The Golden Era of Prosperity Problems.
A golden era. Say the historians. An era, where our worries are not imminent wars and epidemics but rather overdosage of sugar. This is the paradise our ancestors dreamt of. This is the paradise the generations to come will crave for.
Imagine a medieval tribesman who ends up in the Parisian street of 21st century. To his utmost surprise, he finds himself in a world with no tribal wars, inter race families and an unthinkable world without the need for hunting.
Imagine Anne Frank in liberal Berlin. How proud she would be to know that we had the courage to overthrow extremist regimes and lead the world to peace.
There’s a lot that humanity has achieved over the years. Impossible victories to be proud of.
But what’s with all the Aping?
Right when humanity is supposed to be leading the world into a new era of hope and prosperity we seem to be going 360 degrees and heading towards the wrong exit. As we slog our way through the depriving world wars, tiring industrial times and into the seemingly abundant world of technology, we seemed to be more lost than ever. Driven by false notions and living someone else’s version of a life.
Courtesy of the beautiful thing we call ‘internet’ and the flux of free opinions it brings along, we have conveniently allowed ourselves to be manipulated. Influenced by those who falsely believe that they have figured everything out. The lines between opinions and facts are blurring. Do we need those fancy shoes made in dingy factories by underpaid workers? Are we so lost that we need to travel across oceans to discover who we are? And are we seriously going to let those fake boobed, botox lipped celebrities tell us what beauty is?
And this bittersweet symphony that we call a Life.
“Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony this life.
Trying to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money then you die.
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down”
-The verve
In a consumerist society, as consumers, we have the power to influence the market with our decisions yet instead, we get brainwashed into what to wear, how to live and what to do.
So much so that we have become indifferent to the consequences of our actions.
The great sacrifice of prosperity.
In the past 50 years which is less than the average lifespan of a single man, we have seen the animal population decrease by 60% while the human population has more than doubled.
Polar bears stranded on melting ice is an image we are so familiar with that it hardly matters anymore. Each year the overshoot day is coming sooner and sooner. Last week on 29th July 2019, we have officially consumed more from nature than the planet can renew. (Source: https://www.overshootday.org/)
We are producing over 300 million tons of plastic every year, 50% of which is for single-use purposes — utilized for just a few moments, but remains on the planet for at least several hundred years. More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year. (Source:https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/)
And the fact list continues, you get the point.
Is there a choice?
“ No change, I can’t change, I can’t change, I can’t change,
but I’m here in my mold, I am here in my mold.”
It’s easy to turn a blindside to global warming and continue pursuing an exorbitant life. Easy to buy that new “Miracle cream” on the shelf that comes in a fancy bottle made by exploiting petroleum and eventually ends up in our beautiful oceans. Easy to buy that amazing car that makes you feel like a stud or that motorbike that makes you feel alive, only to leave little poisonous particles in the air that slowly kills all that exists.
“It’s not my fault. Catch the big factories who are killing the planet.”
As Yuval Noah Harari rightly points out, “Many of the greatest crimes in history were caused not by hatred, but rather by indifference.” With the threat of global warming and imminent ecological collapse, the fear seems to render many either into denial or a feeling of helplessness. Both being very natural reactions. But what if there was a way to bend the grinding wheels of capitalism and exist while nurturing our planet instead of exploiting it?
Yes, there is a choice. The choice to push back and say no. The choice to say no to cosmetics in plastic packaging. The choice to say no to that fancy car. The choice to push those factories to innovate, change their ways or perish.
Yes, I can change, we can change, we can break that mold. (Before this turns into yet another mass mistake.)
It takes one small ripple to form a wave.
Awareness is the end of darkness. So if we all take that first step and become conscious about our consumption habits. Acknowledge them and resolve to conquer. That my friend can very well be the start of a revolution. Now don’t you think it is time to turn this wave of awareness into a Tsunami of change?
