The most important element of comfort now is convenience, I see so many people who know Facebook is a tool of the cia and idf but can't top it because its just so convenient. Or music fans that claim to care about artists but only stream thus destroying any possible revenues (most artists never see a cent from streaming royalties). Its this toxic attitude of always taking the easy (corporate)way and then wondering why everything sucks.
Thanks for writing this essay, people need to hear it.
I still use Facebook, not for convenience but because most of the people I know only use such platforms and/or mainstream media for their information gathering. If I stopped using it, they would lose their window into independent media and thought, so I persevere. I don't know how much longer I will keep the account, the algorithm is not a fan of honesty in reporting, especially in Palestine, and I expect to be deleted at some point, but until then, I try to present as much information as possible to people accustomed to the bland nothing burger that is the Beeb.
And to this point, clarity about who is at fault is important. Neoliberalism blames the consumer, meanwhile setting up life where there’s little choice. My general rule is always blame up, not horizontal or down.
I wonder if in addition to atomization and fear, there's a resistance to the obligation that someone else's sacrifice imposes upon us, that we are meant to tend to the people who sacrifice on our behalf. There are a lot more layers than just this, but I wonder if part of the reason healthcare workers became villainized during the pandemic was that the collective did not like feeling obligated to care for them in some way because of their sacrifice.
Wow, that is a great observation. That disdain for someone sacrificing for us stems from the same myth… that we must take care of ourselves. To accept someone else’s sacrifice means we must accept we couldn’t.
Despite the performative adoration of soldiers, it’s hard to point to a group that society treats with more disregard than veterans.
Thanks, yeah, I agree veterans get so much of the lip service gratitude without any follow up with actual support. Elders don't even get the lip service. There's something painful about both.
agonizingly I experienced something in this space recently - a friend was hit by a truck while cycling while in the US (she is Australian) - she was in coma and in a pretty bad way. I could not understand my partner's strange energy here in Australia - he eventually told me he was so pissed off because her 'getting into trouble' had affected his life (read: comfortable life). WTF was all I could think... I am still processing this. Blessedly my friend is coming out of her coma.
This was great as usual, Justin. Thank you for reminding me that clear-minded people like you exist.
Add to the backlash list:
- the doctors who call out healthcare system injustices.
-The inmigrants who shed light on the plight of less privileged women.
-The wakeful ones who point out the fractured, ruptured, divided, isolated, lonely, sick, fearful, hyper-consumerist, anthroprocentric, destructive modern ways.
I had this very conversation with my wife, a psychologist, the other day only you wrote it all down, eloquently. Thank you.
I didn’t take what I sometimes call ‘lack of personal responsibility’ into the collective reassertion of the social contract as needing effort but I see where you are going.
And then I realised it is courage, somehow Maggie and her neoliberal accolites realised that if the contract eroded courage, it would persist. So here we are on the couch with the remote after a hard day getting stressed to pay for Netflix.
This is brilliant Justin. You've got me thinking. I really do wrestle with comfort vs courage. If I'm honest, I want both. Is that possible? We've become so conditioned to comfort, especially since the 1980s. But courage is what we need to not just survive but also thrive through the collapse and create a new future. Thank you for laying this out so clearly ❤️🌳
I mentioned that we’ve lost ritual that is meant to help us handle grief and discomfort. The goal is not discomfort… but neither is its complete absence at all costs. The goal is wholeness. So yes to both! ❤️✊🏼
Thank you Justin. I realise I've become more comfort-seeking with age as well. When I think back to my youth in the 1970s comfort wasn't a high priority at all. Our life back then was good training for what's coming. I take your point about ritual - comes hand in hand with community I think. Individual rituals have a place but can be more of the same when it puts the responsibility back on us for our own wellbeing. Lots to think about in your post ❤️🌳
Americans fear inconvenience, let alone "radical" sacrifice. We do so not because we're lazy, but because staying with the hustle is so precarious and near to impossible as it is.....That said, we have to see the hollowness of the hustle and place ourselves and our energy in service of....life itself. For us, for the whole of the biosphere, for meaning itself....Loved this piece, as well as the previous piece taking on the myth of progress. Thank you for it all!
Justin: Your collapse curriculum and writings are all super thoughtful and useful. As a collapse-expecting retired 70 yr old federal employee who majored in history, I’m ready, able, and trained: listener, reader, strategist, cook, bottle washer, and basically someone who likes to sit or stand around and be useful. From Cascadia with love.
The majority of Americans believe the same things you and I do. The pure evil inhabiting our White House, our Supreme Court, Senate and Congress have effectively destroyed the checks and balances of our government.
It is time for revolution, but who will lead? Where is our hope, our direction, our unanimity? It may not even be a Democrat, nor a politician. America needs one true leader. So, who will it be?
The most important element of comfort now is convenience, I see so many people who know Facebook is a tool of the cia and idf but can't top it because its just so convenient. Or music fans that claim to care about artists but only stream thus destroying any possible revenues (most artists never see a cent from streaming royalties). Its this toxic attitude of always taking the easy (corporate)way and then wondering why everything sucks.
Thanks for writing this essay, people need to hear it.
I still use Facebook, not for convenience but because most of the people I know only use such platforms and/or mainstream media for their information gathering. If I stopped using it, they would lose their window into independent media and thought, so I persevere. I don't know how much longer I will keep the account, the algorithm is not a fan of honesty in reporting, especially in Palestine, and I expect to be deleted at some point, but until then, I try to present as much information as possible to people accustomed to the bland nothing burger that is the Beeb.
And to this point, clarity about who is at fault is important. Neoliberalism blames the consumer, meanwhile setting up life where there’s little choice. My general rule is always blame up, not horizontal or down.
I wonder if in addition to atomization and fear, there's a resistance to the obligation that someone else's sacrifice imposes upon us, that we are meant to tend to the people who sacrifice on our behalf. There are a lot more layers than just this, but I wonder if part of the reason healthcare workers became villainized during the pandemic was that the collective did not like feeling obligated to care for them in some way because of their sacrifice.
Well that and the power of AI agents, propaganda, and psy wars that divide us all due to fear.
Wow, that is a great observation. That disdain for someone sacrificing for us stems from the same myth… that we must take care of ourselves. To accept someone else’s sacrifice means we must accept we couldn’t.
Despite the performative adoration of soldiers, it’s hard to point to a group that society treats with more disregard than veterans.
Our elders? They don't even get a "thank you for your service", more like "die, already".
Great example. Many others too.
Thanks, yeah, I agree veterans get so much of the lip service gratitude without any follow up with actual support. Elders don't even get the lip service. There's something painful about both.
agonizingly I experienced something in this space recently - a friend was hit by a truck while cycling while in the US (she is Australian) - she was in coma and in a pretty bad way. I could not understand my partner's strange energy here in Australia - he eventually told me he was so pissed off because her 'getting into trouble' had affected his life (read: comfortable life). WTF was all I could think... I am still processing this. Blessedly my friend is coming out of her coma.
This was great as usual, Justin. Thank you for reminding me that clear-minded people like you exist.
Add to the backlash list:
- the doctors who call out healthcare system injustices.
-The inmigrants who shed light on the plight of less privileged women.
-The wakeful ones who point out the fractured, ruptured, divided, isolated, lonely, sick, fearful, hyper-consumerist, anthroprocentric, destructive modern ways.
I had this very conversation with my wife, a psychologist, the other day only you wrote it all down, eloquently. Thank you.
I didn’t take what I sometimes call ‘lack of personal responsibility’ into the collective reassertion of the social contract as needing effort but I see where you are going.
And then I realised it is courage, somehow Maggie and her neoliberal accolites realised that if the contract eroded courage, it would persist. So here we are on the couch with the remote after a hard day getting stressed to pay for Netflix.
Collapse indeed.
This is brilliant Justin. You've got me thinking. I really do wrestle with comfort vs courage. If I'm honest, I want both. Is that possible? We've become so conditioned to comfort, especially since the 1980s. But courage is what we need to not just survive but also thrive through the collapse and create a new future. Thank you for laying this out so clearly ❤️🌳
I mentioned that we’ve lost ritual that is meant to help us handle grief and discomfort. The goal is not discomfort… but neither is its complete absence at all costs. The goal is wholeness. So yes to both! ❤️✊🏼
Thank you Justin. I realise I've become more comfort-seeking with age as well. When I think back to my youth in the 1970s comfort wasn't a high priority at all. Our life back then was good training for what's coming. I take your point about ritual - comes hand in hand with community I think. Individual rituals have a place but can be more of the same when it puts the responsibility back on us for our own wellbeing. Lots to think about in your post ❤️🌳
Americans fear inconvenience, let alone "radical" sacrifice. We do so not because we're lazy, but because staying with the hustle is so precarious and near to impossible as it is.....That said, we have to see the hollowness of the hustle and place ourselves and our energy in service of....life itself. For us, for the whole of the biosphere, for meaning itself....Loved this piece, as well as the previous piece taking on the myth of progress. Thank you for it all!
Justin: Your collapse curriculum and writings are all super thoughtful and useful. As a collapse-expecting retired 70 yr old federal employee who majored in history, I’m ready, able, and trained: listener, reader, strategist, cook, bottle washer, and basically someone who likes to sit or stand around and be useful. From Cascadia with love.
Another great piece, Justin.
The majority of Americans believe the same things you and I do. The pure evil inhabiting our White House, our Supreme Court, Senate and Congress have effectively destroyed the checks and balances of our government.
It is time for revolution, but who will lead? Where is our hope, our direction, our unanimity? It may not even be a Democrat, nor a politician. America needs one true leader. So, who will it be?
Not one true leader. Many. With a coordinated strategy and mutual respect.