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PREPARING THE CAGED HUMAN ANIMAL
FOR THE LONG HURRICANE SEASON AHEAD
Americans were recently unsettled by the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Most disturbing were scenes reminiscent of Third World disasters coming from New Orleans, one of this country’s most popular party and convention spots. Nightmarish images of bodies floating in the streets, lawlessness, destruction, displacement, and desperation were repeatedly conveyed to television viewers across the country who watched in amazement as one of their major cities appeared to be on the verge of being washed off the map.
Living as I do in southern Mississippi, a couple of hours drive from New Orleans, I got a chance to experience some of the effects of the hurricane first hand. Although not as severely hit as areas further south, still virtually every aspect of life in the town where I live was disrupted.
In addition to the significant immediate physical destruction it caused, two other consequences of the storm particularly impressed me. The first was how rapidly things fell apart due to the loss of electricity, water, and gasoline. In a very short time our complete dependence on publicly supplied water and energy was revealed as well as our lack of an effective Plan B to provide these commodities for ourselves. Things ground almost to a complete stop in our community for a few days and I had no difficulty imagining how disastrous the prolongation of such a state would be. Civilization as we know it was on the verge of being brought to its knees remarkably easily by simply knocking out these key resources.
The other consequence that got my attention was the change in the behavior of people due to the damage of the hurricane. Conduct of both a good and mean spirited type not commonly seen during less tumultuous times was brought out by the storm and its effects. What I observed enabled me to envision the potential for both extreme viciousness and remarkable cooperation during times of chaos and deprivation. I was left with the perspective that the veneer of dispassionate civilized behavior is really very thin and can easily be peeled away.
Given that the hurricane delivered a single blow, albeit a remarkably forceful one, my part of the world was able to bounce back quickly and return more or less to its usual state in relatively short order. As I am writing this, a few months later, apart from some residual downed trees, damaged buildings, and the presence of some still-displaced people from further south, it would be hard to tell that anything out of the ordinary ever took place.
If I had not traveled to New York City two weeks after the hurricane hit, I might have been less affected by it. There the storm appeared to have had negligible impact apart from elevated gas prices, Hurricane Katrina benefit concerts, and incessant media coverage of the political mishandling of its damage. However, reacting to the chaos that I had just left in Mississippi, I viewed New York in a very different way than I had during my previous visits there. What impressed me most was its profound vulnerability if anything should happen to turn off its artificial life support system. Imagining all of those millions of people in all of those thousands of huge buildings trying to function for any significant period of time without water and energy was horrifying. I viewed the crowds everywhere around me with amazement, wondering how they could be so oblivious to the potential danger to which they were exposing themselves. I was most relieved when I returned to the sleepy semi-rural hamlet where I presently reside.
Of course, my reactions could be categorized as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder and some would advise me that with some counseling and properly prescribed medication I might be able to return to a more normal mental state. Certainly, not everyone living in Mississippi has been affected by the hurricane as I have. However, I do not think that my responses are either unhealthy or illogical. Not only do I not consider my perspectives inappropriate, my purpose in writing this article is to alert my readers regarding what to expect in the (not too distant) future and the implications of these upcoming events for those interested in becoming untamed human animals.
It has become increasingly clear that we are entering what might be described as a long hurricane season. I mean this in a number of ways.
Somewhat superficially to begin with, I am referring to the weather. With Hurricane Katrina being just one example, many scientists believe that our planet is entering a period of storms of increased intensity and perhaps increased frequency as well. There is some thought that this may be attributable to global warming and many believe that global warming is at least in part due to the unprecedented human population over the last century or so and its even more unprecedented burning of fossil fuels, particularly in the ‘developed’ countries of the world. Regardless of its causes, if true, these predictions indicate that America and other parts of the world should be prepared for increased damage from storms of all types with accompanying severe economic and social implications.
This alone would be significant but other important climatic changes appear to be on the way as well. Global warming appears to be genuinely happening and, among other results, polar ice caps are melting which will create rising sea levels. This is expected to affect coastal communities worldwide, making some major cities (as well as other coastal land areas) partially or completely uninhabitable.
A myriad of other possible implications of this warming include profound effects upon the ability of certain areas to grow crops due to changes in seasonal temperature patterns, as well as the flooding or desertification of now habitable and productive land. The bottom line is that nobody really knows what exactly global warming may do to different areas of the planet but it seems reasonable to expect that very significant changes will occur resulting in the disturbance and displacement of large groups of people, thus creating major shelter issues. These climatic changes will also have major negative impacts upon availability of food and water for many people. Shelter, food, and water are all essentials and without sufficient supplies of any of them a state of social turmoil results. It remains to be seen how severely this will play out.
In addition to the climatic clouds on the horizon, another major problem that we are now facing is that of overpopulation. There were one billion humans in 1850, three billion in 1960, and over six billion now. While the rate of population growth is diminishing in the ‘developed’ countries, it has still not plateaued in other parts of the world and is expected to continue to rise significantly during this century. Already vast numbers of people on the planet lack proper food, water, and shelter. As climatic changes occur and populations rise this will only get worse, resulting in more misery and instability.
As well, of course, diseases will flourish in such environments. Even in a much less interconnected human world during the last millennium, plagues spread across continents wiping out large numbers of people. It is obvious that we are in store for major epidemics, some of which we are getting an early glimpse of now. It is unreasonable to imagine that medical treatment will be able to significantly prevent or control this onslaught of infections and most likely millions if not billions will be affected in every part of the world. Not only will we/they be affected but these effects can occur rapidly, further destabilizing civilized societies.
Also, the environmental destruction that humans have been causing throughout our history and that has dramatically increased over the last two hundred years or so since the beginning of the industrial age is rearing its ugly head. Apart from the direct effects of overpopulation, as we all now know, we have been devastating the planet, eliminating many species and severely disturbing ecosystems. Again, we really have no idea what damage we have done, but there is a general consensus among ecologists that it is almost, if not already, too late to prevent major ecological catastrophes which could eliminate our species and many others. Counting on Mother Nature’s resilience to help us to get out of this mess as she has consistently done in the past is unrealistic.
Now, to make matters worse, we are at the beginning of the end of the oil era. The main reason that the human population has increased sixfold in the last one hundred and fifty years and that every element of life has changed as dramatically as it has over the same time period has been due to the tremendous availability of cheap oil and natural gas. As stated by Richard Heinberg at a workshop of his that I organized a few months ago, the average American effectively has three hundred slaves working to maintain his or her lifestyle (in terms of the amount of fossil fuel energy used per capita in the US when compared to the work/energy that one human can generate). While the ‘first world’ countries use and have benefitted the most from the oil age, every part of the world relies absolutely on inexpensive and readily available petroleum products.
We have or are about to reach what is called the ‘global oil peak’ whereby we will have used up one half of the total amount of global petroleum reserves. This is a non-renewable resource and the problem is that the remaining fifty percent that is out there is much more difficult and expensive to extract and use than the first half was. Therefore, in the imminent future petroleum will become increasingly scarce and expensive. While we may never run completely out of oil and natural gas, the energy source which has literally fueled our species’ population explosion and the types of societies that we have created and have become used to over the last hundred and fifty years is going to, in the very near future, effectively disappear. Every aspect of our lives will change fundamentally. Just subtract petroleum products from reality (and you probably don’t even begin to appreciate the extent of their role in the modern world) to begin to consider what’s coming our way. The most obvious changes will be to do with transportation which relies virtually completely upon oil. However, modern agriculture and its capacity for unprecedented food production is also completely dependant on fossil fuels. And the list goes on and on. By the way, alternative energy sources (which, of course, are hardly even being utilized anyway) will not come even close to filling the gap.
So.... just when major storms, global warming with its resultant disruption of societies around the world, overpopulation, worldwide epidemics, and ecological disaster are occurring, humans will lose their prime energy source. Not a pretty picture.
Civilization has already brought out our common chimpanzee-like warrior tendencies to a very exaggerated degree as proven by the bloodbath of our last hundred years. With disappearing resources of all types and the resultant inability to support the human population on the planet we will descend into a state of significantly increased conflict. The wars of the last century were fought among the power brokers for status and wealth as they built their empires during a period of tremendous economic growth. The coming wars will still be fought for the same reasons but additionally they will be for the increasingly scarce necessities of survival during a time of economic collapse (an era of opportunity for wealth for some, nonetheless).
The accompanying chaos will cause increased conflict among the owners of civilization. Nation states will fragment and a more obviously feudal warlord type structure of society will emerge. Overt slavery will resurface with many voluntarily offering themselves on the slave market in order to survive. Needless to say, the problems caused by climatic disruption, overpopulation, disease, and environmental destruction will be exacerbated by all of this, creating a very vicious circle. The worst aspects of human behavior will become commonplace and, occasionally, the best will be seen as well. And so it will continue until enough people have died off and a somewhat steady state has been reached unless, of course, the bottom falls out completely due to epidemic or ecological disaster (due to nuclear holocaust or other less dramatic causes).
All of the above will start to take place in this century, and some of it is beginning to happen already. Due to the wild card factors of disease and environmental destruction, everyone will be vulnerable, even the most rich and powerful, and survival will to a very great extent depend on luck.
I call this the long hurricane season ahead of us. It’s coming your way no matter where you are and no matter who you are. The experience will be worse for some than for others. Most people seem to be oblivious to the storm clouds coming and are carrying on with their lives as usual. Some are aware of what’s on the horizon and are hoping for some way to prevent it from happening or at least to avoid being harmed by it. It is my observation that everyone at least unconsciously realizes that a cataclysm is coming as evidenced by the increasing societal levels of psychopathology and the accompanying reliance on coping mechanisms of all kinds.
There are authors (of note : James Howard Kunstler - The Long Emergency and Richard Heinberg - The Party’s Over- Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies; Powerdown; www.museletter.com) who appreciate, to some degree at least, the implications of what’s about to happen and are trying to warn others and perhaps mitigate the damage. Coming from a privileged ‘first world’ background, they tend to view the coming changes as a time of loss, particularly of the richness of culture and knowledge that civilization has produced.. However, for those who have been repeatedly raped by the forces of civilization, the difference between what is going to happen and what they have already endured may be minimal.
I predict that this long hurricane season will be absolutely devastating to a degree that we cannot begin to imagine at this time. The closest parallels that come to my mind are the terror-famine of the Ukraine of the 1930's under Stalin (as described by Robert Conquest in The Harvest of Sorrow) and the end of Easter Island society as described by Jared Diamond. I also believe as I assess the state of the world at this point that there is absolutely nothing that can be done to prevent this from happening. We are too close to the edge of the falls to turn the boat around. Therefore, I believe that investing energy in trying to stop these events from occurring would be as useful as trying to prevent Hurricane Katrina from striking the Gulf Coast a few months ago.
That being stated, while recognizing the tremendous force of the storms coming our way and the unpredictability of their impact upon any one of us, I am nonetheless excited about the future. If my excitement in the face of imminent extreme devastation seems bizarre, let me explain.
First of all, let me restate, I genuinely believe that all of this is going to happen and nothing is going to prevent it from happening.
In my description of what I call the True Positive Individual in my book ‘Liberating the Caged Human Animal’ (see www.untamedlife.com) I list sixteen characteristics of what I understand to be a self-actualized human animal. The second characteristic on the list is that of being Positive. I define the Positive individual as one who confronts reality and strives to find the most constructive and life-affirming way to deal with reality.
Therefore, if this oncoming long hurricane season is our collective reality, the True Positive Individual, the person that I strive to be and encourage others to be as well, will confront that fact and look to make the most life-affirming and constructive choices possible in order to deal with it.
Having this approach will enable one to create the best possible outcome for oneself in this situation (and for that matter in any situation). Anything less will simply diminish the quality of the outcome (it is understood that luck will play a tremendous role here but I am referring to the extent that any person can optimize the situation). Furthermore, it is obvious that being miserable and gnashing teeth will not in any way make things any better.
That’s reality, how do I deal with it? When used consistently, this attitude gets the best results. Therefore, in order to maximize one’s quality of life there is no other choice. In times as challenging as the ones that we are about to experience, this attitude is more essential than ever. Face the challenge and make the best of it. Having such an attitude is a decision above all. If one finds that one is responding with a negative attitude instead, one can stop and examine this response and change it. If it appears to be an automatic emotional response that exists despite a rational understanding that it should not have to be there, one needs to update this out-of-date response.
The long hurricane season is coming. I highly advise that you bring your own positivity along to deal with it.
Secondly, I am also excited about the future because I perceive what is about to take place as being the inevitable playout of the anti-life agenda of civilization. Civilization has been around for ten thousand years and I am not enamored with it. Although I do not believe that what’s coming in this next century represents the end of civilization - so long as there are those willing to enslave and to be enslaved civilization will continue - I do believe that it represents an important stage in its evolution and a significant step towards its eventual disappearance. The sooner the better as far as I’m concerned! I feel fortunate to be living in such momentous times so as to be able to actually see civilization’s self-destructiveness coming to fruition.
Thirdly, I am excited in the same way that a prison inmate serving a life sentence is excited when the prison is on fire. The prison is in flames and there is a chance to break out!
As this long hurricane season hits, chaos will accompany it. The regime of civilization has over the last couple of centuries taken over the whole planet. There has been a resultant pseudostability to civilization recently and it has become increasingly possible to monitor and control individuals, particularly due to modern technology. As the walls of the present structure of civilization crumble, it will be more difficult to keep track of everyone and to some extent there will also be less desire to do so on the part of the owners of civilization. As powerful nation states disintegrate there will arise the opportunity to live in the margins of the warlords’ territories. It is precisely in these margins that those who wish to become untamed will have the chance to enjoy a closer approximation of wild life than they are presently able to experience.
I am writing this for those whose goal is to become untamed but who presently find themselves in the prison of civilization. Obviously, for those whose goal is to experience the comforts of civilization and remain domesticated, this long hurricane season is a complete disaster. On the other hand, those who want to be wild will have new opportunities in the upcoming reality to be so, but they will be extremely challenging and will require them to become tremendously adaptable and resourceful. It is time to begin preparing for these new opportunities. When the jail catches fire you must be ready to make your escape and to survive without being recaptured. (In my next article I will present strategies to help you accomplish this.)
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