Supply Chain Disruption is Our Opportunity to Speak Truth
The disconnect between how many millions of us in the global population truly feel — and what the media “elite,” corporate bodies, and world governments are telling us we feel is widening. It is time to speak our truths.
I don’t know where you live, but here in California, we are staring down a continued, severe drought (note: written before the “Bomb Cyclone” came through) and the now intense specter of out-of-control wildfires during a fire season that is now nearly year round.
What are you looking at?
I was just watching footage about the Dixie Fire (1 million + acres) and how it tore through an entire town, burning everything to the ground within half an hour. Half an hour! The entire town. Destroyed. I cannot even imagine the intensity of such a fire.
I was reflecting before a recent webinar I was speaking for on depth of presence, on how there is no limit to depth of presence, no matter what our conditions or situations. This is true. This is our saving grace. Peace is still within and unconditional.
But at the same time, we also play and work and dance in the world of form, of time, space, matter and tender, vulnerable bodies — bodies of all colors — which need food, shelter, water, grooming, medicines, caring.
So, while it is good (very good) to be present, it is also difficult not to think about the future now, in light of the ongoing climate crisis and likely, slow-moving civilizational collapse.
Where to live? Where to put our energies? How to help? These are all fair and good questions. Perhaps fairly urgent if not totally urgent questions for all of us.
Yet, when we look out at the media world, world governments, corporate messaging, etc. etc. we do not hear this, at least not at the depth and with the practical realism we need to, to understand: what is really happening, why, and what can be done.
Supply chains are breaking down globally. For our ostensible “leaders,” this warrants some amount of panic. And it does, but not for the reasons everyone seems to think.
The corporate news media is almost exclusively blaming the Pandemic for this. But this breakdown also has to do with global heating (climate change) and extreme weather events, which — barring a miracle — will only worsen as we continue to fail to bring global heating and species extinction under control. (And, IMHO, we should absolutely work toward trying to do so, still.)
For example, what happens when flooding or fires, deep freezes or demon winds shut down and/or destroy factories and/or farming in nearly half a state, or in several states at once? Well, “supply chain disruption.” What happens when our pollinators disappear, as Monarch Butterflies did along our coastline here one year, with a sudden plunge of nearly 90 percent? “Supply chain disruption.” What happens when entire fisheries collapse, as part of the ocean food chain? “Supply chain disruption.”
Ironically, it is our mass consumption and consumerism (“supply chains” on steroids), fueled by the current, distorted capitalist system* that actually creates this disruption. This system is ending itself, in a way. For now, climate disruption means something very different for a resident of Madagascar or Micronesia than for someone in the “West.” For many, it is already a matter of life and death. In the end, we are all affected.
And the current disruption is our opportunity, as the Pandemic has been, to tell the truth, and reevaulate what is really important to us, and what is not.
Even “liberal,” but still corporate news outlets like the “PBS Newshour” continue to chant the mantra of the mainstream media in general: That having access to nearly unlimited and cheap consumer goods almost immediately, from nearly any source, is a sacred right for US-Americans. That our economy and “economic growth” are all that matters.
What matters is not actually, “economic growth” at this moment in time, but, actually letting go, coming together, sharing, thinking totally out of the box. In the US: A four day work week. Universal Basic Income. Prioritizing good jobs and workers over profits for executives and shareholders. That’s just a start.
But wait! Heaven forbid we cannot buy a new car exactly when we want to. And what about holiday decorations? What about Christmas presents? The climate crisis, the species extinction crisis and the overall well-being of life on Earth are secondary within the current paradigm.
In the world of competition, at any moment, you could be doing more to get ahead … ‘More for you is less for me’ … [all enforced] through a relentless barrage of constant messaging that takes for granted the very thing we are trying to change. — Charles Eisenstein
The underlying message is that there is no room to question the order of importance: Money, productivity, GDP … In the global, runaway, “capitalist” economy, money is our religion, our idol, our everything. But is it really?
While the “global elites,” including mass media pundits repeat this message incessantly, there has actually been a fundamental shift, for so many of us, within our own hearts and minds away from what we see as a broken and suicidal model.
Facing Reality, Growing Up
Rather than try to prop up a system in which none of us are actually becoming much happier — although many of us much wealthier, and many more of us less so — what we must do as a species, as a global community is face reality, tell the truth and come to terms.
I believe many millions, if not billions of us**, have already done so. Many of us already understand that the unmitigated consumerist lifestyle is hurting the planet, its beautiful, astounding ecosystems and its animals, including the human animal. One cannot actually continue “endless growth” on a finite planet. Even a five-year-old would understand this. This is the story of the Lorax and of Yertle the Turtle.
Life is changing, going to change and likely to become very, very difficult at the level of form. Having lots of consumer goods and lots of money is not the goal now.
So, we are experiencing a cultural shift at ground levels. The mass news media, most government leaders — even at local levels — and nearly all multinational corporate leaders are not reflecting this shift back to us.
We see this shift in the “minimalist” movement; in droves of young people and young families leaving big cities to grow food or make art on a piece of land; in the millions of youth and adult climate strikers who understand that education and even jobs are pointless on a dead planet. In the huge and broad based support for Black Lives Matter, immigrants escaping both the climate crisis (mostly created by wealthy nations) and the powerful, indigenous anti-pipeline and water protection movements.
Solidarity with essential indigenous values of respect and honor for Earth is spreading rapidly, as is support for indigenous sovereignty rights. We saw this at Standing Rock, in the movement against Line 3, in the removal of Mission Bells in California, and these are just a few examples. We see this shift also in an explosion of young people pursuing Permaculture. In people turning to regenerative practices in agriculture, in justice, in “incarceration,” in addressing homelessness — so many of us see a way forward that is about healing hurts, healing trauma and tapping the greater good in one another and even in Earth, herself.
We see this in the millions of people who left and are still leaving their jobs during the Pandemic — who quit as soon as they had a chance to reflect on what they really wanted. People aren’t just leaving jobs because of pay, they are leaving because of what those jobs are. So many of us are feeling a call — a call to bring forward ideas and insights that have been brewing inside us, none of which totally fit within the current paradigm, and many which create a new paradigm.
Not all of us believe making more and more money entails success. Not all of us believe technology will save us and many of us feel it is harming us increasingly. Many of us have chosen to follow our hearts, to slow down, to give more, to “unlearn” racism, to vote to raise our own taxes, to become more grounded humans, to meditate or study spirituality, to forgo driving, red meat and so many things we have heard are “bad” for Earth.
We see this in growing percentages of Americans and others worldwide cultivating their spiritual natures, who now claim to be “spiritual but not religious” (rising rapidly and nearly 30 percent in the US, at last count) and also “both religious and spiritual” (now 48 percent and declining compared to a sharp rise in the first group). We see this in the actual, bipartisan support (among voters, not Congress) for Biden’s Build Back Better legislation. We see it also in the almost unanimous frustration and anger toward huge multinational corporations, pharmaceutical companies, communications companies and others (on the left, include the fossil fuel industry) and “globalization” that seems to cheapen our lives, alienate us from one another, neglect our better angels, and plunge us more deeply into the global machine of profit-over-all— over decency, over humanity, over life on Earth.
Indeed, much of this frustration was coopted by Donald Trump and his Russian-troll chorus, and is reflected in the language of Trumpists when they complain about the “global elite.”*** We agree on this. We are frustrated. We are alarmed. The “profit motive” feels out of control. It is now a Frankenstein monster created from dead ideals that now threatens to hurt, even kill us all.
What Can We Do?
Life is changing, going to change and likely will become very, very difficult at the level of form. Having lots of consumer goods and lots of money is no longer the goal. Not the profit motive. Not “endless growth” Not even getting to Mars. The overall narrative must begin to shift.
This does not mean many millions of us do not still need “uplifting” in terms of sharing of wealth and access to life’s necessities. We do. We need jobs, we need food, shelter and clothing, clean water, fertile, healthy soils, medicines and health care. And more so during this time of growing crisis.
We need to dialogue and continue the work of anti-racist education and to protect democracy. We can prioritize these. And if we can share (I am looking at you one-percenters and ten-percenters!) via shifting the tax burden, decreasing the income gap significantly, personal giving and faith-based giving, maybe we can come through all of this with some modicum of sanity, grace and civility. We can help to save each other and other species.
We can prioritize our own regions and communities. And we can elevate (borrowing some from the “Deep Adaptation” community) giving, generosity, caring, community, our very own, hyper local soils, gardens and farms, our local food growers and pickers and processors (many “undocumented” immigrants); our capacity to collect, save, retain and even generate clean fresh water where we live; our creativity, our ingenuity, our love. As French political philosopher Bruno LaTour suggests in his book Down to Earth, perhaps we can unite over and for the very land, the terroir upon which we live, as “Terrestrial” beings, who depend on Earth.
We accepted reality, scarcity, uncertainty and “hard times,” during World War II. Even on a national level, we planted gardens. We accepted rations. We re-fashioned factories. We set up national childcare so women could go to work. Crises can actually bring us together or, if we deny the current reality and continue to think it is our absolute right to consume more products than perhaps any other nation on Earth, it will tear us apart.
Essentially, we need to grow up, and quickly. And we need the news media and our governmental leaders to help us do this. We need the truth.
Essentially, we need to grow up, and quickly. And we need the news media and civic and governmental leaders to help us do this. We need the truth. We can find purpose and make shared sacrifices but not if we are fed the endless mantra that our status quo is not the problem. It is the entire problem.
At the same time as our outer reality becomes more chaotic, we do not see our governments and political systems responding with sanity, wisdom, caring and common sense. Indeed, we do not see them responding to actual reality at all.
Even the sensible and sane Judy Woodruff of NPR asks the same tired questions of the US Secretary of Commerce and her Washington Post pundits: “But what will the American people do if they can’t get their Christmas presents? How will this affect Biden’s poll ratings?”
When PBS speaks of Senator Joe Manchin, it is about his “hometown” allegiances, not his donations and weekly phone calls from ExxonMobile, not his holdings in the family coal brokerage. Not his wife and daughter who manipulated EpiPen prices and sales. When Netflix, even, features a documentary about 9/11 (“Turning Point”) and the colossal disaster and humanitarian crime that was the invasion of Iraq, there is no mention of Bush’s vice president, Dick Cheney and his deep ties to the “Defense-slash-War” industry and its massive profits from US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But I wonder; I keep wondering. These people in the “elite” are all human beings too. They have children and grandchildren and people they love. How blinded can they be as floods threaten to sweep the state of New Jersey out to sea? How can they not understand what it means to lose half our Arctic ice at the North Pole in summer? What does it mean to them that demon winds flatten million of acres of Iowa farmlands? Do they think their money will save them? Surely they are not so foolish.
Supply chain collapse means even the most wealthy will not have access to food, energy, tools, transportation. Maybe, for a while, they can hoard, they can create compounds. Maybe they plan to build electric fences around wells, reservoirs, rivers and streams. But ultimately, we need one another. Who will deliver the babies? Who will fix the broken tools? Who will play music and make art? We need each other, and we need other species.
Will Sociopaths Destroy Us?
I’ve been researching sociopathy. According to some, there is a higher percentage of sociopaths**** in the corporate executive world and positions of national power. This is because sociopaths, it is said, are generally willing to throw anyone and everyone under the bus in order to “win” and get ahead. The estimate for full fledged, diagnosable sociopathy in the general population is one to three percent. (Please also see Charles Eisenstein’s chapter on “Psychopathy” in The More Beautful World Our Hearts Know is Possible)
We cannot assume every sociopath will be successful. This would depend also on intelligence, background, resources and the groups that surround them and enable or disable them. Let’s say they comprise 10 percent of world leadership. That’s a lot, and a lot of damage done, given their positions. But that leaves 90 percent of “world leaders” who have some capacity for compassion, empathy and change. We need these people to think a little harder now and, we need to encourage, if not push them, to do so.
This is where activism and “speaking up” comes in, along with “cross-divide” dialogue. The global, climate activist group Extinction Rebellion is founded on studies of what, in the past, has galvanized revolutionary change, even revolutions. According to XR co-founder Roger Hallam, if more of the world’s population understood just what we were facing — as horrifying as the facts now stand, statistics and studies show that roughly 20 to 30 percent of people would “rise up” to change things, to protest vigorously or “do good” in some way. This analysis is coupled by XR with sociologist Erica Chenoweth’s conclusions that only 3.5 percent of any population hitting the streets is needed to force radical change, even revolution, in any nation.
Yet, even as I write this, I feel a creeping dismay. The momentum of our current economic machine seems so vast, so huge, and so totally overwhelming. Just today, I called to cancel my cell phone service with AT&T, as they have been funding the One America News Network, one of the worst disinformation, anti-democracy and racist “news” outlets in our country. I’ve pulled nearly all my money out of Chase Bank and I am going to switch our Internet provider. Does any of this make a difference? I do not know.
I do feel it is worth it to try.
At Least We Can Speak Our Truths
In the end, we may not succeed in turning this Titanic around. That is possible and even probable. But it seems to me that a cultural revolution, a revolution in Thought, a revolution of values would come from many of us, millions of us, not just making changes, but sharing the changes we are making with the world. This means speaking up, being bold, and living so authentically and freely that others are called to do the same.
I drew some hope just yesterday from Instagram, of all places. MSNBC had posted an article criticizing the Democrats for not doing a better job of “selling” their legislation, which would provide so much to so many in the US. “It’s not our job,” the journalist wrote, “to sell this.” In the comments under this post, I saw a part of the revolution, just waiting to happen. Maybe happening now:
“You missed the point, you’d rather report on disagreements.”
“All the media does lately is instigate. Why not talk about the important things in this bill? … do America a favor and inform a little.”
“The media is horrible. … It’s clear y’all do whatever sells.”
“It’s news, and supposed to be informative. I think the media should be talking about what is in these plans.”
“The media should use more than one lousy minute per topic.”
“Your job is to inform and you are not doing it. … Too much coverage of conflict and not enough on issues.”
“You sell quite a bit of nonsense. How about some good once in a while?”
“It seems you focus on the political challenges, but rarely on the important stuff of actually governing. You should cover what’s in the bill and the impact it would have.”
And on and on like this, one comment after another. Ordinary people speaking truth to power, again and again. I have to imagine this will make some difference.
We can speak truth to the powers that be, but we cannot count on them at this time. We can possibly influence our leaders and become leaders ourselves. And we should try. Certainly we can influence our own families, possibly our communities.
Finding Support and Building Community
From an emotional and spiritual perspective, I think it is difficult to navigate all this without support. On my recent webinar, I found myself saying: “It is important to have community around the Truth.” … I meant this at the time as spiritual truth, but upon reflection, I also think it also about the truth of our global conditions and about our “new” truths. I list some solid and uplifting supports and resources, below.
As for me, here in my hometown, I am now working with my local (very free-form) church, the Center for Spiritual Living, to support the planting of a Permaculture food forest in the back of the building, to start a “Grief, Love and Empowerment” group there, and also a monthly group (recent idea) that connects people to good climate groups, farmers, healers, fixers, social justice educators, spiritual teachers, makers, etc. etc. in our community. I am involved in “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” groups in my spiritual communities and support young climate and social justice activists — and I speak out all of these projects and ideas on local radio, here and YouTube.
We can organize and gather at the community level. And we can share this organization as a model for other cities and locales. If we can invite good people in from “the Right” to join us, and help stave off panic and violence as we see disruption, so much the better. (Resources for creating dialogue below.)
It is perhaps unfortunate that there is more truth telling here on Medium than I see and hear on the national news. But if we can accept our reality, at all levels — from the global condition to the media to our own minds — we can move with right action and compassionate response.
We might become a little more bold about speaking our truths. We might join with others doing the same.
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*By distorted, I mean: I don’t believe we have a true capitalist system in the US. It is heavily subsidized by taxpayers in many sectors, for one. Costs of damage to humans, species, ecosystems are generally not added in, and government often pays for all this. Personally, I believe in limited-scale capitalism and socialized or democratically controlled larger industries, which impact communities and Earth. I support the rights of nature and local control for industries where there is ecological impact. I support turning over much of our national land to indigenous leadership and stewardship.
**Just a guess; 1/7 of the population, roughly. We might include nearly all children.
***Exempting anti-semitic meanings.
****I have heard many times that sociopaths and psychopaths are “uncurable.” I do not believe this is true, but I believe that we cannot reach all of them, nor do they seem to be seeking help.
Resources:
Cross divide dialogue:
Living Room Conversations, livingroomconversations.org
Please also look up Nonviolent Communication, Restorative Justice, Convergent Facilitation, Dynamic Facilitation, Citizens or Resident Assemblies and Wisdom Councils
Support and Solutions Facing Collapse:
Deep Adaptation Facebook Group
Deep Adaptation community (please first read Jem Bendell’s paper of the same name)
Climate Activism:
Water Protectors (indigenous activist groups), everywhere; Extinction Rebellion; Fridays for Future; Sunrise Movement; 350.org; Legislation toward a carbon tax: Citizens Climate Lobby.
Books:
The Fifth Sacred Thing and City of Refuge by Starhawk
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley
The Parable of the Sower series by Octavia Butler (difficult but also hopeful)
The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible, by Charles Eisenstein. Amazing, must-read
Spiritual Ecology, a compilation of essays by native people and others
The seminal books: Caste and an Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States
My Stuff:
Medium Account (many essays on climate change, US politics, racism and our emotional and behavioral responses, including a spiritual response)
My work: www.AmiChen.com
Heart of America YouTube Channel (addressing US political issues from a spiritual perspective)
