Last Chance to Walk Away
Joe Moncarz August 2022
Some people never know when to quit. They live in a world of denial and delusions, where everyone else is to blame, acting like the superior one, and they continue attacking and attacking, unable to stop themselves, until they bring about their own destruction. Think of a drug addict who is unable to stop destroying herself, which ultimately has disastrous consequences for her and those around her, such as family.
Cult leaders often display this tendency. They are con artists, pretending and acting, playing a role in order to take advantage of others, and with each new recruit, with each increase in power, they feel entitled to take more and more – often money, but sometimes lives as well. Shoko Asahara, who led the Aum Shinrikyo cult, wasn't satisfied with his little innocuous cult, and kept pushing, resulting in a sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway, his imprisonment, and finally being put to death in 2018. If only someone could have talked some sense into him earlier, and said, “Hey, be satisfied with your little group. Don't get too nutty.”
In 1978, Jim Jones of the People's Temple cult got so delusional, power-hungry, and afraid of being exposed, that he ordered his members to shoot U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and his delegation who had come to investigate human rights abuses at the cult. Cult members opened fire, killing Ryan and several others. Jones knew that it was all over for him, so he ordered everyone to commit mass suicide. 914 people killed themselves with cyanide, and Jones shot himself through the head. If only someone could have talked some sense into Jones much earlier and said, “Hey, be satisfied with your 900 followers. Tone it down before you lose everything.”
But that, of course, is what civilization is all about. Jim Jones was no anomaly. He was just a small example of what all civilizations do. The elite who run civilizations also live in a world of make-believe, where they are chosen by the gods (or are gods), where they are superior (because of their wealth) and entitled, and they use this bullshit story to enslave, wage war, and exploit everyone else. They destroy forests, destroy the land, destroy people's lives. They can never have enough, and they keep trying to grab more and more. They keep attacking. They are so afraid of losing power and wealth that they would rather see everyone die – just as Jim Jones did. They continue on, never able to stop, until the entire civilization collapses. It happens every time, with every civilization and every empire, just as it's happening now. I'm sure there were people in past civilizations, just as there are now, who warned, “Hey, don't get too greedy. Control yourself. You're going to ruin everything.” But of course, the elite never listen.
Nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors are a part of how this story is playing out now. We don't need nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors. We could walk away from them. But we don't. The elite are addicted to profits and power. They live in a fantasy world where nuclear power is “safe”, where no one ever died or got sick from nuclear reactor accidents, where radiation is healthy and good for us, and where nuclear missiles help keep peace. So they keep attacking the Earth and all its inhabitants by building more reactors and more missiles, until one day their luck runs out. If only they would listen to those people warning, “Stop this nuclear madness! Your luck is going to run out!” But they don't listen.
Climate change and our addiction to fossil fuels is similar. We could walk away from fossil fuels, and spare the young and future generations pain, misery, and suffering. But we don't. We keep burning and burning. We don't want to give up our screens, our phones, our cars, our holidays overseas, our air conditioning, and having as many children as we want. We want it all, and we keep wanting more. More to buy, more high-tech, and more status symbols, which of course means more exploitation of others, more destruction of the Earth, and more wars to control the fewer and fewer resources. More attacking. There are many people warning about the continued burning of fossil fuels (though also naively believing in “renewable” energy and civilization), but of course, those in power never listen.
We could walk away and live simpler lives, in tune with Earth's limits. We could live lives of greater leisure and meaning, as humans did for hundreds of thousands of years as hunter-gatherers. We could stop living as if we're superior to all other forms of life. But we don't. If only we knew how much better life would be if we stopped. But we keep attacking and attacking.
Even as temperatures rise, as sea levels rise, as storms become more extreme, as droughts become more extreme, as wildfires spread, as crop failures spread, as famine spreads, and as diseases spread, we still keep attacking each other and attacking the Earth.
So in the end, it's not just the nutty cult leaders, the elite, the presidents and prime ministers, the kings and queens, the drug lords, and the CEOs who keep attacking and attacking until they destroy themselves and everyone around them. It's all of us who do this. The only way to avoid such a fate is with humility and self-reflection. But humility and self-reflection are rare.
And of course, at some point we will have gone too far. We will have ignored the warnings, “Stop, before it's too late!” And then we will really pay, and there will be no escape. There will be no more hiding in our fantasies and delusions. We will have completely failed our children. And we will be sorry. And that's really a shame, because things don't have to get so bad.
Now is our last chance to walk away.
Cult leaders often display this tendency. They are con artists, pretending and acting, playing a role in order to take advantage of others, and with each new recruit, with each increase in power, they feel entitled to take more and more – often money, but sometimes lives as well. Shoko Asahara, who led the Aum Shinrikyo cult, wasn't satisfied with his little innocuous cult, and kept pushing, resulting in a sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway, his imprisonment, and finally being put to death in 2018. If only someone could have talked some sense into him earlier, and said, “Hey, be satisfied with your little group. Don't get too nutty.”
In 1978, Jim Jones of the People's Temple cult got so delusional, power-hungry, and afraid of being exposed, that he ordered his members to shoot U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan and his delegation who had come to investigate human rights abuses at the cult. Cult members opened fire, killing Ryan and several others. Jones knew that it was all over for him, so he ordered everyone to commit mass suicide. 914 people killed themselves with cyanide, and Jones shot himself through the head. If only someone could have talked some sense into Jones much earlier and said, “Hey, be satisfied with your 900 followers. Tone it down before you lose everything.”
But that, of course, is what civilization is all about. Jim Jones was no anomaly. He was just a small example of what all civilizations do. The elite who run civilizations also live in a world of make-believe, where they are chosen by the gods (or are gods), where they are superior (because of their wealth) and entitled, and they use this bullshit story to enslave, wage war, and exploit everyone else. They destroy forests, destroy the land, destroy people's lives. They can never have enough, and they keep trying to grab more and more. They keep attacking. They are so afraid of losing power and wealth that they would rather see everyone die – just as Jim Jones did. They continue on, never able to stop, until the entire civilization collapses. It happens every time, with every civilization and every empire, just as it's happening now. I'm sure there were people in past civilizations, just as there are now, who warned, “Hey, don't get too greedy. Control yourself. You're going to ruin everything.” But of course, the elite never listen.
Nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors are a part of how this story is playing out now. We don't need nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors. We could walk away from them. But we don't. The elite are addicted to profits and power. They live in a fantasy world where nuclear power is “safe”, where no one ever died or got sick from nuclear reactor accidents, where radiation is healthy and good for us, and where nuclear missiles help keep peace. So they keep attacking the Earth and all its inhabitants by building more reactors and more missiles, until one day their luck runs out. If only they would listen to those people warning, “Stop this nuclear madness! Your luck is going to run out!” But they don't listen.
Climate change and our addiction to fossil fuels is similar. We could walk away from fossil fuels, and spare the young and future generations pain, misery, and suffering. But we don't. We keep burning and burning. We don't want to give up our screens, our phones, our cars, our holidays overseas, our air conditioning, and having as many children as we want. We want it all, and we keep wanting more. More to buy, more high-tech, and more status symbols, which of course means more exploitation of others, more destruction of the Earth, and more wars to control the fewer and fewer resources. More attacking. There are many people warning about the continued burning of fossil fuels (though also naively believing in “renewable” energy and civilization), but of course, those in power never listen.
We could walk away and live simpler lives, in tune with Earth's limits. We could live lives of greater leisure and meaning, as humans did for hundreds of thousands of years as hunter-gatherers. We could stop living as if we're superior to all other forms of life. But we don't. If only we knew how much better life would be if we stopped. But we keep attacking and attacking.
Even as temperatures rise, as sea levels rise, as storms become more extreme, as droughts become more extreme, as wildfires spread, as crop failures spread, as famine spreads, and as diseases spread, we still keep attacking each other and attacking the Earth.
So in the end, it's not just the nutty cult leaders, the elite, the presidents and prime ministers, the kings and queens, the drug lords, and the CEOs who keep attacking and attacking until they destroy themselves and everyone around them. It's all of us who do this. The only way to avoid such a fate is with humility and self-reflection. But humility and self-reflection are rare.
And of course, at some point we will have gone too far. We will have ignored the warnings, “Stop, before it's too late!” And then we will really pay, and there will be no escape. There will be no more hiding in our fantasies and delusions. We will have completely failed our children. And we will be sorry. And that's really a shame, because things don't have to get so bad.
Now is our last chance to walk away.