Robert Gale Ongley

Author: Bo

  • STAR TREK: PICARD (A REVIEW)

    Let it be known. I am a Star Trek fan–not the biggest one, but I truly respect the series in most of its TV and movie versions. There have been a few I had no interest in, and I made the judgment that when Gene Roddenberry died, the quality would fall short in vision and values in favor of more contemporary and popular storytelling on the big screen and the small as well.

    In my opinion, there has been a resurgence of the iconic franchise in recent years. And that comes with an increase in content. ViacomCBS rebranded the huge entertainment corporation into Paramount+ in 2019, and they controlled the rights of Star Trek. They began to direct new Star Trek content onto Paramount+.

    Picard

    Jean-Luc Picard is one of Star Trek’s most compelling characters, played admirably by Patrick Stewart. As you probably know, he is an English actor with a stellar British accent even as he plays a Frenchman. That is of little concern since characters from many countries and cultures today are depicted by actors with British accents.

    In this series, we find Picard to be a retired Admiral living out his days on his long-held family vineyard in France. He has a low-key, idealistic life with a staff that includes a Romulan couple who are dear friends as well as assistants. Circumstances present themselves which pull him back into Starfleet circles. Changes in perspective and protocols make it clear his views and warnings are not to be universally heeded without resistance.

    Other Characters

    The series, which could easily be concluded with the two seasons in the can, is a blend of cutting-edge new content and characters with revived story lines and older, familiar faces. Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati, Isi Briones as Soji, Michelle Hurd as Rafaella, and Santiago Cabrera all emerge as new characters with strong performances in their roles.

    It’s a real treat to see old favorites such as Jonathan Frakes as William T. Riker, Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, Brent Spiner as Data, LaVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge, and John DeLancie as Q. All of the series stars who made appearances in this new series were skillfully integrated into the current story with quality contributions. Jeri Ryan was particularly dynamic in her substantial showing.

    Story Arc

    The series begins at the end of the 24th Century, 14 years into Picard’s retirement. A mysterious young woman visits him in seek of help. He realizes she may have connections to his past. He looks for answers from Starfleet, but his queries are met with silence for the most part.

    He learns the young woman, Dahj, is a synthetic (android). He thinks Dahj may have been created to be a daughter by his old friend Data. Picard feels obligated to protect her, but she is eventually assassinated, possibly by a secret Romulan organization whose mission is to kill all synthetics. It appears Dahj may have had a twin sister. Picard feels he must locate her, for her life may be in danger as well.

    He hires a ship and assembles a crew. Back to space for Picard. Challenging and deadly encounters come with the developing plot. There’s no shortage of action in the twists and turns of the ensuing and rewarding episodes.

    Season Two begins with a threat from the Borg Queen, perhaps the only remnant of the vanquished Borg empire. She becomes a key figure in this season as she manages to worm her way into minds of humans once again.

    Meanwhile, Picard is being led to confront reasons for his inability to totally give of his heart. Q intervenes in the Borg ship attack and transports the entire crew plus the Queen to 2024 Earth. It seems he wants to teach Picard one last lesson.

    For me, every episode of the series is of feature film quality. I enjoyed them all and came away satisfied.

    The Wrap

    Picard the series isn’t perfect. There are a couple plot holes such as the one where a couple characters comment on how they don’t know how to handle money. The vehicle of having crew members be faced with life in our present-day civilization may have been done too many times. Some may feel a few loose ends may not have been tied up. To me, the flaws are minor and shouldn’t be allowed to ruin your experience.

    My expectations were met because the story lines were sufficiently complex without being confusing, the effects were excellent, and philosophical plus social issues are addressed satisfactorily. I respect Star Trek’s history of taking the high road in the future of humanity. I have hope it will continue.

  • TIPPING POINT REBUFFED?

    In my recent post titled “Election Day Blues,” I voiced my worry that American voters may show they have succumbed to delusion and joined the ranks of extremists who have lost sight of certain elements of societal truths.

    The mid-term 2022 elections helped allay my fears. The Orange Wave (Red Wave to most) didn’t materialize. In most states, it morphed into an ebb tide. Judging from what I’ve seen of the results, ballots were cast along party lines. In heavily red states, the Republicans won handily. In heavily blue states, Democrats were victorious by wide margins. The swing states, where neither party has a clear dominance among voters, the races were close. It appears independents and young people were the deciding factors. I think it’s safe to say independents, who don’t hold allegiance to either right or left, are not swayed in general by extreme rhetoric on either side. This time they sided with the party that made the fewer divisive and dangerous campaign promises.

    While the candidates stylizing themselves in the image of Donald Trump were less successful than their opponents, it doesn’t mean we are freed from the movement that tried to overturn a free election or who lean toward removing established rights for Americans or who favor a candidate that bullies his or her way to the top with the behavior of an insult comic at a cynic’s convention. That movement took a hit in this election, but it doesn’t mean it won’t persist or come back with a vengeance. In this post, I wish to take a look at how movements can create a surge in loud-talking, loud-thinking which appeals to the lowest common denominator. I wish to examine how the tipping point comes to overwhelm the prevailing line of thought and change a society or groups on a smaller scale.

    Critical Mass

    Tipping point is one alternative name for critical mass, a concept which was identified in 1971. Mark Granovetter, a sociologist, and Thomas Schelling, a game theorist, came up with it. Its original definition is related to nuclear physics and states “the amount of a given fissionable material necessary to sustain a chain reaction.” This has been expanded to cover a much wider scope of life. Definition number two in my dictionary is “an amount necessary or sufficient to have a significant effect or to achieve a result.”

    When applied to people and their ideas, critical mass or a tipping point is reached when enough people adopt an opinion or piece of data that it spreads far and fast. On a harmless level, we can observe this phenomena in social media where memes are passed around rapidly and effortlessly. Unfortunately, social media can also be used to spread lies and incendiary plans to commit acts of insurrection or hate. This is what led to the gathering of possibly as much as 120,000 people who were urged to fight for Trump to “stop the steal.”

    When a tipping point is reached, a change in behavior among a group of people occurs. Mob rule and revolutions have been ignited when this boiling point is reached. A fringe minority stance can swiftly turn into a majority position.

    How Many Does it Take?

    The question must be asked. What is the percentage of a population needed to reach the tipping point and make a sweeping change in the views of a country? The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researched this matter and their computational analysis determined 10% to be the answer. Their Director of Research, Boleslaw Szymanski wrote: “When the number of committed opinion holders is below 10 percent, there is no visible progress in the spread of ideas. It would literally take the amount of time comparable to the age of the universe for this size group to reach the majority. Once that number grows above 10 percent, the idea spreads like flame.“

    I don’t know what the numbers are of the individuals ready to fight to put Trump back in office. I don’t know if they are dwindling or increasing, but for now it appears they didn’t reach the tipping point nationally. That’s a relief.

    What to Do…

    I don’t have a problem with non-radical Republicans or conservatives. I am willing to say the same about Democrats or liberals. I fall somewhere between, but I know where there’s disagreement, there’s a lack of communication. Where there’s divisiveness, there’s a lack of understanding. Where there’s anger, there’s gap in reality. We need to let our emotions cool down. We need to establish more dialogue and not listen to media talking heads who make their living fanning the flames of partisan politics. Honest dialogue without ego, but with the intention to build bridges between us will enable us to see each other as fellow human beings with a lot more in common than we’re led to believe. Let’s communicate and build an America we all can love.

  • ELECTION DAY BLUES

    Much of what follows will be opinion. The historical content is not. As a citizen of a country deeply divided at least politically and probably socially, I’m dreading the outcome of the 2022 mid-term election. The results may take us further along a path I’m opposed to and which frightens me. I cannot let this pivotal election pass without stating the truth as I see it.

    In our 246-year history, we have never seen such a threat to our democracy. There have been deep divisions at times. Even in the first years after the American Revolution, there were highly contested views on how to govern the new country. This Library of Congress article excerpt gives us an idea how it was after ratification of the much debated Constitution and the election of the first President. “Although Washington proved to be personally popular and respected, conflict over the proper functions and locus of governmental power dominated his two terms as president. These disputes soon led to the formation of factions and then political parties that were deeply divided over the nature and purposes of the federal government, over foreign affairs, and over the very future of the new nation. Events during the single term of John Adams, our second president, made these divisions even worse and they continued into the presidency of Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809).”

    America at Unrest

    After the country settled down a bit, there came a period of impassioned crusade and reform. Many citizens were dissatisfied with the direction of their relatively new society. They took action to rid the states of evil, as they saw it, and to change the ways of their brethren. Some of the causes they sought improvement upon included observance of the Sabbath, abolition of slavery, women’s rights, crime and punishment, education, temperance, hours and conditions of work, poverty and care of the handicapped. It seemed people everywhere were taking up a fight of one kind or another. The 1830s and 1840s were definitely turbulent times.

    Americans of European or Asian descent in the 19th century may not look at this way, but one of the disturbing and violent chapters in our history is the Indian Wars. I understand this is somewhat off-topic, but what seemed to have been a conflict of inconvenience for those settling this continent from other countries was unbelievably huge for those having their lands stolen and their culture overwhelmed. From east to west, this struggle for land went on for over 200 years and for over 100 years with the entity known as the United States. We forcibly shared this land mass and a national consciousness on some level with the Native Americans for these long periods of time. It was no trivial philosophical disagreement. It counts as unrest in America.

    Then there was the War Between the States. The collision between the North and the South on how life here should be lived, especially for the Africans who were sold into slavery and their offspring, was an example on just how far social and political identification can be taken to prove who’s right. Of course, economic attachments were a factor for the rich in the South, since they felt pressure about how they could survive without slave labor. The polarization between the people of the two regions grew to such intolerable levels that secession followed. Anger boiled over into hatred and in the next four years, approximately 750,000 died in the Civil War.

    Anything else pales in comparison, but it doesn’t mean the country couldn’t be torn apart again. Ideology, race, religion combined with inflammatory rhetoric can make people lose touch with common sense and decency. Prohibition in the 1920s spawned excesses and widespread crime that affected a large percentage of the population for more than a decade. World War II united us against fascism and a comfortable peace with prosperity made the generation that created them euphoric until their children rebelled against what they stood for in a fundamental and sweeping way. Rejection of war, materialism, racism, shallow thinking, intoxication of choice (alcohol) and outdated values resulted in a great deal of alienation within families and whole communities across the nation. Healing did eventually ensue as the baby boomers matured, married and materialized. Hippies turned into yuppies. I think political activists, with some exceptions, faded away or joined government at various levels.

    The Uncivil War

    We find ourselves at a crossroads now. The political party I respected a lot for so many years has bent to the will of a former President who seems content to tear apart his country over a lost election he refuses to let go despite no proof of his claims and who has no problem attacking people in his party who have been loyal to him to the brink of committing crimes to further his lies. The danger of crossing him is the loss of their political careers. His base has lost touch with reality and threaten our democracy. All the while, their narrative is strikingly similar to the same I just stated. Those under his spell see his enemies–anyone who doesn’t fall in step with him–as having lost touch with reality as “woke” culture threatens democracy. Both sides see the other as wanting to rob them of their freedoms as United States citizens. The derision of “woke” culture is absurd when you consider it means to be aware of racial and social injustices. These injustices have inhibited freedom of certain groups of people, many of whom are underprivileged and poor. Is the desire to help those folks actually being mocked by many who fall under those categories?

    It’s the lack of understanding and the willingness to defend it with violence that bewilders and scares me. If they deem it necessary to stand up for the man who has fed all the confusion, I’m afraid they’re lost. The results of this election will reveal how close we are to the tipping point of being a nation in delusion.

  • THE ARTISAN LIFE

    Do you have any possessions handcrafted by an artisan? Do you know an artisan personally?

    I believe these objects and these people are treasures and should be admired as such.

    Looking around, I see a blanket we bought in Mexico many years ago that was probably woven on a traditional loom. My grandmother on my mother’s side gave me a quilt and an afghan she made herself. We have a secretary desk made by a great-grandfather in the early part of last century. Our son has taken on the role of artisan in the last year, manufacturing belts using basic equipment and tools, one at a time.

    I’ve admired artisans since I was a boy. I think Paul Revere was my first artisan hero. He was a silversmith before he became known for helping warn colonists of encroaching Red Coats. I was deeply drawn to the creative production of silver utensils and such.

    I have been inclined for many years to write about characters in my fiction work who are artisans. I’m reflecting on that only now. I remember writing about a leatherworker who had some special abilities in a fantasy short story. I had a leading character in a novel who gave up her life as a business administrator to become a weaver. In that same book, a supporting character was a woodworker.

    Artisan Defined

    My dictionary tells me an artisan is a person skilled in some industry or trade; craftsman. Wikipedia makes it a bit more specific, saying “a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand.” My perception of this person is more akin to the Wikipedia view, which I think is the more common view of it currently. In Tucson, we have a collection of shops in an old adobe structure called Old Town Artisans. There you can find such artisans as local jewelers, contemporary artists, pasta and bread makers, potters and more.

    Life of an Artisan

    I romanticize the artisan life, no doubt, but I see it as an ideal life on Earth. I know it must come with financial challenges. If you’re making goods that are considered works of art, you’re asking people to spend their disposable income for your products. If you’re manufacturing practical items everyone can use, chances are your prices are higher than those in big chain stores.

    If you’re able to find your niche and can generate a sustainable, comfortable income, then your chances of being able to concentrate on doing what you love and scratching that itch to create from the heart are reasonably good.

    In researching for this post, I found multiple articles on the life of an artisan. I offer a few quotes from these, starting with one from the website HISTORY ON THE NET. It has to do with the daily life of a Mayan artisan. “Maya craftsmen had a slightly easier life than the hard, physical labor of the farmers. Artisans were still commoners, but rather than heading off to the milpas, they would work creating beautiful items such as jewelry, textiles, pottery and feather cloaks and headdresses. The artistry of the Maya Classical Era is unquestioned; while many of the woven textiles and feathered goods disintegrated over time in the humid climate, the stone carvings and jadeite jewelry remain.”

    It must be said that the modern artisan isn’t living some dreamy existence, detached from the reality of obligations and mundane tasks. Much work goes into preparation for issuing the final product. In this excerpt from the website Owl Guru the “typical day for Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters,” the following activities are listed.

    “Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications.

    Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.

    Measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product.

    Set up or operate machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, or shapers, to cut, mold, or shape woodstock or wood substitutes.

    Establish the specifications of articles to be constructed or repaired or plan the methods or operations for shaping or assembling parts, based on blueprints, drawings, diagrams, or oral or written instructions.”

    Still, these all go into the creativity of what hopefully will be uniquely beautiful woodworking projects. Satisfaction for a job well done is not likely to get old.

    Fulfillment

    I haven’t personally done much of anything in the way of craftsman work, but the little I have attempted has brought me a sense of accomplishment, of pride and fulfillment. For me, this feeling usually comes from completing a piece of writing or a song. That’s where my abilities are better applied. But I occasionally cast a longing gaze across the village common in admiration of the wares on display by the artisans who enrich our everyday lives with their practical yet artistic feats.

  • RIDIN’ THE RAILS (UP THE LINE)

    Continuing on our vacation to the East coast by train, I awakened during my restless night and looked up the aisle to the Observation car. In contrast to our darkened Coach, it’s brightly lit for the night owls who are hanging out in front of the big windows or sitting at tables in conversation. I noticed how the car ahead tilts to the left or the right while ours is in the opposite position. Or maybe it’s our car that’s rocking and the other is maintaining its position. I had the idea prior to this that a train is rigidly moving along the track in lock step. Another indicator I’m new at this.

    Day Two

    Our social lives started picking up. There were more chats. We started finding people we resonated with and people were opening up more. I was spending more time in the Observation car, aka the Lounge car. Sandy was making friends there, but I was taking the time and space to work on the final stages of my new novel’s third draft.

    One couple we had some great laughs with was also traveling on the USA Rail Pass. As with us, they would be getting off in New Orleans and heading north on the Crescent toward New York. They were in their 20’s or possibly 30’s. Quick to laugh and smile, they seemed to fit in with everyone with whom they communicated. What stood out the most, though, was the woman’s skill with a Rubik’s Cube. We watched her solve it within a few minutes. Her boyfriend took it back, “shuffled” it and handed it back to her. As we were singing her praises and engaging her in conversation, she quickly solved it again. She did it over and over while talking to us.

    We made our way across Texas, losing the Tucson family in San Antonio. Somewhere along the line, we picked up a black man about our age who was dressed in cowboy style clothes. He was soft-spoken, but friendly enough for us to feel his kindly vibe.

    As we neared New Orleans, we found our young Rail Pass couple in the lounge. She was applying goth makeup for a short night on Bourbon Street.

    With all the delays for the freight trains in our path, we reached New Orleans almost five hours late. Our plan had been to take an hour or two and go down to the French Quarter for a meal and a little music perhaps, then spend the night at a hotel. As it turned out, we headed straight for our lodging. By the time we laid down in the heavenly bed, it was 4:00 AM. With less than four hours of sleep, we rolled out and made our way back to the Union Passenger Terminal for our northbound Crescent. There was the young couple in line for boarding and she was scrubbed clean of her goth look.

    DAY THREE

    It’s Labor Day. Some of our fellow passengers are still with us on this leg of the journey, including the aforementioned Rail Pass couple and the quiet Texan. In fact, he was sitting in the seat just across the aisle from us. We got to have ample, relaxed conversation. We learned he’s a train addict, though that’s not the term he’s using. He just loves riding the trains. He knows a lot about them and the routes they take here in the USA. He volunteered he feels comfortable to talk to people in just two places–trains and roller rinks. He enjoys roller-skating as much as anything in life and does it practically every Sunday. He even instructs others how to skate.

    Eventually, the discussion turns to meeting people who turn out to be special to us. It can be synchronistic and almost magical at times. He shared an example with a person he met. That person, who happened also to be black, met a white man and they fell into deep conversation. They discovered they were from the same town in the South. The black man mentioned that his ancestors were slaves. The white man revealed his ancestors were slave owners. They dug deeper into the details and were amazed to learn the white man’s ancestors owned the ancestors of the black man. The two became good friends.

    Riding the train can be a series of snapshots. Scenes of a passing landscape or person seen through a window at 100 miles per hour. An overheard snippet of conversation that by itself sounds surreal. They come in many forms. One such instant popped up when I was moving from the Observation car to our Coach. There in the front seat sat a passenger wearing a Covid mask and a sleeping mask simultaneously. His face was squarely aimed at mine. I felt as though I was being confronted by a muppet.

    On this third night, I walked into the cafe and noticed the young man of the Rail Pass couple sitting at a table with two other men. I haven’t yet mentioned the young man has a shaved head, a beard and glasses. As I walk past them, I notice in a quick glance the two men across the table also have shaved heads, beards and glasses. Those two also look identical to each other, at least that’s how I see it in my mini-scan. I kept moving and returned to my seat without sharing my observations. Sandy soon went to the cafe and visited with the three men. She came back eventually and told me about the men she met who were hanging out with our Rail Pass friend. It turned out they weren’t twins. They were a married couple. I guess it’s a case of the old adage of married couples starting to look alike.

    At this conclusion of a summer-ending holiday weekend, the train was filling up although it was the middle of the night. We couldn’t use open sets of seats under the circumstances. We sat together and had to maintain a slightly reclined sitting position most of the night. There was a lot of talking among the new passengers as they boarded and settled. The morning brought the thought I conveyed to Sandy. “Today is the fourth straight day I’ve had five hours or less of actual sleep.” That was a new record for me.

    Endless Track

    As the old saying goes, “I’ve got a million of ’em.” Like the one about Tuscaloosa I borrowed from Groucho Marx as we passed through there. Or the one by the conductor attendant when he learned I was writing about my train experiences. “Remember me!” he said. Or the one about the man in his 80’s who was treated to this trip around the country by his family because of his love for trains in general. Or pulling into the station of our beloved Santa Barbara–a homecoming.

    If you look up the railroad track, the two rails look to unite into one by the time they reach the horizon. The events of the hour, the day, a lifetime eventually meet at one distant point where they’re all on the same track. The impression is the same when looking back down the tracks as well. Life on the train illustrates and magnifies what we’re going through in this mundane life in the material universe. The difference is we tend not to pay attention to the details in our lives off the train. I have way more stories of this train trip than I have space I want to devote to it on this site. Hopefully, I haven’t bored you with the ones I’ve already written.

    Maybe the point has been made. Train travel is a series of experiences we can choose to see as adventures, big and small. And so they are. We treasure these experiences. There’s no reason we can’t see our own lives the same way if we’ll just make the choice to see life as an adventure.

  • RIDIN’ THE RAILS

    My wife Sandy and I recently took our first vacation together in a few years. Due to soaring air and cruise fares as well as persisting high gasoline prices, we elected to travel by train. Amtrak offered their USA Rail Pass for $499 each and we took them up on it.

    The basic terms of this offer is that the traveler can take 10 separate rides, also known as segments, to anywhere Amtrak services within a period of 30 days. Seating is in coach cars and upgrading is not allowed. That means the overnight passenger has to sleep in a seat much like an airliner seat, but with more foot room and foot and leg rests.

    We decided our top priority was to visit our son in Philadelphia and we would do whatever else we could do along the way to add to our unique holiday. From Tucson to Philadelphia would cost us only two segments each way if we took the southern route through New Orleans. That left us room for improvising.

    Train Day One

    We were novices, not knowing quite what to expect. Just seeing a conductor walk over to the boarding gate with his uniform and conductor’s hat was a novelty to us.

    We left the station. We were still in Tucson with nothing to see, so I pulled out something to read. The window on our side, to my left, was in my peripheral view. I perceived motion there. At one point, I looked to my right and saw through the window across the aisle that there was absolutely no motion. I was shocked! I looked to my left and saw the same thing. I realized the reason I thought we were moving was there had been a train going the opposite direction on the tracks to our left. What an illusion!

    After a few minutes, an announcement informed us of an A/C problem in the lounge car. We were not to use the lounge while they worked on it. Then, a few minutes after that they told us there was a problem with the engine. We hadn’t even left town yet! They stopped and corrected the engine problem within about five minutes. We were rolling toward the outskirts of Tucson.

    While the ride and the scenery are a vital part of the experience, it’s the people who make it the most interesting. We were worried about the guy who sat directly across the aisle from us before we left the station. He had a horrible, high decibel cough we could hear in our imaginary attempt at sleep. Fortunately, he vacated the area almost immediately, never to be seen or heard again. He was replaced by a young woman with a daughter perhaps three or four years old. She was very well organized.

    In front of us was a blonde dad of about 50, a dark-haired mom around the same age and their teenage son. They were on vacation, headed to San Antonio. A young, handsome man with dreadlocks and severely sagging pants was seated a few rows ahead of them.

    A large woman from Los Angeles was part of the staff, assigning seats and helping out much as a flight attendant on a plane would. We didn’t see a lot of her, though. She was probably attending to a number of cars located in other worlds to our front and rear.

    A fascinating fellow was the one who operated the cafe in the lower level under the lounge also known as the Observation car or Sightseeing car. The attendant who ran the cafe was a boisterous sort. I notice he rode a thin line on the edge between agitation and enthusiasm in his handling of customers. He will gladly give you a rundown of the food and drink choices he has to offer even though there’s a menu on the wall. He’ll make cheery recommendations if he senses you need it. But he had rules. He wanted no more than three customers in his little shop at a time. He could snap out commands to get back and wait until it’s your turn. And he’s constantly having to train people how to use their chip card on the processor. He has a well-rehearsed verbal tutorial which he delivers in an upbeat manner, but when the customer goes off track, the repetition of the instructions gets edgy. Also, Sandy found she could get the inside skinny on train life you don’t learn just anywhere. All in all, he’s a fun person to know.

    As we rolled into El Paso, I saw the Rio Grande briefly. It was shallow and not very wide. It would rank as a creek in the East. The real attraction for the train passengers is the Burrito Lady. She is announced well ahead of our stop. She sells homemade burritos next to the rails and we’re encouraged to get some. She probably makes a couple hundred dollars in less than 15 minutes. She also has an air of mystery about her because she’s clothed from head to toe and masked. She’s exuberant and sweet, though. We’re in and out of her whirlwind before we know it. All aboard!

    That first night, I headed downstairs to the bathroom to prepare myself for sleep. While in there, I heard a man out in the common area near the bathrooms. He screamed, either out of frustration or insanity. After a pause, he screamed again. He continued this up to five times. When I eventually exited the bathroom, I did so warily, not knowing what I might see. He was nowhere to be found. Maybe he opened one of the doors in that common area and leaped out into the void.

    We learned there would be delays when we would encounter freight trains ahead. Amtrak has to give right of way to the freighters because they own the tracks. One time that first night, we were delayed for more than two hours because one of them ran out of fuel and had to have someone come out to refuel their engine! How does that even happen?

    As we were drifting off in the dimly lit coach with our circle of fellow passengers, we were jarred by some alarmingly violent coughing and vomiting by our young mother neighbor. She had tried to make it to the bathrooms downstairs, but she emptied her gut right on the stairs. We were all up and trying to assist, but she just sat on the top step for fear of slipping during a lurch of the rocking train. The young man with the dreadlocks showed compassion and a bit of leadership. He found the attendant, who had the unfortunate duty of cleaning up the mess. When the mother’s daughter awoke and discovered her mother wasn’t there, she cried like a motherless child. It broke our hearts. Sandy and the other mom comforted her while letting her know her mommy was nearby.

    Sandy decided to sleep in two open seats, allowing me to use our two seats. I still could manage only fitful, painful and interrupted sleep, but I spent about six hours laboring at it. It was a long night of Texas, but the Sunset Limited was bound for New Orleans.

  • IS OUR SOCIETY RIPE FOR COLLAPSE?(PART THREE)

    As a quick recap, I’ll summarize Parts One and Two to set up this post.

    In Part One, the title question was posed. It was followed by areas of concern I’ve observed in our world today, ones which signal potential trouble for our society in the United States as well as globally.

    In Part Two, each area of concern was addressed from an historical perspective. Instances were given of past societies and civilizations which ceased to exist or at least fell to invading or revolutionary rule that did away with the old way of life.

    In Part Three, I’ll provide some answers as to where we as a society are headed. Nothing is certain, but comfort can be found or alarms can be sounded based on data from the present day scenario.

    ASSESSMENT

    Doomsday predictions are a common part of our human saga. I generally take them lightly because they virtually never come true. No doubt, there have been exceptions. Actual assessment of our prospects for the future should be based on science. Two of them will be presented here as examples.

    One of the more famous forecasts for collapse came out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1972. Their team of scientists conducted a study that foretold this collapse would occur in the middle of the 21st century. It would be due to overexploitation of planetary resources. In 2020, a director at one of the largest accounting firms in the world decided to do her own independent research to see how well the MIT model was holding up. Gaya Herrington is Sustainability and Dynamic System Analysis Lead at KPMG. Her analysis suggests the 1972 prediction is on course for a steep decline in industrial production and economic conditions. Loss of food production and deteriorating standards of living will follow. The decline figures to begin in 2040.

    Nature Scientific Reports published the results of a study by two physicists in 2020 that found global deforestation is a key to the future of civilization. An excerpt from their study follows. “Based on the current resource consumption rates and best estimate of technological rate growth our study shows that we have very low probability, less than 10 percent in most optimistic estimate, to survive without facing a catastrophic collapse.” They conclude at the current the rate of population growth, along with the consumption rate of resources, “we have a few decades left before an irreversible collapse of our civilization.”

    CAN HUMANITY RISE TO THE OCCASION?

    For this article, I’ve tried to find scientific reports that challenge the consensus on climate change dangers. I haven’t found any. There are those who feel the warnings are overblown rhetoric. There are those that perceive climate change as natural and cyclic, not caused by humans, and so it’s something we just have to adjust to in the coming years. But no, science denying climate change is difficult to find.

    Most of the other concerns I raised in Part One seem to be dwarfed by climate change and its effects. Political unrest and war can potentially shape our civilization in a profoundly negative way, but outside of nuclear war (which seems too grisly or too dangerous to themselves for even our current warmongers to unleash), these are likely to be fended off by the balance of power in the world. Pestilence can certainly contribute to collapse of civilization, but I believe the medical community and international health organizations can successfully neutralize diseases before they get totally out of control, unlike the situation with the Black Death. Global population decline can definitely wreak havoc on human society and be part of an overall collapse, but when it has happened in the past, growth rates have recovered satisfactorily. Thus, climate change appears to be our most formidable foe.

    The ingenuity of the human species has demonstrated its ability to innovate and mobilize its way out of catastrophic events. The problem facing us with regard to climate change, food shortages, corporate greed, megalomania, large-scale violence and group hatred is our capacity to care enough to do something about it.

    “The necessary changes will not be easy and pose transition challenges but a sustainable and inclusive future is still possible,” said Herrington. 

    In the study published by Nature Scientific Reports, the authors state “it will take a massive amount of collective action to reverse direction and save our society from collapse.”

    A mostly pessimistic report by Paul R. Ehrlich an Anne H. Ehrlich for the National Library of Medicine poses the question, “Can a collapse of global civilization be avoided?” After a long litany of disheartening reasons why humanity is in major trouble, they said they do think a collapse can be avoided in this century. “The answer is yes, because modern society has shown some capacity to deal with long-term threats, at least if they are obvious or continuously brought to attention (think of the risks of nuclear conflict).”

    And in the End

    We’re standing on a precipice, an abyss below. Many call out warnings. Many choose to ignore the danger signs. Others are ignorant of the warnings even being warnings. We are ripe for collapse in the coming decades. We do have the capacity to avert a collapse, but the human race must rise up out of denial and apathy to save our children’s children’s children who we are too short-sighted to see on the time horizon.

  • IS OUR SOCIETY RIPE FOR COLLAPSE? (PART TWO)

    Dead Anasazi Civilization

    In Part One of this article, I listed and discussed a number of concerns I have for the condition of our society. It so happens there’s historical precedent for these factors being present in prior social upheaval. I want to shine a light now on these times in the past that might relate to our present-day situation.

    Political Unrest

    Political dissent is a way of life across the world. It can be relatively quiet and infrequent in stable countries, so by itself it isn’t usually a threat to societies overall. However, even in the most solid countries, it can rise to a fever pitch and be a trigger to a coup that can unravel life as the masses know it.

    History has shown that violent political unrest sometimes goes hand in hand with a full-on collapse. The New Kingdom of Egypt had a lot of issues to deal with around 1210. Food shortages in the region began to affect the Nile Valley. War was taxing the Egyptian military. Other societies in the Mediterranean were floundering, putting economic pressure on Egypt. Government workers went on strike, the first in history. Political infighting between government factions contributed to deterioration of the country from within. Eventually, powerful Egypt lost its independence and became ruled by Libya and Nubia.

    The Qin Dynasty fell apart after about 260 years of strong rule. Internal feuds and rebellions had much to do with that.

    The dissolution of Russia’s society in 1917 was huge and multi-textured. The oppressive Tsarist regime brought political dissent upon itself. The Romanov family ruled the country for more than 300 years. By the time of the Russian Revolution, they had excluded most of its citizens from the political process and the foundation of their system was seen to be rooted in violence. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the government was met with violent uprisings until Czar Nicholas II was deposed in 1917. Russian society underwent great change, but their Provisional Government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks within a year. That marked the beginning of Communist rule and the end of life as Russians had known it for many generations. It wasn’t all bad, but ultimately became a swap of one dictatorship for another.

    Pestilence

    The most obvious example of pestilence is, of course, the bubonic plague, aka The Black Death. Speaking of the end of life as it had been known, this was truly the case after this particular pandemic ravaged Europe for at least four years. The death toll is uncertain–ranging from 25 million up to 200 million. In any case, it was a large percentage of the world population. Sweeping changes in labor relations, feudalism and the societal grip of the Christian Church are a few of the ways the European continent was revamped by disease.

    War!

    In Part One, I brought up the possibility of World War III. I’d like to think we’re smarter than to allow ourselves to get caught up in global conflict again. Yet, when egos and power and money are in play, it isn’t difficult to conceive of such a scenario. We’re not there yet, though. Instead of looking ahead, right now I want to continue our look at history.

    Obviously, wars have a potentially devastating effect on societies. Reasons for war can be lumped into several categories. One of those would be feuding neighbors in which groups of people come to hate each other so much they simply want to destroy the sons of bitches across the border. See the Serbs and Croats, the English and the French, or India and Pakistan for some historical context. Megalomania is another one. Hitler, Napoleon and Genghis Khan come to mind. Also, disasters of various kinds can motivate one country to invade another. Or a simple act of perceived aggression by an official of one country can spark a war with the offended nation’s leader.

    Specific instances of societal collapse due to war include the Eastern Mediterranean countries during the Late Bronze Age. They came under persistent attack from a mysterious, fierce military force known as the Sea Peoples. There were contributing factors, but war was among them. The Sea Peoples also complemented an invasion by the Dorians against the Mycenean Greeks around 1200 BC that sent that society into serious decline.

    There was a thriving civilization that spanned all of North Africa in the 11th century. It became the target of Bedouin tribes of Banu Sulaym and Banu Hilal. Their invasion, coupled with governmental dissension, brought the society to its ruin.

    Climate Change

    Planet Earth has warmed and cooled through the ages. The impact on civilizations is not to be taken lightly. It’s simply incredible how planetary changes can bring about natural disasters and gradual effects that undermine the stability a society takes for granted. It’s a foolish mistake that humans can’t seem to avoid.

    A drought that lasted about a thousand years in Africa and Asia had a hand in wiping out the Akkadian Empire and the Indus Valley Civilization. A lot can happen in a thousand years, including a natural span of life of a civilization, but life moved a lot slower then. So, while contributing factors such as earthquakes and disease eroded the Indus Valley society, persistent drought made the region a good place to vacate.

    In the period between the 1400’s and the1800’s, the Northern Hemisphere went through a general cooling period known as the Little Ice Age. In Europe, it ignited famine, mass migration and even wars. These factors facilitated the spread of diseases and that’s no small thing when considering this was the era of the Plague.

    Then came the General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century. On the heels of the Little Ice Age, Europe saw many years of difficult weather, crop failure, tough times economically, an upturn in violence and an increase in the death rate. The Thirty Years’ War and other escalating conflicts involving all the major European powers laid waste to much of Germany.

    Global Population Decline

    As stated in my last post, the rate of increase of the population is dropping and it’s expected that the actual population itself will be falling by 2100. The reason for this trend currently appears to be a decreasing fertility rate. Declines in the past have been due to such factors as war, large-scale natural disasters, and unbalanced demographics in which there are too many young males, who tend to exacerbate the problem with radicalized social unrest, resulting in violent activities ranging from local persecution to genocide.

    While these outcomes could occur simultaneously with other factors of societal collapse, they don’t necessarily coincide with the low fertility rate issue. Historical analysis suggests that what does appear to coincide with low fertility suppressing population growth is an interruption of the flow of ideas. Fundamental ideas have been lost by declining civilizations with falling populations.

    Loss in population size has been found to be part of societal collapse. Historical examples include Mayan, Anasazi, Rapanui and Sumer. These were advanced and creative societies. Unexpected swings in the numbers of any civilization place its people at significant risk.

    Our Prospects

    In Part Three, I’ll address how the future looks for our society in the context of the historical backdrop given here and our trending scenario. Is it still in our hands?

  • IS OUR SOCIETY RIPE FOR COLLAPSE?

    Mayan Ruins

    As a spectator viewing the world stage from my armchair, I see myself as one person with virtually no input when it comes to how our world and humanity evolve in this ongoing play. My part is to vote when I can, to conserve on energy, recycle and to be a decent person to those around me. I do have this tiny platform from which I can spread ideas and provide some commentary for whoever might be reading.

    On one hand, I try not to take what I see happening in these troubling times too seriously. After all, we are a rather inconsequential human race in a brief period of history to this point on a small planet in a vast universe that quite possibly is home to thousands or millions of intelligent races obsessing over their own worlds in crisis.

    I’ve been content to live my life through the years without getting too upset over current events. There are the exceptions, of course. The assassinations, the Nixon fiasco, 9/11, and the pandemic come to mind as just a few examples. I like to think I’ve maintained a healthy perspective on the political pendulum swings and the trends in society for everything from music to interpersonal relations. Now, however, I can’t help but wonder if we’re sinking into a major collapse of our civilization that will change our lives, or our children’s children’s lives for as long as they live. In this and the next article or two, I want to take a hard look at what’s going on and what it all might mean. Is society on the road to collapse or is there reason for hope in our future?

    Reasons for Concern

    In the world of politics, Trump ushered in a new age of chaos in 2016 with the rhetoric of an insult comic that somehow resonated with a base of voters that found him refreshing because he said what was on his mind. Congress was already dysfunctional and his style engendered an even more divisive tone among our representatives that spread through the country and even across the world. More politicians like him were elected in countries like the United Kingdom, Hungary and Brazil. When Trump’s 2020 election defeat was about to be confirmed, his supporters stormed the United States Capitol Building in an attempt to stop it. This social and political unrest is some of the worst this country has seen. Very disturbing. Other civil unrest due to injustices over rights for people of color, women, mass shooting victims and other groups on both sides of the political spectrum is tearing at the fabric of our society.

    Most medical experts agreed the pandemic was a global threat. A deadly virus that spread rapidly was the worst we had experienced at least a generation. Due in part to our leadership and partly due to distrust of the medical community as well as everything from Bill Gates to general information, there was serious discord among the world’s citizenry as to how serious the coronavirus should be taken. It is a good example of how disagreements on basic reality are making our society, domestic and internationally, less united and more divided. The main point here, though, is global disease can rock our society to the point where many lives are lost, economies are deeply shaken and cultures are threatened.

    There is seemingly always some kind of war, or conflicts as governments have taken to calling them, in the world. The war (let’s face it) in Ukraine has endangered our stability on a planetary scale. If Russia is able to accomplish its military goals there, the question becomes whether it will move on to another country such as Poland or some other neighbor. If it happens to be a NATO country, I have little doubt it will result in a large scale attack on Russia, opening us all to the possibility of World War III. Russia’s Putin will threaten nuclear war. Would he actually follow through?

    Climate change is upon us, whatever the cause. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Rising death tolls are the natural result. Severe damages impact the economy. If sea waters flood cities and islands around the world, if drought turns farmlands to deserts, there may be mass migrations to other more habitable locations. Such disruptions could unsettle the population, creating more unrest among the peoples of the world.

    Global population growth rates are declining. Over the last 50 years, the rate has decreased from 2.2% to .83%. There may be various reasons for this, but the prevailing opinion is low and falling fertility levels. It is expected that by 2100, human population itself will be declining. The following quote from a United Nations Chronicle article explains why that is an important concern. ” Common worries are that population ageing and decline result in labour and skills shortages, weaken economic productivity and innovation, slow economic growth and development, impose unsustainable fiscal pressure on governments and people, lead to cultural and ethnic shifts in societies, and weaken the political and military power of countries.” It’s not difficult to see how this could lead to societal breakdown at some point.

    What’s Next

    In the article to follow, I’ll discuss these areas of concern in an historical context. I hope to show how these conditions have been present in prior collapses of societies or civilizations.

    Roman Forum Ruins

  • THE ART OF INSPIRATION

    I’ve said it before in at least one of these articles. My highest purpose as a human being is to inspire others. I aspire to inspire. I may not be tremendously effective, but I will strive for it. I’d like now to take a look at the different ways we can inspire others and how it can be done most effectively.

    One Person at a Time

    Perhaps the most subtle and maybe the most important form of inspiration is done by example. Parents have the opportunity to instill good actions and habits in their children simply by being the people they should be. I don’t mean to make that sound easy. We have our shortcomings, our defenses and our own special examples of ignorance. It’s tough being a perfect parent, but there are those who naturally show the way without being preachy about it. They are the heroes of our civilization.

    Similarly, there are those who inspire simply by using their talent. By doing what they do, whether it’s professionally or by displaying their hobbies, they make others want to rise to another level in whatever endeavor. The singer in concert, the artist exhibiting in a gallery, the IT expert showing you the way through the technical maze all might spark a career path for a lost individual.

    In a Cluster

    Inspiration of this type comes in a classroom, a Zoom room, any meeting venue or wherever a group of people gathers. Teachers can lift their students with knowledge, club leaders can point their members along the path of improvement and innovators can excite their sponsors with ideas.

    En Masse

    Then there are those who find a platform to inspire many at one time. The gifted speakers, the over-achievers, the athletes who outperform the best of the best. Whether it’s the spiritual teacher, the rare beloved politician, or the charismatic actor just to name a few, this person who can uplift the masses is a wonder of humanity.

    How to Inspire

    I refer now to an author I respect very much and a book he wrote called Inspiration. The subtitle is Your Ultimate Calling. The author is Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. He lists a number of ways we can be an inspiration to others. Following is the list and a short key excerpt from each item.

    1. Kindness: “…one simple act of kindness and service that’s in alignment with our Source will do more to inspire others than lectures on the virtues of being a thoughtful citizen ever could.”
    2. Gratitude: “If we practice gratitude as opposed to maintaining an attitude of entitlement, we’ll automatically extend inspiration wherever we go.”
    3. Generosity: “Generous actions are always inspirational if we just spend a few seconds to notice and appreciate them. The message is that we must give whatever it is that we have that will benefit others.”
    4. Listening: “…we’re far more inspiring to others when we’re willing to listen than when we’re giving them advice. That’s because conveying to others that we value what they have to say is a way of demonstrating that we care.”
    5. Being at peace: “…when we simply demonstrate that we’re living peacefully, we offer other people a large dose of inspiration by our mere presence.’
    6. Living passionately: “When we’re enthusiastically living our passion, whatever it may be, we transmit spiritual signals to those around us that we’re in-Spirit, loving who we are, what we came here to be, and whoever comes into our field of vision.”
    7. Truth: “…we need to live and breathe truth because nothing inspires other people more than being in its energy field.”

    An Art Within Reach

    A point of admiration I have for Wayne Dyer’s approach to being an inspiration to others is that it doesn’t require a superpower. We don’t have to be a star. We don’t have to produce the next great thing. We don’t need to have enough money to start a foundation. We can inspire whoever enters our sphere simply by being a giving, open, loving person who cares about others. Quietly setting a fine example is purely inspirational. We can do this. May we make it so.

    An act of kindness