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The End of the U.S. and the World as We Know
It and The Truth About Our Collective Future - Part
1
It is not easy to accept, but it is becoming
more and more obvious that our country and our
world are not doing well. Some believe the U.S. is
falling apart and the humans have made such a mess
of the environment that we should call it quits, go
out in a blaze of destruction, and leave planet
Earth in the hands of species who are better able
to be good partners in the community of life on
Earth. Others believe that human ingenuity and
innovative technologies will fix things and we have
a bright future ahead. I have a different vision
that was given to me in a sweat lodge in 1993 at a
men’s gathering in Indianapolis, Indiana:
We are all on a huge ocean liner. It is the
Ship of Civilization. Everything that we know and
have ever known is on the ship. People are born and
die. Goods and services are created, wars are
fought, and elections are held. Species come into
being and face extinction. The Ship steams on and
on and there is no doubt that it will continue on
its present course forever.
There are many decks on the ship starting way
down in the boiler room where the poorest and
grimiest toil to keep the ship going. As you ascend
the decks, things get lighter and easier. The
people who run the ship have suites on the very top
deck. Their job, as they see it, is to keep the
ship going and keep those on the lower decks in
their proper places. Since they are at the top they
are sure that they deserve to have the best that
the ship has to offer.
Everyone on the lower decks aspires to get up
to the next deck and hungers to get to the very
top. That’s the way it is. That’s the way
it has always been. That’s the way it will
always be. However, there are a few people who
realize that something very strange is happening.
What they come to know is that the Ship of
Civilization is sinking. At first, like everyone
else, they can’t believe it. The Ship has been
afloat since time before time. It is the best of
the best. That it could sink is unthinkable.
Nonetheless, they are sure the Ship is
sinking. They try and warn the people, but few
believe them. The Ship cannot be sinking and anyone
who thinks so must be out of their mind. When they
persist in trying to warn the people of what they
are facing, those in charge of the Ship silence
them and lock them up. The Ship’s media keep
grinding out news stories describing how wonderful
the future will be and technology will solve all
our problems.
The Captains of the Ship smile and wave and
promise prosperity for all. But water is beginning
to seep in from below. The higher the water rises,
the more frightened the people become and the more
frantic they scramble to get to the upper decks.
Some believe it is the end of the world and
actually welcome the prospect of the destruction of
life as we know it. They believe it is the
fulfillment of religious prophecy. Others become
more and more irritable, angry, and depressed and
use alcohol, drugs, and other forms of
self-medication to escape the pain.
But as the water rises, those who have been
issuing the warnings can no longer be silenced.
More and more escape confinement and lead the
people towards the lifeboats. Though there are
boats enough for all, many people are reluctant to
leave the Ship of Civilization. “Things may
look bad now, but surely they will get better
soon,” they say to each other.
Nevertheless, the Ship is sinking. Many
people go over the side to the boats. As they do
so, they are puzzled to see lettering on the side
of the ship, T-I-T-A-N-I-C. When they reach the
lifeboats, many are frightened and look for someone
who looks like they know what to do. They’d
like to ride with those people.
However, they find that each person must get
in their own boat and row away from the Ship in
their own direction. If they don’t get away
from the Ship as soon as possible they will be
pulled under with it. Though each person must row
their own boat, they must stay connected to others.
As people row away from the Ship, they connect with
each other in a new, yet ancient, network. A new
way of life is created that is much better than the
Ship of Civilization which continues to sink.
Here are a few things I have thought about over
the years that gives me hope for the future:
1. “Civilization” is a misnomer.
Its proper name is the “Dominator
culture.”
As long as we buy the myth that
“civilization” is the best humans can
aspire to achieve, we are doomed to go down with
the ship. In The Chalice & the Blade: Our
History Our Future first published in 1987,
internationally acclaimed scholar and futurist,
Riane Eisler first introduced us to our long,
ancient heritage as a Partnership Culture and our
more recent Dominator Culture, which has come to be
called “Civilization.” In her recent
book, Nurturing
Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape
Our Brains, Lives, and Future, written with
peace activist Douglas P. Fry, they offer real
guidance for creating a world based on
partnership.
Historian of religions, Thomas Berry, spoke
eloquently to our need to be honest about our
present situation.
“We never knew enough. Nor were
we sufficiently intimate with all our cousins in
the great family of the earth. Nor could we
listen to the various creatures of the earth,
each telling its own story. The time has now
come, however, when we will listen or we will
die.”
2. There is a better world, beyond
civilization.
When I was given the book Ishmael, by Daniel
Quinn, I got a clear sense of the two worlds that
are competing for our attention: A world where
hierarchy and dominance rule (Quinn calls it the
world of the Takers) and a world where equality and
connection rule (Quinn calls it the world of the
Leavers). In his many books Quinn offers a clear
contrast in worldviews.
In his book, Beyond Civilization:
Humanity’s Next Great Adventure, Quinn
says,
“I can confidently predict that
if the world is saved, it will not be because
some old minds came up with some new programs.
Programs never stop the things they’re
launched to stop. No program has ever stopped
poverty, drug abuse, or crime, and no program
ever will stop them. And no program will ever
stop us from devastating the world.”
Quinn goes on to quote Buckminster Fuller who
said,
“You never change things by
fighting the existing reality. To change
something, build a new model that makes the
existing model obsolete.”
3. All Civilizations Come to an End, Most
Within Ten Generations (250 years)
In her powerful and important book, Who
Do We Choose to Be? Facing Reality, Claiming
Leadership, Restoring Sanity, social scientist
Margaret J. Wheatley shares the findings of
historian Sir John Glubb.
“Glubb studied thirteen empires
in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, from
Assyria in 859 BCE to modern Britain in
1950,”
says Wheatley.
“The pattern of the decline and
fall of these superpowers was startingly clear.
It didn’t matter where they were or what
technology they had or how they exercised power.
They all declined in the same stages and it
always took ten generations, about 250
years.”
Wheatley concludes,
“The deceit we are engaged in
is that we think we’re special, that we can
transcend history, alter the seasons, and step
off the Arrow of Time. Surrounded by technology
that dazzles us with its capabilities and
techno-optimists who confidently promise ever
more wonders, we believe that even as other
civilizations failed, ours will not.”
4. Understanding the Reality of
Collapse.
The thought of our country collapsing or
humanity becoming another species that becomes
extinct is terrifying to most. One response is to
deny the reality of our situation, to lose
ourselves in the latest escape or addiction.
Another is to falsely believe that some
technological fix will magically save us from
ourselves.
When I hear the word “collapse,” I
can’t help becoming terrified and wanting to
run away from the truth. I picture a freeway
collapsing and crushing cars with people inside or
the twin towers collapsing floor by floor and
killing hundreds.
The truth is that even during these disasters,
not everyone died. Many more people walked out of
the twin towers than died inside. When
civilizations collapse, it doesn’t mean that
everyone dies. When the British empire collapsed,
it didn’t mean all Brits lost their lives.
Some did, indeed, die. Death is something we all
must accept, but collapse can signal a
transformation.
In describing the reality of collapse, Margaret
Wheatley draws on the work of Joseph Tainter, as
well John Glubb. Tainter’s book, The
Collapse of Complex Societies, published in
1987, is acknowledged to be the seminal work in
establishing the pattern of collapse that is the
fate of all complex societies.
“He is a superb and dedicated
scholar,”
says Wheatley,
“both humble and clear. Over
several years he studied in depth many different
societies; as he did so, the pattern became so
clear that he felt no need to continue to study
others in detail.”
Tainter’s description gives a more
accurate, and less terrifying, description of the
reality we are living through. Tainter defines
“collapse,” as primarily a political
phenomenon with consequences in all other spheres
such as economics, art, and culture.
“A society has collapsed when
it displays a rapid, significant loss of an
established level of sociopolitical
complexity.”
This fits well with the descriptions
I have offered by sociobiologist and futurist
Rebecca Costa. In her book, The
Watchman’s Rattle: A Radical New Theory of
Collapse, Costa examines the rise and fall of
multiple civilizations including Mayan, Khymer, and
Roman empires. She found that the underlying cause
of collapse had not been fully understood or
addressed. What she discovered was that a societies
inability to deal with complexity was the root
cause of collapse.
As Costa’s mentor, the world-renowned
sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson said in the books
foreword:
“The clash of religions, and
civilizations, Costa argues, is not the cause of
our difficulties but a consequence of them. The
same is true of the global water shortage,
climate change, the decline of carbon-based
energy, our cheerful destruction of the
remaining natural environment, and all the other
calamities close to or upon us. The primary
cause of all threatening trends is the
complexity of civilization itself, which cannot
be understood and managed by the cognitive tools
we have thus far chosen to use.”
But transformation is inevitable and we have an
opportunity to create a different way to live, one
that is more sustainable and supportive of life.
Our ancestors go back millions of years and humans
have lived sustainably on the planet for much of
that time. But getting from here to there is a long
journey requiring a new kind of leader, which
Margaret Wheatly describes as a “warrior for
the human spirit.” I will describe her ideas
more fully in part 2 of this series.
As Wheatly reminds us, “The Warriors
arise when the people need protection. The human
spirit needs protection. May the Warriors
arise.” As I am learning, getting older
and dealing with disability and death, have some
similarities with the transformations going on in
the larger world. It takes the best of our warrior
spirit to meet the challenges of life in the 4th
quarter of life.
I appreciate your comments and support. I will
post part two in an upcoming article.
©2023 Jed
Diamond
See Books,
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* * *
Wealth can't buy health, but health can buy
wealth. - Henry David Thoreau
Jed Diamond
is the internationally best-selling author of seven
books including Male
Menopause, now
translated into 17 foreign languages and his
latest book, The
Irritable Male Syndrome: Managing. The 4 Key Causes
of Depression and
Aggression. For over
38 years he has been a leader in the field of men's
health. He is a member of the International
Scientific Board of the World Congress on
Men’s Health and has been on the Board of
Advisors of the Men’s Health Network since its
founding in 1992. His work has been featured in
major newspapers throughout the United States
including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall
Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and USA
Today. He has been featured on more than 1,000
radio and T.V. programs including The View with
Barbara Walters, Good Morning America, Inside
Edition, CBS, NBC, and Fox News, To Tell the Truth,
Extra, Leeza, Geraldo, and Joan Rivers. He also did
a nationally televised special on Male Menopause
for PBS. He looks forward to your feedback.
E-Mail.
You can visit his website at www.menalive.com
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