2011: The year to think for ourselves

There is more pressure today than ever to follow the herd, jump on the latest bandwagon and get sucked into hype from all quarters about everything from what the global economy will do, terrorism, climate change, the degradation of natural resources that cannot be replenished as fast as we use them up, the end of the world as we know it in December 2012, the threat of becoming wholly insignificant if we are not centre stage for internet search engines and so on. We are bombarded with reasons to be afraid from media, politicians and religious leaders, extremists and doomsdayers. We seek advice from self appointed gurus and experts on pretty much anything you care to mention. I am astounded at how many online ‘secrets‘ and information sharing is about how to make more and more money. How much is enough doesn’t seem to come into it - all we are told we need is MORE. We humans really do seem to be obsessed with abdicating responsibility and finding others who will tell us what to do, and even what to want.

These are issues we can all consider for ourselves but many of us seem to have no confidence in our own ability to trust our own wisdom or think for ourselves. Day to day rushing about, attention monopolised by immediate concerns like how to pay the bills or who will win an Oscar are manifestations of our priorities. To think for oneself requires the head space to pause and reflect on the bigger picture we are all painting for ourselves and future generations. Make no mistake, we are painting that picture without much of a clue of what we want it to look like due to a current lack of global visionary leadership. This is not a judgement. It is a matter of us never having been here before - so connected, so interdependant, so influencial in some ways, so powerless in others. We have no experience of dealing with the complexities we are faced with so that makes it even more vital to recognise there is no one Guru with the all answers.

In my view we must do our own research, sift through the hype and find trusted sources of information. I believe this is a niche that is woefully bereft of unbiased seekers of truth since genuine investigative journalism struggles to get through the filters of self interest of those who control what we get to see and what is kept from view. Mainstream media appears to be being progressively dumbed down and filled with the most unbelieveable nonsense in the name of ‘news’ and the collective intelligence and wisdom of the masses is insulted every day.

What every one of us can do is join the dots ourselves and make choices from there. We can bemoan the idea that climate change is being accelerated by our own efforts. We can strive for changes in thinking and behaviour, search for new technologies and minimise energy waste and hope some bright spark thinks of a solution. At the same time we can also learn to read the writing on the wall. The facts apparently show the planet was warmer by .5 degrees in 2010. When you put that information together with that which indicates the planet has been gradually warming for the past 30 plus years, we must accept that extreme weather events such as those we have experienced this summer in Sri Lanka, Brazil, Australia and Indonesia will likely become more frequent and it is us who must adapt. What we have seen this summer (and winter in the northern hemisphere) so far are loud messages - they are shouts to our consciousness to adapt to new conditions. Calling them one in one or two hundred year events amplifies their power but I suspect we will see more rather than less of these centenarians in years to come. “Were the floods of 2013 as big as the floods of 2014?” we will ask....never mind 100 years ago. We won’t have to look far back at all for the most powerful events in recorded history because they are happening now. It’s time we realised King Canute’s belief in his own power to send back the tide was fantasy, and so is ours. As so many have said before, the earth would be fine without us but our precious planet is what we all arise from so we must respect the nature of that relationship or we will become just another transitory species that failed to adapt and died out. We do not have ultimate control, not even of ourselves when push comes to shove. The narrow band of comfort we strive to preserve is as fragile as a bubble blown with dishwashing liquid through a bent wire coat hanger.

Let’s hope the lessons being learned from recent climate events will be heeded in the inevitable future scenarios we are likely to see as global weather patterns continue to wreak havoc on human and animal life. The very least we can all do personally is embrace the idea that extreme weather events are growing in frequency (whatever the reasons) and ensure we are prepared to take care of ourselves at least for a few days if the worst happened in our own neighbourhoods. Australians are now largely educated in the need to be prepared for bushfires - it has become habit as a response to what is known about the risk and whole communities get involved in planning and preparation. Let’s do the same regarding education about what our most likely scenarios could be - maybe earthquake, storms and floods? A TV advertisment now and then won’t do the job.

Let’s make 2011 the year of thinking for ourselves and intelligent preparation (without getting paranoid). You may not be able to google what to do after the fact so give you and your family a break and at least have a conversation, make a plan for yourselves and organise some sort of emergency kit if you don’t have one already - make sure you include a battery operated radio. Go through the same process in your workplace and with your neighbours. As businesses in Brisbane found out recently, emergency plans cannot just be filed away or not considered at all these days. Everyone needs a plan B for when things don’t go as normal and everyone needs to understand the benefits of having a plan even if you never need to use it (the ideal scenario). This level of basic responsibility frees emergency services and civil defence angels to offer help where they are needed most when crisis hits.

And that’s it from my view.
Amanda