jbml 14 thln unlike previous world crises


SUCH
AS THE
NUCLEAR ARMS RACE,
THE GREATEST DANGERS WE
FACE TODAY ARE NOT THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES
OF A FATAL ACT, BUT THE POTENTIALLY FATAL CONSEQUENCES OF FAILING TO ACT.

FOLLOWING FIFTY YEARS OF COLD WAR,
WE HAVE DEVELOPED A CERTAIN LIMITED CONFIDENCE THAT NUCLEAR CONFRONTATION WILL NOT INEVITABLY LEAD TO ANNIHILATION, BECAUSE IT IS A - OR AT LEAST WAS - WIDELY UNDERSTOOD THAT MUTUAL DESTRUCTION IS ASSURED ONCE CERTAIN STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN.

BUT NOW, WE REQUIRE AN ACT OF COORDINATED, COMMUNICATED, AND COLLECTIVE ACTION,
CHANGING THE BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS IN ORDER TO PREVENT A CALAMITY THAT STILL SEEMS REMOTE AND IMPLAUSIBLE TO MOST PEOPLE.

THE TENSE NARRATIVE OF NUCLEAR ESCALATION CREATED A VOCABULARY OF NOIR IMAGES THAT EFFECTIVELY PROMPTED MILLIONS TO COMPEL WORLD LEADERS TO STEP BACK FROM THE BUTTON AND KEEP THEIR HANDS IN PLAIN SIGHT.

BUT FOR THE TIME BEING, GLOBAL PLAGUE AND ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE ARE SEEN AS DIFFUSE ABSTRACTIONS,
AND IT SEEMS UNLIKELY THAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF ORGANIZING OURSELVES - AND WILLING TO MAKE SACRIFICES IN ADVANCE - TO RESCUE OURSELVES FROM RISKS SO FAR OUTSIDE OUR EXPERIENCE.

AS IN THE ARMS RACE, COMMUNICATION BY SYMBOLS OF LIKELY DEVASTATION, SUCH AS GORE'S IMAGE OF FLORIDA UNDER WATER OF LOVELOCK'S IMAGE OF A MARTIAN DESERT LANDSCAPE HERE ON EARTH MAY HELP MAKE THE ISSUES MORE CONCRETE, IF THEY ARE NOT TOO FRIGHTENING.

BUT THE RANGE AND SCOPE OF CHANGES - NOT DISARMING MISSILES, BUT CHANGING THE CONSUMPTION HABITS OF THE ENTIRE DEVELOPED WORLD - & THE LEVEL OF COORDINATION NECESSARY TO MANAGE THAT CHANGE WILL REQUIRE A NEW APPRECIATION OF HUMAN LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION.

COMMUNICATING ONLY THROUGH THE LANGUAGE OF THE MARKETPLACE WILL NOT ENABLE HUMANITY TO SURVIVE THE NEXT FEW DECADES.

IN THE AGE OF GLOBAL CORPORATIONS, GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, AND A GLOBAL WAS ON TERROR,
THE VERY NOTION THAT HUMAN NEEDS CAN BE ADDRESSED BY INDIVIDUALS OR EVEN NATIONS ATTENDING TO THEIR PRIVATE, LOCAL CONCERNS SEEMS LIKE A PRESCRIPTION FOR BUSY WORK.

IF THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS, AT VERY LEAST, SURVIVAL, THEN WE WILL HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HUMAN FACILITY FOR COMMUNICATION, AND THE MORE NUANCED FORMS OF NEGOTIATION AND ACCOMODATION IMPLICIT IN LANGUAGE,
AND SO SO IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT.

THIS KIND OF REDEMPTION IS ULTIMATELY A PRECONDITION
FOR THE OTHERS.
02 mrt 2013 - bewerkt op 03 mrt 2013 - meld ongepast verhaal
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Asih, man, 81 jaar
   
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