  But most relationships (whether intended as long-term or not) seem to stop short of even trying.  People are so quick to emotionally jump out of relationships that they never really get in to begin with.

You might think that what I’m describing is too difficult, too unrealistic, and that you might become vulnerable to heart-break.  You might think that such an approach would take you into some pretty scary territory.  Of course you would be absolutely right to think this.  I'll go further and say that, however difficult you think this would be, actually it is probably ten times more difficult than you can imagine.  This is precisely why ideal relationships are so rare!  Few are brave enough and strong enough to actually give what it takes in order to realize the potential that love offers us.

As amazing as that original spark was between Sofia and I 19 years ago, the truth is that our constantly-improving relationship was built, not found.  It is a process of trial-and-error, but we have decided to give each other all of ourselves and will die trying to make this life together as great as it can possibly be.

Of course I'm only scratching the surface of this topic, so I'm curious if you'd like me to write more about love.   

At this moment, in this branded world

At this moment, in this most luxurious hotel in London, I am paid to listen to Antony in the Johnsons on a stereo that is designed as complexity for complexity's sake in a room that I will never understand.  At this moment, after reading but two old poems by Oscar Wilde, I step from that bed in duty to write for writing's sake.  At this moment, in this country of brand-aware yet life-ignorant conformists, I mourn the death of thought, authenticity, and adulthood.

This week, I suffer not for art but for reality.  In my dreams, in this most cherished realm, I create to relieve us of our bleeding consumption.  In my waking, I contribute to that same polluted realm of normalcy.  I hope to succeed in accelerating the ugly so that it becomes unbearable enough to drive us to the beautiful and blissful.  Can we please destroy the ugly by exposing it as even uglier?

After a yesterday spent at Mercedez-Benz World...amongst a sea of brand-believers convinced by the roaring engines of destruction...unaware that "the best or nothing" is nothing but the worst for us...infantalized by the brand-good-time...the brand-are-you-alright?...the-brand-someday-please-buy!...I enthusiastically plant the mind-fuck seed at the feet of the desperate believers.  You sicken me, all of you British with your considerate and legalized infantalization.  I am a man, if perhaps one of the few inhabiting your streets, trains, and motor-ways this week.  I've seen you see me and yet you no longer remember.  Have you forgotten what a man is amongst this branded nightmare of illusion?

So retreat to your iPods, your iPads, your pink-shirted striped suits, your silly games, your .IamaBiggerTwatThanU.co.uk branded barf-bags, your utter nothingness in a life that has become a spectacle of digital fatigue masked with feigned enthusiasm.  I have stood without problem today, mocking dignity on a convention floor aside the Thames and I have spoken to you from the realm of invented absurdity with a lazy position of mockery; yet you saw and heard nothing of it.  You will even pay me for it and I will collect with a smirk.  I do not feel sympathy for your ignorance.  In this life I have seen both children and adults with real problems, with real feelings, and with real minds processing real things.  You're funny to me but not because you are as clever as you think.  You may possess realness, you clearly do not display it.  So I cannot account for it in my account of it.  You rank with the Japanese and the Americans.  You likely even lead this race to nowhere and we can only hope that your nowhere will save us with an illumination of your nothingness.  That is the only hope we are left with.

The Consequence of Porn

Both men and women have our own varieties of porn, but the consequences of each are equally destructive.  Men like the kind of porn that, quite honestly, involves themes like fucking two hot Russians.  Women, on the other hand, are turned on by an entirely different kind of porn: the Hollywood “chick flick”. 

Of course I’m using the word “porn” loosely; while, at the same time, am absolutely equating these two “art-forms” (for lack of a better word) as the same damn thing.  Both the sex porn and the chick flick tap deep into our fantasy worlds and have the power to change the way we think.  They ultimately define what we think we want from life and subconsciously guide our most foolish of life decisions.  As discussed in the Abscondo Podcast called "Morality of Consequence", my value system is based on Consequentialism.  In this case, the consequence of porn being our collective inability to form healthy, fulfilling relationships and our tendency to destroy the relationships we do have.

Porn taps straight into fantasy…our wildest fantasies.  The recent Hollywood film starring Sarah Jessica Parker (probably the most famous female porn actress of all) is called “New Year’s Eve”.  I didn’t see this movie, but my wife did last night with her girlfriends.  This is a true chick flick, just like the thousands before it.  I asked her what it was about and she described a scene where the “Mr. Perfect” character turns down two younger women to chase after the older woman who has a child.  No scenario could make the point I’m about to make better than this scene (which I, admittedly, didn’t see and hopefully never will see first-hand). 

The fantasy being presented in any chick flick is that of the unrealistic man – the man who looks perfect, has the right profession, has the right apartment in Manhattan with the right view, and doesn’t rush sex until she’s ready.  His only purpose in the film is to ultimately please the female lead and make her life complete.  This is a guy who has no individual needs other than to chase the female character (who is usually slightly imperfect but that’s ok) to the airport before she leaves forever.  Music builds as he runs through traffic and jumps over cars without harming the perfect bouquet in his hand.  The end of the film is that ultimate moment when he commits to “forever” and all of her problems are solved.

The male porn, of course, is all about sex.  Lots of sex with unrealistically attractive women willing to do things no women would do if trying to satisfy her own sexual desires.  I’ll just simplify and call this “sex with two hot Russians”.  These two different kinds of porn have a deep influence on our relationships even before they begin.

Women are attracted to men to the extent that they are like Mr. Perfect in the chick flick.  Men know this works on women, and so we play the part in order to attract the girl.  But, in truth, men are attracted to women to the extent that she looks as sexy as the porn actress.  Women also know this, and might even look the part (and play the part in bed) in order to catch the man.  If successful, nature runs its course and our couple becomes obsessed with each other and falls in love.  This stage ends with the perfect like-in-the-movies proposal and the storybook wedding.

Now we have two people who are together mainly because a) they watched lots of porn and it had a huge influence on them, and b) they are each good at playing the part…at being what the other thinks they want.  But where is the authenticity in this relationship?  Who exactly are these two people as individuals?  How can they be happy over the long-term if they have just entered into a life in which they cannot be who they truly are?  If she gains weight, isn’t as exciting in bed, and no longer looks like she did when they met at the club…then she’s not living up to his fantasy.  Furthermore, a marriage based on life-long fidelity cannot possibly live up to his fantasy at all.  So what happens?  Many years go by and, despite progressing levels of disillusionment, our perfect couple has a few perfect kids.  But finally, he gives-in to his fantasy and leaves his family for the promise that he might one day actually have that sex with two hot Russians.  Will he have sex with two hot Russians?  Perhaps, if he goes to Amsterdam and pays for two hookers to act out his fantasy for him.  But then, after that…when he meets a real woman who he doesn’t pay…what does this future woman want?  She wants the same thing his wife does: Mr. Perfect in the movie. 

Similarly, after many years tolerating her husband watching football, drinking beer, getting fat, looking at beautiful women walking by, forgetting anniversaries, ignoring her emotional needs, and refusing to go see chick flicks…she also might decide that she’s had enough.  She’s still young, after all, and there must be a guy out there who more closely resembles Mr. Perfect in the movie.  So she might decide to break up the family for no other reason than her naïve and unrealistic hope that she will meet this other guy…this Mr. Perfect in Manhattan who will (if she’s lucky) succeed at temporarily projecting the same fantasy her husband did originally (at first) but who really wants, deep down, to fuck two hot Russians.

The point is that if we get carried away with our porn-fueled fantasies…if we allow porn to shape our expectations, desires, and life decisions…then what we are left with are lots of beautiful but unhappy children asking what daddy did to mommy or what mommy wants from daddy that he can’t give.  All around us we have lots of otherwise intelligent, beautiful, potentially happy and content people going into their 30’s, 40’s, and into the rest of their lives lonely, watching lots of porn, and wondering when they are going to live the life they were promised in the porn.  They won’t.

Our relationships, instead, should be based on perceiving the other person, accepting loved ones for who they truly are, and being honest with each other about who we really are and what we really want.  In short, our love-life should be an expression of our authentic selves.  It should be so deep and unique that it cannot be understood by the outside world.  This kind of love is not “of” the outside world; rather, it exists in a universe that is created, from scratch, by two people.  It should be an exploration of our deepest feelings, needs, and even fantasies.  It should also involve calling-out the other person when they are full of shit.  It should embrace constant growth and change.  In love, we must never mistake the warm, living-and-breathing person who is giving his or her life and entire being to you…we must never confuse that person for the cliché images on the screen.  

Women: there are no perfect men in Manhattan waiting to meet you just so they can exist only to please you.  Men: there will never be two hot Russian friends willingly kissing each other and waiting for you to enter the room.  Let’s make this work in reality.

The real rebels

I couldn't agree more with this piece from Adbusters:

"The next real literary “rebels” in this country might well emerge as some weird bunch of anti-rebels, born oglers who dare somehow to back away from ironic watching, who have the childish gall actually to endorse and instantiate single-entendre principles. Who treat of plain old untrendy human troubles and emotions in US life with reverence and conviction. Who eschew self-consciousness and hip fatigue. These anti-rebels would be outdated, of course, before they even started. Dead on the page. Too sincere. Clearly repressed. Backward, quaint, naïve, anachronistic. Maybe that’ll be the point. Maybe that’s why they’ll be the next real rebels. Real rebels, as far as I can see, risk disapproval. The old postmodern insurgents risked the gasp and squeal: shock, disgust, outrage, censorship, accusations of socialism, anarchism, nihilism. Today’s risks are different. The new rebels might be artists willing to risk the yawn, the rolled eyes, the cool smile, the nudged ribs, the parody of gifted ironists, the “Oh, how banal.”"

David Foster Wallace | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters.

Making debt illegal (Podcast Episode)

In my first video podcast, I discuss the question recently posed to me about saving humanity from self-destruction.  Read this blog entry for a more detailed analysis.

View the podcast here or download the audio version on iTunes, Feedburner, or wherever you usually get podcasts.

Saving the world

I was asked to write a chapter for a new book on saving humanity from self-destruction.  Specifically, the book's author asked me to address the following topics:

1. What is wrong with the world today?

2. What can be done to prevent the self-destruction of humanity?

Sometimes the simplest questions can catch you off-guard.  I stepped away from my computer and felt myself getting a bit frustrated.  I've been talking a lot about the Silent Crash, the disruptive change happening in our lives, and what it all means to us as individuals...but I haven't said much about what can be done to prevent the large-scale self-destruction of humanity.  

I like that the question is phrased as "what can be done" because I want to believe that this isn't just one more naive, futile attempt to ask "what can we do".  There is an important distinction here, because we cannot truly do anything to prevent the self-destruction of humanity.  We are not in control.  We are not the ruling elite who have designed and who manage the functioning of the systems that are destroying the world.  Therefore, we are not going to be given the power to do anything on a large enough scale, as individuals, to change the world in any drastic way.  It doesn't matter how good our ideas are or how well-meaning we may be.

Yet the question is still staring at me.  I am just one tiny, insignificant part of the we.  Would it not be my moral duty to provide an answer if I have one?  Would it not be selfish and lazy if I were to decline to address such a topic because it is based on what appears to be an impossible premise?  How do I even begin to present my analysis, my solutions, if I have no power to influence the ruling elite anyway?  In doing so, would I not be banging my head against the wall in an empty room where nobody even notices?

After several days of thought, I realized that it is my duty to try to answer this question, yes, but also to do so in a realistic way.  So let's start with the first question:

1. What is wrong with the world today?

This is a simple, high-level question that deserves a high-level answer.  Humans are animals on planet Earth.  By any measure, any "right" way of living that will ensure our survival must be compatible with the laws of nature that govern planet Earth.  We know that planet Earth contains a biosphere in which life can exist.  Within this biosphere, the principles of evolution govern everything that life is and what life does.  Evolution describes all behaviors and changes within all of life's ecosystems and systems.  It is such a simple concept, really.  Whether we are talking about an ecosystem in the jungle, an economic system, an industry, our agricultural system, or anything else that life does...I believe it is all part of the same thing.  Evolution, as a concept, illuminates so much more than just the way that species change over time (the part that scientists tend to focus on).  

In nature, species often die out.  This happens when an ecosystem breaks down.  Perhaps a predator eats too much of its prey (causing the prey to first go extinct, and then next the predators well because there's nothing to eat).  Sometimes the entire ecosystem vanishes (species vanish when humans slash and burn the jungle, for example).  So the question about what can be done to prevent the self-destruction of humanity is a question about nature and of evolution.  Because it is a question of evolution, we must return to the idea of systems.  

Which systems (man-made or otherwise) risk threatening the survival of human beings on Earth?  How do our man-made systems undermine or destroy the natural eco-systems we depend upon for survival?  It is difficult to know where to begin, but here's a short list:

• Our entire lifestyle is built on a system that depends upon a massive amount of power (some non-renewable fuels, some nuclear, all destructive and devastating).
• Our economic systems are only concerned with economic growth...even if at the expense of the destruction of nature and life.
• Our monetary system incentivizes us to do terrible things we would otherwise not do because we have been made slaves to money
• Our religious institutions teach us that man has dominion over the Earth
• Our way of mass-producing food damages the soil and uses up non-renewable resources unnecessarily (both threatening our ability to continue producing food at the current volume)
• The world's militaries, together with corporations selling to them, have built weapons that could easily destroy humanity
• The legal system puts property above all else and provides corporations with the mandate that their only concern is profitability.  The real-world result is oftentimes as catastrophic as an oil-spill that can destroy an entire ecosystem.
• Bankers provide debt that fuels and accelerates all of the systems described above.  Hold-on to that thought for now because I will return to it.

These are only some of the fundamental problems with the world today.  These are the systems that threaten the ecosystem and threaten the survival of humanity.  These are the systems that justify and legitimize our tendency to do ridiculous, harmful, destructive things in such a rational, cool manner.

We could get into a conversation about who created these systems and why, but that's beyond the scope of this topic.  The more important question concerns those who have the actual power to actually change or improve these destructive systems.  The question that matters is this: what exactly do the ruling elite stand to lose or gain if these systems are changed?

Indeed, any discussion concerned with changing the world has to start by considering how to sell the idea to the ruling elite -- those few who have the power to truly change or improve the systems that govern our lives.  Nothing I, as an individual, can do or say will have any real impact.  The only chance I have would be doing something or saying something that might persuade the ruling elite to somehow behave differently.  We need to persuade them that their power, influence, and lifestyle would improve by implementing our idea.  Whatever change I'm suggesting cannot be a threat to them.  Therefore, I cannot demand through protest (they will easily ignore it), I cannot vote for change (the most destructive systems are governed outside of the charade we call democracy these days), and so even if I could write something so brilliant that it persuaded 1 billion people, the idea would have absolutely no impact if it did not pursued the ruling elite.

So we need an idea that 1) helps prevent destructive behavior in the real world, and 2) convinces the ruling elite that it will improve their lives as well.  

To be intellectually fair, I should also mention that there is only one other way to change the world: through violent revolution.  An angry and violent mob, if large enough and out-of-control enough, could smash everything and kill everyone responsible for the systems undermining our ability to survive as a species.  The problem with this, and the reason this doesn't seem to happen, is that taking part in such a movement would threaten our individual survival.  We might die in the battle.  Even if we did succeed, even if we did destroy all the destructive systems, we might be left standing in a chaotic world where we end up dying from starvation and lawlessness.

This brings up another interesting point: in nature, individual survival always trumps that of the species.  So, to convince anyone of anything, you have to convince them that their life will be better than it is today.  Nature has designed all of its creatures primarily to look after their own survival and self-interests.  Just as the ruling elite will not give up everything they hold dear, neither will any of us.  So, to put it into evolutionary terms, we are an over-populated species competing for an ever-shrinking supply of food.  We will continue to become faster, stronger, and better at catching our prey regardless of the long-term consequences our actions might have our species.  Indeed, we're just an over-populated species.  We get bigger and bigger, consume more and more, until one day we all might just consume everything that supports our ability to survive at all.  

But what caused us to get to this state and what can be done to prevent the self-destruction of humanity?  I already provided a very high-level answer (that we should pursued those in power to change).  But this is probably quite useless without a specific idea or example.  Now I'll get to that.  

The goal, unlike what some environmentalists would have us believe, isn't for man to have "zero-impact".  The Earth can certainly handle a lot of impact.  Just look at what we've done to it and how beautiful it still is!  We all have a right to exist, to eat, to burn some wood, and to make a mess now and then.  The natural environment can certainly absorb this, just as it has throughout the centuries.  So what exactly has accelerated our economic activity to the point that is completely destructive and out-of-control?  My answer is this: easy access to credit or, in a word, debt.

Debt allows us to conduct economic activity right away -- without having to first earn the right to do so by saving money.  How much of our economic activity in the past decades has been fueled by debt?  How many expenditures would not have occurred without debt?  Debt fuels shopping sprees, construction of houses, purchasing of cars, vacations, etc., etc.  Not everything we do is fueled by debt, some of us do spend the money we earn.  But a huge percentage of economic activity is made possible through easy access to credit.  How many plastic toys made in China would not have been sold if not for credit cards?  Go even further; how much of the destruction our government causes is funded by debt?

How would the world change if all governments would agree to make all debt illegal?  "Impossible!", you might say, "there's no way to get all the world's governments to agree on anything."  Really?  What about slavery?  Where exactly is slavery legal?  And how exactly is debt different from slavery?

Debt is, indeed, a form of slavery.  Under slavery, the slave-holder provides food and shelter and, in return, the slave is forced to work for free.  Similarly, in debt, the banker provides the loan for food and shelter and the debtor works to pay the banker's interest.  The difference between debt and slavery is only a matter of degree.  It is only a legalistic distinction.  

So the elimination of debt would slow our economic activity enough that, perhaps, we might get it back to the level that the Earth can support.  But, to my previous point, any idea to prevent the destruction of humanity is not practical or realistic unless it persuades the ruling elite that it is in their own best interest.  See, the beauty of this idea is that, right now, debt is the number one problem threatening the global economic status quo.  Consumer debt is undermining consumer spending, national debt is making it impossible for governments to provide basic services, and the issuance of bad loans are making it impossible for many banks to avoid bankruptcy.  For the past decade, and especially since 2007, the answer has always been to solve debt problems by adding more debt.  But this cycle cannot go on forever because new loans cannot be repaid.  Many economic foresters believe that what we will be left with is a painful, 10-year cycle of deleveraging.  At the end of this process, without fundamental change, so many lives will be destroyed and we'll still only be left with the same conditions that led to these problems to begin with.  To make debt illegal would solve the problem immediately and for good.

It should also be said that, regardless of whether or not debt is made illegal, the economic depression ahead will be good for the environment and good for the the long-term viability of human life on Earth.  Even if conditions were to worsen to the point that a very large percentage of humans died, this would also go a long way toward preventing the self-destruction of humanity as a whole.  Yet none of us want our species to be saved through catastrophe.  All of us, ruling elite or otherwise, want a life worth living...a life of happiness, comfort, and plenty.  Oh, and ideally, we would prefer not to destroy the world in the process if at all possible.

So here's my answer: world leaders should erase all debt overnight and make any future debt illegal.  If you have a mortgage on a home, the debt is gone and you get to keep the house.  Of course the value of your home will plummet because, going forward, homes will only be bought with cash that has actually been saved.  But that's fine, because at least you own it and don't owe anybody anything.  You can start spending your paycheck instead of giving it to the bank.  If you have a credit card, the debt is gone but you can no longer use it.  If you have a car-payment, you get to keep the car but owe nothing.  Your lifestyle improves short-term, which should give you enough time to understand the new economic paradigm and adjust to the new reality: if you want something, save money and then buy it.

What about those who do not own a home, who paid for their car with cash, and who don't have any debt?  Your benefit (aside from helping to save humanity) is that everything will get cheaper.  The cash you've saved will go further.  What would house prices be if houses could only be bought with  cash?  What about car prices?  If you've saved some money, you're in very good shape and will enjoy this new future.  You will no longer be competing with all those debtors for goods and services.

What about the bankers?  Why should they lose out on all the payments coming to them on loans they made?  This is probably the most important question.  I'm not sure I can answer this.  Perhaps many of them may not mind so much either because the debts they own to other institutions have become a huge threat to their survival.  Didn't we just bail them out?  So I'm assuming they had some debts that they couldn't pay?  Banks do have a lot of cash.  They'd get to keep it.  Moving forward, they could continue to provide financial services like deposit accounts, debit cards, etc...but no loans.

The elite bankers are, however, the ruling elite.  Their world is confusing, murky, and invisible to us.  I don't know for sure how the banking elite would feel about this idea.  Probably not great, since it ruins their whole business model.  But if this economic crisis gets bad enough, might they consider supporting the idea that debt is illegal?  Perhaps some of them would.  I don't know.  The bankers are the slave-holders in this scenario.  Slave-holders typically don't like freeing slaves.  But the times are changing and somebody may be forced to change.  Are there enough other ruling elite we could reach with this idea, or are the people in charge all bankers?

Those in government would breath a huge sigh of relief on the day debt was made illegal and wiped-0ut.  National debts would be gone.  Everybody defaults at once.  China is screwed, but what are they going to do if the whole world has made this decision?  From that moment on, all government services would  have to be paid for with money actually collected through taxes.  The decision about whether or not to raise or lower taxes would be based on something tangible -- based in reality.  Also, future tax-payers would no longer be forced to pay for the spending of previous generations.  We could start building again (hopefully the right kinds of systems this time) and never get into this mess again.

So much of the systematic destruction of our world today is funded by debt.  Bankers issue as many loans as they can in order to control our behavior and extract natural resources from countries (if you can't pay us we'll simply demand that you sell your iron, gold, or oil so that you can).  All of this debt has led to wide-spread, systematic behavior that is starting to threaten the survival of the human species.  Debt certainly isn't the only problem.  It maybe isn't even the core of the problem.  But making debt illegal would probably solve the problem in a simple, elegant way that produces minimum pain.  

Today, we work in jobs selling plastic devices made in sweatshops in order to pay for the mortgage on a house that costs 10x more than it would if not for the widespread practice of using mortgages to buy homes.  We buy cars on credit to transport ourselves to that job and pay for gas and lunch on credit cards.  This very example shows widespread, unnecessary destruction at each step and yet, in the end, most people taking part in this lifestyle never even seem to get ahead.  They stay locked in this cycle.  For what?  These days, even the ruling elite don't know what to do to avoid the impending crash and 10-year deleveraging cycle.  I know this sounds radical.  But this could be a real answer.

What would making debt illegal do for jobs?  Obviously decreased economic activity might lead to a decrease in jobs.  But, since government debt would be wiped-out, there's be a lot more tax money left to spend on social programs to help the poor.  If we are going to survive as a species, then full-employment and never-ending economic growth cannot be our measure of success.  We have to get real.  What about a Hybrid Economy that provides the economic freedom of Capitalism (without the debt and without all the destruction) and the social safety net of Socialism (without all the restrictions on freedom and red-tape)?  More on this in future posts.

With the enactment of one simple idea -- making all debt illegal -- we can enter a new, post-debt era and begin building a future in which we are happier, healthier, and more free.  Most importantly, this new future would cause far less destruction to planet Earth.  We can begin living within our means, both as individuals and as a species, and can do so without being asked to make any impossible sacrifices.  The bankers, who have been driving off a cliff, are starting to lose all control.  It is time for the competing elites to consider a new idea.  I wonder how we can reach any of them.

The silent crash

Once upon a time, there was the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, the Velvet Revolution, and many other events so important and disruptive that they each were given their own, unique names in history.  Now there is what I will call the Silent Crash.  

This crash is silent because the collective will not hear it, will not discuss it, and will not experience it as a group.  We, as a collective, will not know and will not remember on which day it actually occured.  Instead, each of us as individuals will go through our own slow processes until we realize it has already happened.

Just as currency, commodity, real estate, asset, and population bubbles begin to burst...our great fictional bubbles of belief systems and mental models are also bursting...one by one...until we are eventually left with only the truth of our real lives, our inner voices, and the beautiful reality that actually does surround each of us.

Politicians go through the spectacle of elections, yet democracy does not exist.  Corporations run the government to their advantage, yet we defend them with irrelevant free-market ideas from years ago.  Soldiers, full of the best intentions, dedicate their lives to their country...while Corporations, working through the government they control, use them only to loot and plunder the world.   Just as Priests have done for centuries, our "leaders" are desperately trying to prop-up a fictional belief system.  

Some people see through the fiction, but nobody really hears the sound of a crash.   

Meanwhile, we go on eating what they feed us, while this Corporate food is making us sick and miserable.  We go to Corporate doctor to get better, while the cost of health care only makes us even sicker with worry and makes us slaves to jobs that are slowly killing us.  We give the best years of our lives to a company, yet are discarded one unsuspecting Friday morning because we are no longer useful.  We watch this happen to our friends, relatives, and to ourselves.

Still nobody really hears the sound of a crash.  

Comodity prices plunge, but few know or care.  Currencies are destroyed, but only the upper-middle-class cares.  Real estate prices collapse, yet we only blame ourselves and try to cope.  Oil begins to run out, so we complain more loudly about gas prices.  Bankers rob us by looting the treasury, but nobody really understands it or does anything about it.  Billionairres silently sneak out, through the back door, to their safe islands while letting the world we know crumble.  The puppet-masters are too untouchable to pay much attention to.  

Nobody can hear the sound of a crash.  Why?

We can barely hear even the most obvious truths over the sound of all that content, all those iPhone apps, MP3 players, TV Shows, advertisements, Corporate-controlled news and debate, video games, and new promises brought to us each day from the world of Retail and Entertainment.  These industries clammor so loudly for our attention -- so desperately begging and pleading with us to listen -- that the occassional voices of truth just can't seem to find a place to be heard.  We are living in an era that is as fake as the MTV Music Video Awards.  Let's just all shout really fucking loud, bleep out all the cursing, dance like nobody has ever danced before, and laugh whether anything is funny or not.  

This party is getting boring, so let's just turn up the volume so nobody can hear the crash outside.

This is the Silent Crash.  It is the systematic destruction of anything systemic that we used to believe in.  We are each alone in this.  We are each forced to confront our own delusions on our own terms.  Our survival and happiness actually depends upon our ability to see and hear the world around us as it actually is.  

There is a simple truth in all of this: we cannot and must not trust or believe in the man-made institutions and systems that govern our lives.  If given our trust and faith, these systems only exploit us.  Even the ones that benefit us are the same ones that are collapsing or being threatened with austerity measures! 

So what do we do?  We can't avoid interacting with the world around us.  So we must understand that to take part in today's institutions is only to play a game.  We can learn to play the game reasonably well, for our own personal reasons, and with a specific and meaningful goal or purpose.  But let's not forget that it is all a game.  Play the game well and you win some comfort, piece of mind, nutritous food, time to enjoy your life, and so much more.  But none of this flows from faith in the system.  Those with blind faith in the illusion will crash under the weight of their own bad choices...they will go down with the ship!

What exactly can we believe in if the systems, rules, imagery, and institutions around us are either unsustainable or are built on lies?  Actually, there is so much that is real that we can believe in!  We can believe in ourselves.  We can believe in love...real love, not the convenient "how big is your wedding ring" and "how well does your spouse behave" kind of love brought to us by the media.  We can believe in the pursuit of truth...truth at any cost!  We can believe in kindness, empathy, and compassion.  We can believe in doing what's right just because it is right.  We can believe in pleasure...the kind of pleasure found on a beach, or in the backyard listening to the wind blow through the trees, or whatever excites us!  We can believe in freedom!  We can believe that our own inner-voices are, indeed, the voices of truth!  Let the crash be silent so we can hear these voices.

What exactly is there to be afraid of when so much that is corrupt, destructive, and harmful is silently crashing?  When we find the courage to jump ship and live on our own terms...when we live our dreams...when we do this all while playing the games required for our survival...then the future is bright.  

The Silent Crash is our opportunity to clarify our minds and listen to our hearts.