The main problem facing the student of Mayan culture is that the Jesuits (with the help of others) systematically destroyed Mayan literature. The remaining inscriptions on monuments make for a rather skewed and limited history.
Reading your speech, I felt you don't give people enough credit for choosing the time of their own insanity. The 2012 superstition didn't cause the current fatalism, the superstition's simply rendered marketable because it comes along at a time when a fair percentage of our species feel like things are about to go bugfuck. And in that feeling, they may just be onto something. Their method of justifying that feeling may be irrational and clueless, but let's separate the baby from the bathwater.
There is always a certain self destructive urge in people, a hidden desire to smash all the things we've worked so hard to build up. I name it the Godzilla Impulse. It's related to the childhood feeling which drives us to deliberately topple that teetering tower of blocks which we've just so painstakingly assembled. Charlatans do prey on this trait, but usually only a small percentage of people are strongly feeling its effects at any one time.
In the last thirteen years, I've had some experience with people strongly expressing their deathwish. In general, they find themselves in a situation they detest, they can't go on living as they are, but can see no likely path out of it. While not actively suicidal, they do begin to behave in a way that invites disaster, subconsciously hoping that some random tumult will break them from their ruts. If this mental state occurs on a culture-wide scale, then riot or revolution becomes immanent. Unfortunately, the fatalistic passivity leaves people prone to being harnessed to more dominant aims.
The human race is feeling deathwish now, big time. And it's not without reason - we can't go on living as we do for very much longer. Yes, the problem which people are currently focusing on isn't the most pressing issue we face, it's just that climate seems more real to most people, than discussions of money or energy.
Is it useful to deride people's belief that 'something bad' is about to happen, when that does, in fact, seem likely? I believe the appropriate response is to address the helpless passivity. The more people learn about the mess we've gotten ourselves into, and the more they think about possible paths out of it, the less helpless and the more active they can become. Of course, they'll also become more angry and frightened, but this'll happen in any case, as reality comes crashing through. At least an earlier realisation might make us less of an amenable herd, to be driven straight over the cliff.
The planet is getting that pre-world-war powderkeg smell, and although most people don't perceive this rationally, they do sense it, because it's there. Instead of arguing over whether disaster will strike, and on what date, we could be putting our efforts, here on the ground level, into transforming the sense of futility and confusion into purposeful action.
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re: 2012
Date: 2009-12-09 03:39 am (UTC)is that the Jesuits (with the help of others)
systematically destroyed Mayan literature.
The remaining inscriptions on monuments
make for a rather skewed and limited history.
Reading your speech,
I felt you don't give people enough credit
for choosing the time of their own insanity.
The 2012 superstition didn't cause the current fatalism,
the superstition's simply rendered marketable because
it comes along at a time when a fair percentage of our species
feel like things are about to go bugfuck.
And in that feeling, they may just be onto something.
Their method of justifying that feeling may be irrational and clueless,
but let's separate the baby from the bathwater.
There is always a certain self destructive urge in people,
a hidden desire to smash all the things we've worked so hard to build up.
I name it the Godzilla Impulse.
It's related to the childhood feeling which drives us
to deliberately topple that teetering tower of blocks
which we've just so painstakingly assembled.
Charlatans do prey on this trait,
but usually only a small percentage of people
are strongly feeling its effects at any one time.
In the last thirteen years, I've had some experience with
people strongly expressing their deathwish.
In general, they find themselves in a situation they detest,
they can't go on living as they are,
but can see no likely path out of it.
While not actively suicidal,
they do begin to behave in a way that invites disaster,
subconsciously hoping that some random tumult
will break them from their ruts.
If this mental state occurs on a culture-wide scale,
then riot or revolution becomes immanent.
Unfortunately, the fatalistic passivity leaves people prone
to being harnessed to more dominant aims.
The human race is feeling deathwish now, big time.
And it's not without reason -
we can't go on living as we do for very much longer.
Yes, the problem which people are currently focusing on
isn't the most pressing issue we face,
it's just that climate seems more real to most people,
than discussions of money or energy.
Is it useful to deride people's belief that 'something bad' is about to happen,
when that does, in fact, seem likely?
I believe the appropriate response is to address the helpless passivity.
The more people learn about the mess we've gotten ourselves into,
and the more they think about possible paths out of it,
the less helpless and the more active they can become.
Of course, they'll also become more angry and frightened,
but this'll happen in any case, as reality comes crashing through.
At least an earlier realisation might make us less of an amenable herd,
to be driven straight over the cliff.
The planet is getting that pre-world-war powderkeg smell,
and although most people don't perceive this rationally,
they do sense it, because it's there.
Instead of arguing over whether disaster will strike, and on what date,
we could be putting our efforts, here on the ground level, into
transforming the sense of futility and confusion into purposeful action.