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The Trifecta of Nutbags
I was having dinner with a friend of mine from the New Zealand Cryonics Society and we were talking about the difficulties of breaking into mainstream media and I mentioned that Peak Oil was also having a hard time breaking through (although I get a sense that things are picking up).
"Yeah, must be pretty tough" was his reply "I've only got one weird-o strike against me"
I decided not to inform him that 9-11 was, in fact, an inside job.
What is it with people that makes them cling so tightly to the prevailing norms? (Or perhaps, what is it with me that allows me to disregard them?) Fear? fear of social rejection? fear of rejection? the need to fit in - or perhaps the need for an authority figure - the powers that be - some one or some thing that's always right and will look out for us. Any knows the answer, let me know.
My wife doesn't believe in Peak Oil, neither do my two closest friends -- these are people i would take a bullet for, and might even take a bullet for me -- but consider the possibility of something that hasn't been on mainstream news lately? Forgetaboutit.
Ok, cryonics is pretty speculative - never been done, based on a few real-life examples. Some frogs can be frozen in nature - hard as a rock - and come back with their memory in tact. In the lab you can teach them something simple - jump on the red rock and get a treat - whatever - freeze them for the winter, and when you thaw them out they go right to the red rock every time.
Some humans have drowned in freezing water and been "dead" for long periods (hours I think, or at least many minutes) and been resuscitated back to normal function.
I've been following the science on this for more than 20 years and i hope to get the chance to give it a try.
If I'm wrong - well, it was a good shot, and I'll be dead anyway so big deal.
Peak Oil is a bit different. It's got some hard science behind it, and it's backed by some intellectual heavy-weights. If I'm going down on Peak Oil, I'm going down with some very good company. I'd rather be wrong with Richard Heinberg, Collin Campbell, M. King Hubbert, and the rest, than right with the likes of corporate right wing mouth-pieces like Daniel Yergin.
Sadly, science, facts, and intellectual weight don't mean much in the face of belief.
My sister is religious, she married a baptist minister, and they got two lovely kids who are also very religious. It simply isn't possible for them to consider the question of gods existence. In the case of 9-11 I saw a video in which an interviewee said "to even consider that 9-11 was anything but the event described by the 9-11 commission would mean that I would have to consider the possibility that my president is capable of killing 300 US citizens in order to start a war" (or words to that effect).
And yet - things are changing - look at #occupy (I really hope that grows). If those folks over there can change, why can't the people I'm talking to change? Maybe I'm not doin in right. Or maybe I should just man-up and get on with it.
Why do people cling so tightly to the prevailing norrms
Why? Because we define reality by consensus. Even scientists do, which is why prevailing scientific opinion is so slow to change, one death at a time, one famous scientist said (can't recall who).
You might want to refer to several psych studies done on this. The one I recall was a BBC programme shown on TV 10 ? years ago, in which everyone in the group was in on the plan except one, I believe they call them 'the stooge'. Everyone (about 20 people) are sitting in a circle in a large room with two doors, both closed. After a few minutes, smoke starts to creep under one of the doors (opposite the stooge). He / she (they repeated this experiment with different stooges) notices, is alarmed, and calls it to the attention of his neighbour who shrugs and dismisses it. Smoke continues to come into the room, nobody reacts. The stooge also continues to sit there and do nothing.
Out of about 10 repeats, only ONE person got up and left the room to find out what was going on and that only after five to 10 minutes. If this had really been a fire, everyone including the one reactor, would have died. There is a tipping point at which others start to take the situation seriously.
This can work both ways. I remember a famous short story by American humorist, James Thurber. He set the story in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked for a time. In the story someone shouts, the dam has burst. Some people start running. Others ask what is the matter and people shout back, the dam has burst. People flee in terror running and shouting. Finally someone realises that Columbus, Ohio, a flat midwestern town has no dam.
We need to reach a tipping point. How we do that without access to media and leadership that is capable of looking past the prevailing opinion, I don't know. But I do know the internet helps. It's how I found out about peak oil and many other of our economic issues. Occupy Wallstreet is helping bring this out front. Our own 99% movement needs to start putting NZ facts on their placards instead of copying the American movement. What makes that movement powerful is they are presenting facts about the USA to their countrymen. Our movement needs to do the same thing, fact about NZ. Transition Towns newsletter is one of my best sources.
Good explanation. The general
Good explanation.
The general consensus is that everything is fine. Though I believe that deep down most people are aware that there are looming problems. But as the current leadership (political, business etc) don't recognise or act on those issues thanks to the ingrained ideology of BAU, "the masses" don't act on those underlying issues either. Cognitive dissonance is one term that describes this phenomenom
I think this is where Scott's post about advocacy and practical actions is quite relevant.From my experience in community engagement people start to accept and act on those issues when they see others acting and have encouragement and support from those who " know what they are doing". Advocacy and practical action become the tipping point.
I can also say that such advocacy works only when practical actions are presented in a positive empowering way. Scaring them into action in my opinion often pushes people who may be willing to make changes back to the comfortable realm of cognitive dissonance.
I think there are also a couple of other pychological phenomenom going on here. In the TT hndbook Rob Hopkins explores the psychology of addiction, which is one factor that leads to mass cognitive dissonance. That section is well worth a read to help understand whats going on.
The other is the pychology of grief. The 1st stage of grief is denial. I strongly believe that we all are aware of the significnt impct Humanity has had on the biosphere in the last few hundred years and we are all in that 1st stage of the greiving process, whether conciously or not.
However, I think if movements like TT, Permculture, #Occupy etc focus on practical positive and empowering actions and advocate in an organised and coherent way at both the local and nationl level, we could sidestep the remaining grief process of anger, bargaining and depression and just get people to accept that the patient isn't dead, just addicted to massive mounts of energy.
I think we need to better understand these psychologicl processes that impede acceptnce and action so taht we can design better parctical and positive responses that work.
By doing that we could initiate the "tipping point" or at lest be better prepared for when the crucnch does come.