This was a fictional letter I wrote from the year 2051, looking back on the modern day, and where we may have taken a wrong turn. It is intended to inspire others to decide HOW we might do better, as it is still in our hands, to a degree. I wrote it a couple months ago, and decided it was worth sharing. Along with a few other podcasts I am sharing on the same day (I had issues getting them to post from draft form, but got it figured out, so there are a few all at once!) See below for transcript, if you are interested. Thanks for listening. -Carpo PATRONS: Trisha Bell Charles Castaneda Stephen Ryan L. Pure Brew Josh O'Brien Robyn W. Zelda Zonk Tim Smith River Millican Adam Mazonson Matt Hemingway Jake Duggan MJ Pritchett Sean fitzpatrick Rachelle Borth Bill Hunt highway child Seambob J Mc Brodrick Rob Franzen Chris Morales Algirdas Valys Briana Rotten Jake Aalberg Sean Swartzwelder Alexander J Walpole Russell Imam Pia Ewings Riku Ilvonen thehillandmoon Mumps. John Peterson Joshua nicholson Don Starns Debra E Chan William Hall discord: https://discord.gg/r4x3Z9cG2J Patreon: www.patreon.com/carpo719 15 Minute Free Thinking Podcast: https://15-minute-free-thinking.simplecast.com/episodes/19-finding-the-secrets-facing-life-with-gusto-and-the-psychedelic-shadow ghost show: https://discord.gg/wpm6aXAbtV ---------------------- My intention in making these podcasts is to better understand my world, my fellow man, and myself. Some subjects may be controversial, but I always try to keep a fair balance, being full aware that some bias is inescapable. I feel a passion for sharing knowledge and researching about everything I see and hear, to the point there is nothing that does not interest me, except perhaps some of our modern nonsense. But in time, even that will surely peak my interest. So thank you for coming along, and I hope you will join me for future podcasts, whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever platform you use and what color your socks are. Unless you don't wear socks, in which case, I am right there with you most of the time. So take care of yourself, take care of others, and have yourself a wonderful day. -Carpo
January 7th, 2051 By Carpo
It seemed that by the beginning of the 21st century, American society was moving along rather well, all considered. Crime rates had dropped over the past few decades, new technology was making our lives easier; lives which were now longer than ever before, (despite the fact that quality of life is more important than quantity.)
We had done some amazing things through the industrial revolution, setting aside the slavery and forced labor that made much of it possible. In retrospect we had made many mistakes, and had some dark moments as a species, but overall we had pushed through and learned from our mistakes.
But eventually, the greed got the best of us. The corporations naturally wanted more profits, and a culture of war once again formed around a strong nation which had prided itself on a mutual respect for others freedoms. We had become what we despised, that which our forefathers, and mothers, had tried to escape when leaving Europe for a strange new land.
Not since World War 2 had the nation entered a war on the grounds of truly protecting democracy, though even then it was debatable. The people had willingly ignored our meddling in others affairs for decades afterward, and it caught up to us.
And though we had been imposing our military in Afghanistan and elsewhere for decades, the media had managed to ignore it long enough to fulfil the 'out of sight out of mind' mantra, only briefly touching on world issues that would come back to bite us.
For the first couple decades of the 21st century, we had become passive and ignorant of anything outside our own interests. The news and media were focused on reality television, political mishaps and blockbuster movies. They had no time for educating the public on the environment, social engineering and greed; and it is always easier to ignore that which we cannot, or do not want to, see.
Of course the information was there, and available, but human nature is of the mindset that if something is not an immediate clear and present danger, we ignore it as long as we can.
Then came Covid-19.
For so long, we had been able to build walls to keep out enemies, or design better weapons. Or enact policies which protect citizens from harm, but this time was different. While some countries worked together, and did well, there was no stopping a virus which travels in secrecy. The enemy with no face, the plague of the ages. But amidst the early days of the pandemic, our social structure began to crumble. Some leadership denied the severity of the situation, while others took it too far; at the same time our businesses were closing, nothing was getting done to prepare for the dark winter ahead. Standing on the threshold of the year 2021 was a turning point in civics and social responsibility. People quickly become divided on everything from the science behind the virus, to whether it was even real at all.
During times of upheaval, chaos and being unsure, our primitive instinct of tribalism often surfaces. Yet when people are ignorant on the facts, they often vote against their own best interests. By 2020, the disparity in wealth and resources had become so vast that citizens were earning the same wage as 40 years prior, despite inflation and the cost of living skyrocketing. It was not the virus itself that did us in, but our reaction to it. And it was the resulting chaos that ensued which lit the fuse. People had been frustrated for a long time, and as the truth came to light about how incompetent leadership was, the threads slowly unraveled in society.
As cities grew, the ability to keep food on the shelves gradually diminished due to a system which rewarded waste, and sold out to the highest bidder. In early 2021, during the peak of the covid epidemic, frustrations had boiled over, and civil unrest had taken hold in much of the world. Then there was a volcanic eruption on Akutan Island, Alaska, which was more powerful than anything in the previous 800 years. The resulting blanket of ash reached around the world, and the sun was dimmed for most of the year. When the corn blight hit, we were unprepared, and lost 90% of the crops for that year, which set in motion a chain of events that would eventually reduce our society to rubble.
It all seemed to happen at once. As businesses were shuttered due to the virus, people became restless, and took to the streets. Anger boiled over into rage, and retreated into tribal thinking. In short time, the damage done to society was permanent, as there was no recourse left once the food supply began to diminish. Fear breeds contempt, and there was plenty to go around.
No longer was life about a paycheck, or buying a new car, the illusion had finally revealed itself. Things were not as stable as they seemed. They never had been. In the US especially, the belief that things will always be the same is quickly disputed under even the slightest of pressure.
Shortly after the farm wars in 2022, with much of the land useless for growing due to desertification, those with means regrouped and began starting over in smaller, more remote areas. The cities had become cesspools of crime, theft and fear of mortality, as those who had no means to leave were stuck fighting over the scraps left behind by our Just in Time society. Rooftop gardens, raising chickens and baking bread were not enough to keep the peace in the largest of towns, and as people scrambled to escape, the intent to find a place to call home was a must.
Many of the most desirable locations were inhabited by those who left the cities long before the collapse, and it was not uncommon to find roadblocks in the middle of nowhere. Strangers were feared, turned away, or in many cases murdered for trying to get to a safe place to live. Protecting your family and neighbors became top priority, as when the laws faded from the land, many of the values we shared left along with them. The fear of loss was too great to ignore, and those people you once shook hands with had become suspicious.
It only took a decade or so for us to reach a point where there was no turning back. It seemed that just when we started to get on our feet again, something else was waiting in the shadows to knock us down. As infrastructure crumbled, as food supply dwindled, as society pressed on, the rising oceans and severe storms pushed large coastal cities to be abandoned as the hubs of trade they once were, as there were not enough resources to rebuild, or protect against the flooding. Many groups moved inland, the largest migrations in history all around the world.
But there was nowhere left to go.
There were very few options for starting over. Those with the means were able to grow food indoors under artificial lighting, but there was rarely enough to go around. The age of excess consumption had run it's course, and decadence was only perpetuated by the very few, whom had the resources to defend their properties against those who wished to take it. Personal security forces became the norm, and walls and fences were built higher by the year. The more deperate people became, the less they had to lose, and the harder they fought over the scraps. Eventually, those wealthy neighborhoods were overrun by angry mobs, and most of what we once called wealth was re-distributed. But it was too late; it no longer mattered who had the gold, and definitely not who held paper money.
Humanity was faced with the reality that wealth means nothing if there are not enough resources to distribute, and when people are desperate they become unpredictable. We had poisoned our own wells, and our own air, in a way that we could not imagine. Yet still, many of us perservered, knowing it is the only real option that makes sense.
Survival.
Then something happened, very gradually at first, then picking up steam as the next couple decades passed. Newer communities which had previously not existed began to thrive. Working together was our only option, and when folks were not bombarded with the level of corruption that had once plagued their politics, and the waste that had become the norm, they began to take care of each other again, knowing that a community is only as strong as it's weakest members. They found that when people are treated with respect, and honesty, they want to work harder. They found that when people feel like they are part of the whole, they put in more effort, and that is the basis for a healthy society.
Before the collapse, the people had been convinced they needed protection against the enemy, spending vast amounts of their taxes and resources on military training, weapons systems and nuclear arms. On a health care system that rewarded the shareholders, and not the citizens. On a government that no longer worked for the people, but for the corporations. By the end, they found none of what we had been told was true.
They found that mankind requires very little to be truly happy, and that success is determined not by how many dollars you have on paper, but what you do with the resources you do have. Our experiences are subjective, and after so many years of people being told they needed this or that to be content in life, it can be an epiphany to realize that you have everything you need so long as your community truly cares about the people who live within it.
By the time we were able to look back at our follies, it was often too late to do much about it. That is not to say that we have no power to change the outcome, or alter our future, but unless we are honest with ourselves we cannot even see where we are failing.
Human nature is to create, invent, and discover new things. It is only natural that we would dig ourselves into a few holes. But it was not until we had the technology to destroy the environment that we truly looked in horror at what may happen. But regardless of our good intentions, or attempts to do the right thing, we are just one natural disaster away from complete annihilation.
Remembering that, and embracing it with open arms, is one way to acknowledge the temporal nature of life, and the absurdity with which we try to control that life, and the lives of others. Confusion is the default, not understanding is normal. However, when we get together with the right intentions and the right knowledge, we can do amazing things.
As the world turned, and the cities burned, we looked back at our erroneous ways, without the need to blame or point fingers. We enter our future, regardless of our past, and in that process we have choices. Our lives are long, yet they fly by before we know it. In retrospect, what matters most to people is community, love, family and self esteem. We want to know we are part of something bigger, even if that thing is just a tiny group of people living together with similar interests or values.
Exponential growth for the sake of progress itself caused many of the world's citizens to question their own values, and wonder if they had anything to contribute to a bleak future. In turn, the system was doomed by it's lack of insight or clear message about what being human means.
Once we had eliminated the need to always have more, to be better than others, and always push ourselves to fill every minute of time with work, we found that the real value was in our connections to others. We found time to know one another, on a true level, and it was good.
Either nothing happens by chance, or everything does. There is no middle ground, for if we trust our hearts we find that most of us are more similar than different. We find that growth is good, but forcing it upon others would never suffice. We must do what we do for our own reasons, even if that is to help others who are less fortunate.
In the end, we found ourselves, and though it was late in the game, we had our failures to learn from, and could try to avoid making those same mistakes in the future. We have come a long way in the last 30 years since 2021, and our culture is finally healing, in spite of the suffering we have endured.
The cycle continues, and each of us find our path, one way or another. May yours be free and clear from too many obstacles, yet just level enough to get where you are going without falling down too often.
If you lean too far in one direction or the other, you are sure to fall down. So may you find your balance before you begin your journey, and enjoy the sights and sounds.
Feelings are always there too, if we listen to our hearts.
Be well my human friends.
It is always a new dawn...... Every day.
Good night, from the Citizens of the Free Earth.
Over and Out.
-Carpo