Checks and Balances

Sent by Lauren Jane Heller    |   March 15, 2020

The world’s greatest stories revolve around a simple truth: a world out of balance is a world in chaos.

It’s the theme of many of my favourite novels and TV shows. It’s also the major takeaway from most chapters of human history. Hubris and the very human desire to control outcomes — typically based on incomplete and dogmatic world views — have been the weak point of civilizations for as long as we have recorded history. Empires fall because those in power believe in their god-like superiority. Natural systems are abused and famines decimate populations. Extreme population density is dry powder in a keg: all it takes is a spark and fwoop!... everything that was is no more. 

So here we are, sitting at home during this hyper-real moment of the 21st century, watching history unfold before our eyes. There is no space for hubris. Praying to the gods won’t change the outcomes. Getting on with business as usual won’t work either — this isn’t a business as usual moment. In fact, it’s one of those rare times when we, the entire human population, can slow down and scrutinize where things have gone wrong… and celebrate the things that make it right.  

We can look back to the Spanish Flu of 1918, to HIV, to the bubonic plague…to the countless other diseases over which we had no control and little understanding, that decimated and maimed populations, and accept and acknowledge that despite being at the top of the food chain, we are still members of the animal kingdom and part of the ebb and flow of nature.

We can take solace in the knowledge that as with smallpox and HIV, we can find ways to slow the spread of new biological threats, if not cure, contain or eradicate them entirely. We can take necessary measures to keep ourselves safe in the meanwhile, but only if we believe the existential threat they pose. The world will go on without homo sapiens. Our decline would equal opportunity for other species. But if we do value human life, then this is a time to recognize our fragility and do all we can to protect those most vulnerable.

We can take a moment to give thanks to those of our forebears who had the foresight to create systems that support all members of their societies. I know that those of us living in these nations thank our lucky stars. We can also give thanks to the generous among the privileged in the societies where philanthropy is the only recourse, where a lack of social safety net and imbalances in power and respect mean that the people most necessary for the continued functioning of the system — those with the dirty, hard, menial jobs — are typically the ones who will suffer most in times of crisis.

We can join together to ensure that this doesn’t become another blame game, a search for a bogey man that doesn’t exist. We know that looking for scapegoats is easier than building solutions but when a system is under threat we need to strengthen or rebuild it. Now is the time to scratch beneath the surface and think deeply about our beliefs: the hierarchies we have created, the value we have assigned to certain types of work, our views on success. It’s time to question the viability of systems that favour few, that are built on the notion that some humans have greater value than others. We have the power to build stronger communities, where collaboration trumps competition, abundance replaces scarcity, creativity outshines rigidity — but only if we can conquer our fear and choose love and joy and acceptance.  

We can join our loved ones (if only via video chat) to celebrate the things that are remarkable about humankind – our abilities to invent stories to explain the world, our curiosity and natural proclivity toward teaching, our ability to love those not genetically related to us, to form strong bonds that aren’t romantic in nature. We can support each other through the tough times to come, knowing that this is what true success looks and feels like — that love and connection and community are our species’ legacy. These are the things that will endure. These are the things that give life meaning. 

I have joked a few times in the past weeks that it appears there’s nothing better than a global pandemic to help slow the existential threat that is climate change. If there can be any silver lining let it be that by acting together to combat COVID-19, we learn the real power of our global community.

This is a tipping point for humanity. I sincerely hope that as in our favourite stories good overcomes evil, love triumphs over hate, and we walk into the future wiser, kinder and stronger together.

Have a good week of hand-washing and limited social contact,

Love,
LJ

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