Esteemed Colleagues / Readers / Friends:
The past several months have been tumultuous, to say the very least. Since I first started making my on-again and off-again entries in this blog in 2008, we in the United States have seen and experienced much. This applies to me personally, as well. I myself have experienced, first hand, some of the devastating impact of The Great Recession. Well, I am happy to state that I am at least “working” again. Although things are not perfect yet (and they are also not “full-time” yet!), they are also not nearly as bad as they could be. We have to take the time to count our blessings, sometimes.
During the recent tumult, I recommitted myself to going forward with my book project. I have an editor now. Soon, the elements of Terracentrism will be coming to a bookstore (or online sales outlet) near you. The word “Soon” being defined as sometime over the next 12 months, anyway! In the meantime, we'll be discussing some of those issues here.
The next 12 months are going to be very exciting, challenging, nerve wracking, and somewhat unpredictable. The entire world economic system is extremely fragile now. Flashpoints abound. Look at recent events in Europe and Mexico. Much—but by no means all— of this stems from our over-reliance on one single commodity: petroleum. That over-reliance stems from the institutionalization and “mafia-ization” of special interests which can see no other way than to continue to make money from the short-term extraction of still more petroleum—regardless of the long-term political, socio-economic, or ecological costs involved.
The IEA is now cautiously predicting more petroleum price shocks in the near future. This has the feeling—for me anyway—of watching a tsunami approach, in slow motion. This is happening under the noses of an American population which has been left—for the most part—historically demented, politically and economically blinded, and scientifically retarded. I beg your pardon if my harsh words are offensive; however, we are now entering a stage of the crisis where soft-spoken “recommendations” are no longer always appropriate. Our house is on fire now.
How did it get this way in this country? This sorry state of the union has resulted from protracted exposure to decades of so-called educational institutions and media organizations that have left Americans ill-prepared for what is now unfolding all around them. They have likewise been rather ill-served in terms of how to construe new solutions for many of these challenges; hence the motivation for me launching this site. This site is about developing new terms, concepts, and ways of talking and understanding what is now happening to us. This is not just an American problem, of course. It’s global; and that is part of the reason Americans have a hard time understanding it. We--on the whole--have not been well-trained in global and integrative thinking.
In upcoming months, I will be posting draft passages from my new, upcoming book on this site. I will invite public comment, critique, and suggestions. The operative concept here: dialog. There are no real experts for the most part, now. We have to put our heads together in order to figure out what must be done now. We all must (re)learn how to work together—in spite of whatever differences we may have, and in spite of who we “think” we are. The house is on fire now. There is really no time for pride, or vanity, or arrogance, or bigotry. The flames won’t care if you are liberal, conservative, libertarian, socialist, or green or whatever. Any of us may be consumed if we are not careful. Let us put out the fire first. But, before we can even begin to do any of those things effectively, we must quickly—very quickly—begin to understand some of the basic warning signs. Those political-economic warning signs will be the topics of some of my upcoming posts.
Blaine D. Pope
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