Never before in the history of our country has a presidential candidate suggested he wouldn't abide by the results of an election. Never before has a candidate refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power -- the hallmark of a democracy. This alone makes him unfit to serve a second term. However, his consistent, countless, contemptuous actions have set a tone for what is acceptable; many other people (who Bob Altemeyer has labeled "authoritarian followers") have bought into this mind-set.
Republicans' deep-seated drive to destroy and rule can be predicted to synchronize in a ghastly way with the devastation of the world systems we have so far taken for granted: species diversity, access to food and water, a relatively stable climate, economic (even though grossly inequitable) stability.
This outcome will invariably speed up other deadly threats that are already present: human population and consumption are increasing at the same time as essential resources, such as fresh water, fish stocks, topsoil and oil reserves are in decline. While reversals in the economy have left many feeling desperate about how they are going to manage, trillions of dollars are spent on the making of war.
Yet, even if the Republicans do not win the White House or Congress - in the next decades it appears that the human species will be facing some grim realities. We may be able to slow down some of the more shocking events; however, given the insane blindness and greed of corporations and our own penchant for inertia and denial, it appears that massive breakdown is coming.
It is no surprise that so many of us are sensing a profound loss of confidence in the future. We may be unconsciously intuiting that we will no longer be able take for granted that the resources on which we depend - food, fuel, and drinkable water - will be available or that our civilization will survive and conditions on our planet will remain hospitable for complex forms of life.
Living systems naturally use feedback loops to regain their balance whenever they detect they are off course. As living systems, we humans navigate through life by paying attention to information or feedback that tells us when we are going astray, and hopefully respond with a course correction.
How would we notice if we were straying off course as a society? We would begin to feel uncomfortable. If we were heading in a dangerous direction, we might feel alarmed. If something unacceptable were taking place, we might experience outrage. If parts of the world that we loved were dying, we would expect to grieve. These feelings are normal, healthy responses.
If we deny these intimations, we will tend to deflect these feelings into rage, antagonism and unconscious acting out, which we are seeing writ-large today.
On the other hand, if we can remain aware of our radical interconnectedness, which can be found in systems theory and Buddhism, this perspective may be an enormous aid in helping us recognize that our distress about world conditions - which manifests as outrage, grief, guilt, dread, alarm, and despair, is necessary for our survival.
Integrity is important in all systems. If the integrity of any system is faulty, the system itself will collapse. No matter how sophisticated the construction, it cannot hold together if its integrity is compromised.
We are living in extraordinary times, caught between differing views of reality. There is the "business-as-usual" version that doesn't recognize the crisis, alongside with the unconscious or semi-conscious terror that things are much worse than we thought. Living in this double reality creates a split in our mind and feelings.
Beyond this are the everyday conversational taboos that block the discussion of anything considered too depressing. We may feel dread about what may lie ahead, outrage at what is happening, or sadness about what is being lost, yet, we may keep these thoughts and feelings to ourselves. We may suffer in isolated silence, because revealing our distress means we will be labeled "too negative" or "too emotional."
We can be caught between two fears - the fear of what will happen if we, as a society, continue the way we are going - and the fear of acknowledging how bad things are because of the despair that this brings up.
A key initial survival mechanism in our response to danger is often numbness and denial ("this is not happening"); if we break through our own denial, we will experience the activation of alarm, which can lead to constructive action. However, to survive as a species, we need to understand how our constructive responses to danger can easily be obstructed and learn how we can prevent this from happening.
Joanna Macy has written:
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