They say that true totalitarianism, oppression, and overall exploitation are invisible when at their peak, like water is to fish (that don’t know any better, until they grow feet and lungs and inhabit the land, from which they finally have a view and understanding of ‘water’); that the nature of a setup becomes apparent only during the paradigm’s decline i.e. much later in the process.
Looking around, it’s clear that the real threat is neither far-right/far-left totalitarianism, nor utopian, holier-than-thou religion, nor utopian, holier-than-thou secularism, nor any such dogma. These are just the symptoms of the disease afflicting the world, the grand terrestrial calamity unfolding as we speak, and that is, in simple terms, Humanity.
Humanity is the disease that this planet, and all life on it, currently suffers. Humanism (oh, irony) is the underlying cause of all strife, the root of all problems. Every idea that has become corrupt, every dogma that has failed to deliver, or which has become exhausted, far outliving its golden age, taking rather than giving, hurting rather than helping — every creed that has strayed,
every zealous cause that has dominated its rivals,
every single regime that uses strongmen and strongwomen to crush the opposition and silence dissent,
every attempt to shut down common sense and eschew functionality in favor of ideology gone wrong — in favor of pragmatism turned ideological — in the name of whatever dogma one serves, whatever master one obeys — all this, when you pay close attention to what is happening (and how, and why), boils down to the notion that human life is unassailable, seemingly über alles. The first among life on Earth. The most precious and sacred and guarded of all life forms.
That, my friends, is totalitarianism of the human(e)(ist) kind, the operation of which has led to a way of life synonymous to bedlam: the industrialized and methodical and mindfully articulated/applied massacre and torture of living creatures across the planet so that humanity may rule supreme, all in the name of a grand cause out of which all creeds sprout, and in whose name, even at their most benign and well-intended, reigns the human despot with a chronic case of bloodthirst, sanctimoniousness, and acres of kills on his/her belt.
There will come a time when sentient individuals and/or groups and/or organizations will not only understand this, but also acknowledge the deleterious, malfunctioning arrangement as fact, and speak about it openly, publicly, and without fear of persecution. There will come a time when the term ‘misanthrope’ will be welcome and widespread, signaling virtue and mental health, the capacity to control the toxic aspects of civilization, ushering forth a new era of intelligence, an affirmative and sustainable paradigm.
Until then, one has to rely on ‘exaggerated’ art and ‘unsavory’ perspectives to trace out the ugly truth, knowing full well that there is a price to pay for speaking such truth. Humanity will keep attacking, condemning, poisoning, crucifying, marginalizing and persecuting all those who defy its dominion, eager to do whatever it takes to silence the critics. It has grown comfortable on its throne, feels entitled to adjudicate over all life. It will continue to crush all those who challenge the so-called supremacy of human life until it can no longer sustain the lie that underwrites it. The toxic ‘water’ that envelops it — and which flows inside its veins and ideologies — will become apparent. Be it the depletion of resources, the collapse of ecosystems, the arrest of the climate, or simply the ascent of an intelligence more aware, functional and visionary than humanity (artificial or singular, cybernetic or cyborg), the penny will eventually drop, and so will everything that underwrites the once grand but now exhausted, toxic, destructive paradigm known as Humanity.
And new life will be born, new intelligence will take over, and Earth, long overdue, will experience a seventh epoch.
My name is EON, child of Time, and I’ve been away for a while. I’ve been meeting with my sister, EPOCH, talking about things to come.
Vexed? Watch this space for more.
From the collection of writings EON: THE ANGRY COMING OF AGE
Images from following link:
