Only through illumination of the past does a new future become visible. Here is where I take an incredibly complex idea and distill it down to an essential 100 words. I have been sat at my computer this past first week of January 2021 observing all the incredible goings-on. Obviously, the U.S. Capitol attack was a global news event, but as I note what the mainstream keeps pushing at us, I also notice how fearful it all was. No news of what was going on that was good, because that is not newsworthy. Only fear and sensationalism sell’s advertising and messaging that keeps the masses under control. And the currency of control is fear, and always has been.
Think about the transition from the dark ages to the middle ages and then to the Renaissance within the European part of the globe. In a nutshell (and I am really keeping it simple), after the fall of Rome as a stabilizing influence (brutal but essentially stable), there was essentially a long period of individual rulers or warlords roaming and ruling the various regions of Europe. After the rulers became more established there began a long period of feudalism. Sometime around 1500 began the Renaissance, which is a French word meaning “rebirth” specifically referring to a return to learning focused on the teaching of teachings of Ancient Greece and Rome. This period was marked by a transition from rulers to republics of various kinds of government that we now take for granted as ‘the way it is.’
In general, the people that controlled societies controlled the information. Disruptive change occurred when people were able to read and discuss information more freely, which made control of the masses more difficult. The invention of the printing press by Guttenberg and Caxton was as revolutionary as the internet is today. It gave the masses access to information the controllers did not, and do not, want us to know. Much of the printed word could be managed by editors even as isolated free-presses were outlawed. The mass-media almost satirically called itself the free-press and sold its image as such. The rulers changed their roles from warlords, to rulers, and then to corporate heads and world bankers as was needed. The turmoil and excessive censorship we currently see is because of the societal disruption caused by free-information that the controllers are desperately trying to manage.
I think we are on the verge of a New Renaissance, which I will refer to in Latin as the Nova Renascentia, to delineate it more clearly. I think it had its roots in the conservation movements of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and blossomed with the environmental and social movements after WWII. In sociology, historic social transformation periods are referred to as the enlightenment era (the long-18th century), or the post-modern era after WWII. So, for just for the sake of this post’s topic I will refer to now as the Post-Renaissance Period, which I think we are leaving for something new arising. All the crappola this past 2020 has set the stage for what I see as the most significant change for over 500 years. I keep hearing people wanting to get back to normal. Seriously, is the world of pre-2020 with its ecological and economic collapses the one we really want to go back to? The year of 2020 was a shit-storm of more than just a viral agent, but a clear indicator of all that was wrong before C-19 reared its ugly head.
Change can and will happen. Do we let the controllers make our decisions (as sheeple) in this brave new world (and yes, the reference to Huxley is deliberate), or do we finally say enough is enough and push for what we want to see? A world where humanity evolves past the ethnocentric boundaries of the past.
Rachel Carson sat down to write a book about agricultural toxins in the environment – Silent Spring – never knowing that it would begin a revolution. Rosa Parks in Alabama refused to give her seat up on a bus and created a storm that started changing how we thought about social justice in America. Increasingly, we see the privatization of public Institutions, with austerity for the people but not the rich. Let’s stop punishing the people and invest in work that employs people and builds communities of all kinds that are run by the people – the U.S. constitution starts with “We the People…” but it has not been that for a long while.
What we need is Constructive Social Evolution, not destructive revolution. We need a world with Compassion, Empathy and Collaboration – Community Building. We can be victims or creators of our circumstances – we can fight the exiting hierarchy or we can simply bypass them and begin building a different kind of global community that works for all of us. Why do we keep waiting for permission from the hierarchy? No, I’m serious. Let’s get away from the fear-based mass media and start spreading stories that empower and enhance our thinking and ability to work together.
The quote below is one I used before, but it captures the idea of this post nicely:
“You can argue all day about whether one person not using a plastic straw or going vegan will make a difference. The point is the mindset. We need to change our thinking from this idea that Earth is a bottomless pit of resources and start acting like what we do matter. Changing the philosophy of cultures and societies starts with individuals changing their own hearts and minds. That’s the importance of grassroots action. It’s not that my composting will empty landfills of food waste but my changed mind and heart may influence others. And that could spread and Change the world.” Olga Evans
At this point many of you will be waiting for the bulleted list of what to do. The Nova Renascentia isn’t a bulleted list but an evolution of human consciousness about how to live well in the world. Indigenous peoples have this and all humans had it once, long ago before we tried this experiment called civilization – I have commented on this before (e.g., Reframing and Visualizing a New Society 1 {March 2018}). Many groups and people have done the bulleted lists of what to do, and there are endless books on transformation of technology and societal living for moving to sustainability, but most of them try to do it from the competitive consumer platform of consciousness. We have to recognize that we have to grow-up as a species, and the good news is that is what is already occurring – slowly perhaps, but we are reaching a critical mass when the Nova Renascentia is about to happen in a big way. Change is here. We just have to make that conscious choice for which change we select. Stay tuned……
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