I just read an article in Popular Science, by Jeremy Deaton (1/23), that points to parallels between end-of-the-world stories in various cultures, religions, and mythologies. “People believe their lakes and rivers will dry up, and the earth will erupt in flames. This will be followed by rain and floods,” he writes, characterizing certain beliefs from Hinduism. The earth erupting in flames part should be familiar to those raised Christian. But of course, the scenario described in the quote is what happened in India over the last year. A major city, Chennai, basically ran out of water, as did numerous villages in several states. There were wildfires (though nothing like those in Brazil, Siberia, Australia). And then the monsoon season arrived — very late, but very strong. The capital, as well as other major cities and large swaths of countryside, were inundated, with large swaths submerged. Of course, none of this produced the end of the world for the rest of the world. But it did bring about the end of a lot of people’s worlds.
All of this points to a larger issue: scientific reports and policy white papers are starting to read like the Bible: By 2050, as many as 300 million people around the globe could be facing chronic flooding as a result of climate change. Surging tides will sweep away homes, stealing lives, and pushing survivors further inland. It is the great flood all over again, but without the promise of a better world at the end. In other words, Houston, we have a problem. But if you’re in Houston, you already know that. About 25% of US evangelicals believe global warming is part of the End Times; but most evangelicals don’t think there’s a problem at all. Deaton and the religious studies scholars he quotes are more worried about the rest of us: Experts say that if people come to believe climate chaos portends the literal end of days, they might give up on doing what’s needed to avoid a cataclysm, making their apocalyptic predictions self-fulfilling. So, it’s either the Green New Deal or Ragnarok, choose one. And if you believe we are Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Planet, then we’re all among the reprobate and there’s nothing we can do. (This line of thinking has a very long history in white America.) And if apocalyptic thinking is to blame, so is all that post-apocalyptic fiction and film (like the universally panned unscience-fiction movie The Day After Tomorrow): “by depicting a world already ravaged by climate change, and thus beyond saving, it offered ‘a version of the apocalypse that ultimately enfeebles environmental advocacy,’ and threatened to inspire fatalism.” There are at least three problems with this critique, in my view. First, it sounds a lot like telling people what to write, based on what the critics take to be the potential political effects of their writing. We’ve been through this debate before: Should art be socially useful? Does the author have a Duty to Society? Should all writing be in the service of the Revolution? No, no and no. If our only hope of decelerating climate chaos is by putting on a happy face — well, just make sure you put it on with super glue, that’s all I can say. But again, Optimism, like Predestination, is part of the American Religion, so it’s hard to avoid, in these parts. (One is a “born optimist” and therefore among the elect; pessimists are going straight to the bad place. And needless to say, don’t mess with Mr. In-Between, because he doesn’t exist.) Secondly, imagining the worst case scenario can actually scare the hell out of people. And that can indeed move them to action. The sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” worked — Jonathan Edwards was renowned for his ability to bring people to the mourner’s bench. His vivid description of hell made people visualize it — feel it. It’s one thing to hear about flooding on the other side of the world, quite another to see video of it happening in your area. By the same token, hope can breed complacency. “Maybe the tornado won’t head this way — it’s miles outside of town. No need to run for cover yet.” Famous last words. Hope is a desire for things to work out the way we want them to — whether or not we do anything about them. Finally, we need to acknowledge that the worst case scenario may be the one we get. Or if not, a pretty damn bad scenario. That seems to be the trajectory we’re on. There are those who will tell you to visualize your desire — picture a positive outcome — that it’s healthy to imagine everything turning out just fine. Which is great, unless they don’t. A useful technique is what Bill Irvine calls “negative visualization.” This is an adaptation of an old Stoic technique (Seneca called it the “premeditatio malorum”). Imagining the worst is a way of preparing for it. Some of the worst will come: loss of loved ones, illness, death. Some may come: your house is flooded, your insurance rates skyrocket, you’re digging for water with your bare hands, you’re eating disgusting roots just trying to survive (all of which is happening to 100s of 1000s across the globe daily). If it turns out to be untrue, then it’s a pleasant surprise! If it’s kinda sorta how things pan out — well, you’re at least mentally prepared. Dystopian lit can help us see more clearly, in other words. Now, there is a place for utopian lit as well as dystopian, and both tend to crop up in times of extreme crisis. The human brain has a “negativity bias,” which is maybe why the latter is more prominent right now (not to mention that the situation seems to be spiralling downward in real time). But narrative and description can be great ways to think strategically — whether about national politics or the survival of your community, about what you’d like to create or about what actually does. Have you read something recently that spurred you to action? And was that because it scared you, inspired you, or both?
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June 2021
Kristin Prevallet Author/Editor
I'm a writer & teacher in Lawrence, Kansas who actually believes the scientists. I wrote a book of poems called Of Some Sky that seems to have something to do with all this. |