Death and Extinction
The Battle for What REALLY Matters
Pope Francis was a remarkable man. I grieve the loss, even though I am not Catholic. The lessons he endeavored to instill not just on his faithful, but to the whole world, are values we should all work to carry forward. Acceptance, love, pacifism, outreach, decency. It’s impossible to open a newspaper, turn on the TV, even just accessing the internet, without seeing his biography, his works. So I won’t. Just remember that in a world turned upside down, led in large part by self-serving oligarchs and narcissists, Pope Francis stood for morals and ethics that mattered. Things that make the world a better place.
Two days before Pope Francis passed, the NY Times columnist Russ Douthat wrote a column entitled An Age of Extinction Is Coming. Here’s How to Survive. You can read it in its entirety here. There’s an option to listen to it, instead of reading it, but READ IT - I’ll explain why in a bit. He writes of bottlenecks, defined in the column as:
“bottleneck” — a period of rapid pressure that threatens cultures, customs and peoples with extinction.
Douthat speaks in broad stokes about what will end up lost via bottlenecks, and YOU REALLY SHOULD READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE NOW. (No paywall.)
His future world is bleak. And his conclusion that only through intentionality and action can it be slowed, and in some cases stopped, is correct.
So here are a few things that I took from Douthat’s column as small actions we all can take. At least, these are things of Douthat’s list that matter to me. Your mileage may vary.
First, phones. Back in the day, we talked on the phone. We talked to another human. If you’re old enough, you remember party lines, where you spoke to multiple people. Now - texts, emails, other forms of communication with no contact.
So much is lost in terms of human connection. I consider myself a very good writer, and still I have trouble inserting “tone” into writings, especially text messages. Sure, there are emojis, but many people (myself included) have NO IDEA what most of them mean.
So CALL PEOPLE. Even if that means sending a text that says “I want to talk to you. Are you free now? If not, when is a good time?” There is something to a human voice. The intonations, the laughter, shared experiences. Yes, it’s better still to meet in person, but if out in the diaspora, phoning will suffice.
The point is, HUMAN CONNECTION is imperative.
Next, Blockbuster. Who remembers? It wasn’t just that you ran to Blockbuster for the latest release, but you were in the store with other people, and often discussed what you’d seen, what someone else thought about a movie you were thinking of renting. And then, you didn’t watch that movie alone, it was with friends and family - a shared experience. Simultaneously, we used to go TO the movies. In the theatre. With the other people, and that pervasive smell of “butter-flavoured” popcorn.
If you’re anything like me, you talked to the people around you while waiting for the previews to start, and made mental notes of which upcoming movies you’d like to see in the theatre, and which could wait for video.
People were engaged with movies, whether at the theatre or at home. The group gasp! The laughter! The tears! There were no cell phones, and especially no one talking on a cell phone. It was an experience.
Now? People watch by themselves on their computers, phones, tablets. While a flick may be worthwhile, something is truly lost when there is no one nearby with whom to share the adventure.
Watch movies with others!
On to travel agents, and by extension, other industries destroyed by technology1. I had a road job for 8 years, I was on the road more than 40 weeks a year, and I had a travel agent. I would call her, and it wasn’t just that she booked flights, hotels and rental cars, but she knew things. Which flight had a tendency to be late, and therefore risk a connection. Which hotel I would love, and which would make me miserable. Fun things to do in a strange city when my work finished for the day.
Like everyone else, I know how to book online, where to check for the best prices, how to look up every aspect of a trip. While the logistics are the same, I don’t have the framework my travel agent had regarding nuance and specificity.
Think about all that has already been lost regarding specialists in all sorts of various fields. It’s imperative that we hold on to what has not yet been lost.
Books! It used to be that people read books. Can you relate to me? I have a chair in my living room bought specifically to read books. It’s width is perfect for my height, so that one arm supports my head and neck, and the other is the correct distance for me to flop my legs over. I’ve spent (and still spend) countless hours lost in a mystery, or a great story, engrossed in the characters and their dialogue2. Generally until a dog jumps on me to point out that it’s been h-o-u-r-s and it’s time for a walk or dinner.
What does it say that too many kids today (and even adults) don’t read a book? One poll showed that almost half of all American adults hadn’t read a book in the prior year. Source. Talk to any teacher from elementary school through grad school and they’ll tell you that their students eschew reading. Too many use AI to “get the gist” and hope it gets them through the exams3.
It’s not just the enjoyment of reading - it’s the brain power it takes to absorb all that is in a book. Reading books improves memory. It engages. Reading, and reading comprehension, make people smarter. As an aside, reading a paper book is far more effective than reading a book on an eReader. Source.
There are those who say “I’ll just listen to an audiobook.” Most people who say this4 contend that they like books, but don’t have time to read, and so they listen to audiobooks. While driving, doing housework, out walking in the park, etc. Meaning that they are multitasking. If you’re commuting in traffic, are you listening to your audiobook, or focusing on that truck that’s trying to get into your lane?
But reading matters, and an audiobook is better than nothing.
So where do we go from here? Book clubs. Discuss what you read, get that human interaction, share your insights.
I have read 3 books in my life that completely changed everything I knew about the world. They influence me to this day. Books are magic. PLEASE READ, and then discuss.
Finally, plays, ballets and dance recitals, operas, and other live group activities. There is something about a live performance that cannot be duplicated when watching on a screen. It’s not just the energy of the audience, it’s the interaction with the people on the stage.
I have such memories — of seeing Cab Calloway at Lincoln Center (and Minnie the Moocher is spectacular), the Boshoi at Wolftrap, so close to the stage I could see sweat fly off the dancers, every Shakespeare play that Joseph Papp put on, on Broadway and in the park. I could go on. But the point is if no one goes to see them, there will be no need for concert halls, and theatres, and the like. Be it Broadway or community theatre, Lincoln Center or a local venue, they need to be saved. What a loss for future generations if they are forever lost to history.
Russ Douthat writes about saving institutions, religion and family units. And he’s got a point. But the things I listed are things I want to save from extinction5.
Please READ THE COLUMN and think about what YOU want to save. For yourself, your children, grandchildren, and all that come after you.
I’m sure you can add to this list: switchboard operators (I did that job!) remember when you called somewhere and you got a human, and they were able to connect you to the right person, or take a message? Elevator operators, film developers (remember cameras?), milkmen (“Yes, I’m SURE mom said we could have chocolate milk today.”), toll booth operators (I knew one in New Hampshire and boy oh boy oh chef-Boy-Ar-Di did she have stories!) - the list goes on, and there are a lot of jobs that exist today and are facing extinction, to all our detriment.
In the interest of full disclosure, I read my non-fiction books at a desk, because normally I need to take notes and potentially check facts on the computer. It’s a whole different experience from fiction.
As always, I say that blue books would solve SOOOOO many educational problems.
With the exception of the blind and visually impaired.
This is independent of my desire to save democracy. Two things can happen at once.
I've been thinking about your post all day. I think everything you said applies to just about everyone I know who is 40+. But when it comes to all my relatives, friends, and acquaintances under 40, I don't think much applies. They don't want to live the lives we've lead, any more than we wanted to live our parents' lives. They go to concerts and movies - but to those we would hate. They communicate in person, but have zero interest in phone calls - and that is just fine.i can tell you from hanging out in the high school atrium or cafeteria, that when teenagers are together, the noise is deafening. They are talking non-stop. (They text DURING class 😂)
I spend a few days a week with elementary school kids, too, and have never met a single one who didn't love reading and who wasn't excited going to the "library class." I know this is also true of my many great nieces and nephews in Colorado. I stay away from middle school, but even in high school, they read a lot. Yes the books are online, but so what? Isn't the objective to absorb the content? And I've never seen little kids more excited about math then when the lessons are on their iPads.
It kills me sometimes when I realize most young people are not that interested in learning from my experiences, or want to avail themselves of my hard-fought wisdom. But that's perfectly normal and perfectly fine. We already lived our youth - they deserve the same opportunity. Their ideas about what makes a well-rounded adult are going to be different from ours. And as difficult as it is, we can't keep telling them we know what's best for them - they aren't going to listen. Did we? What we can do is lead by example and trust the best of what we have to offer will make a meaningful impression upon them.
Ah... my fervent dream would be for religions - all religions - to disappear. 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished...
We have season tickets to our local Musical Theatre Company - saw "Grease" last week - and a local "Immersive Theatre" - seen some great shows there, as well - Clue, Misery, The Mousetrap, to name a few. We had season tickets to Footlighters in Berwyn when we lived east. LOVE live theatre!
We don't do movie theatres much, anymore... There's really no bang for the buck. I'll see a live performance in a heartbeat. Movies, at home.
And I read... My local library has a ton of digital books out and I download them onto my Kindle. Yes, I like holding an actual book, but I have access to bazillions of books whenever I want - I can read on my phone, my Kindle, iPad or computer and have each sync to where I left off on the last. That is some positive computer usage.
And, yes, I go to the physical library, as well. And we just donated six boxes of books to them!
Victor was a Travel Agent! Ah... the perks we used to get with his IATA card! I never knew the back of the plane existed!
When I was in the Hotel Biz, we would host "Fam Trips" - Familiarization Trips - for Travel Agents. We would wine and dine them, and entertain and schmooze the living shit out of them to get them to sell our property. They were over-the-top extravaganzas.
Hotels paid commissions to them. When Travelocity, et al, first came into existence, hotels switched to them - less commissions paid. Then, when they realized they could save even more money, they brought it in-house.
Today, it is generally less expensive for the consumer to book directly with hotel/air/car than use an online or independent agent.
Automation has led to the demise of jobs since automation first came into being. We no longer have elevator operators, switchboard operators (I've run a plug-in PBX board in my youth!), pin boys... Milkmen and breadmen are now niche jobs for niche dairies and bakeries.
I kinda get what Douthat is saying - Zager and Evans immediately comes to mind - but I think he's also giving the human race a lot more credit to fight the changes than we deserve. My first thought was about smallpox. A Vaccine was developed in 1796, but in 1850 New York City, there were so many smallpox cases that they actually built a hospital for them on Roosevelt Island. People wouldn't take the vaccine because they thought it would deform babies, people would grow hooves, personal liberty, and any number of ludicrous reasons... Notice how far we haven't evolved?!?
Shopping Malls destroyed Downtown. Barnes and Noble destroyed the independent bookseller, Amazon destroyed shopping malls, Barnes and Noble, and everything else.
The common thread in all of this is - besides mere technology - is corporate greed. Monopolies controlling our newspapers and airwaves. Controlling travel choices, availability, and pricing. Controlling our politics. Controlling. Everything.
The Earth's population is projected to reach 9 billion people by 2037 - 12 years from now - and 10 billion people by 2058. It seems as if Douthat's idea of reproduction is a bit off - unless, of course, he just means white, European-types.
I'll be 85 in 2037 when we reach 9 billion - and I plan on still being around because there are just too many people I haven't yet annoyed. 2058?!? Probably not. But I can guarantee you that I won't be in a plot in the ground with a headstone.
And I will continue to buy real books for my great-nieces and nephews - as I did for their parents before them. And continue our vegetable garden - we redid the raised beds this year, already! And I will continue to find joy with Victor, in cooking and baking, in travel when we can (we're off to Vancouver, BC tomorrow for a week!), and all the new babies in our family - last one born early March, next one due late May.
We have fucked up this planet so badly, that maybe a complete reboot wouldn't be such a bad idea...
Hopefully, not tomorrow, though. There's a particular Canadian Whisky that I want to revisit...
And is it bad that languages disappear and, at some point, we all speak a similar language that we all understand? Is it bad that artificial lines drawn on a map disappear and people migrate freely as we once did?