As I said in a previous article, “The Future of US,” I have been interested in the ways we can survive and thrive in these difficult times since 1993, when I was given a vision in a sweat lodge ceremony and saw the sinking of the ship of civilization and the launching of lifeboats to a more sustainable world.
From a new book by Luke Kemp, Goliath’s Curse: The Story of Social CollapseI learned about the latest findings that can help us understand our lives, our world, and find hope for the future of humanity. Kemp is a senior research fellow at the Center for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge.
Kemp says,
“With the threat of nuclear war ever-present, the world getting warmer, and the rapid creation of dangerous algorithms, one can’t be blamed for asking: Will we make it?” Kemp goes on to say, “The problem is that most of us are uncomfortable acknowledging that the most common element of culture is they rule through rule. A more appropriate label for these systems of violence is ‘Goliath’. Goliath is a collection of hierarchies in which some individuals dominate others to control energy and labor.”
In her groundbreaking book, The Chalice & the Blade: Our History, Our Future, Internationally recognized scholar, futurist and activist, Riane Eisler wrote,
“We are all familiar with legends of an earlier, more harmonious and peaceful time. The Bible tells of a garden where man and woman lived in harmony with each other and with nature – before a male god decreed that woman would henceforth be subservient to man.”
Eisler goes on to describe two competing systems that continue to influence our lives today.
“The first, which I call the sovereign model, is what is popularly called either patriarchy or matriarchy — the classification of one half of humanity against the other. The second, on which social relations are primarily based in its principle login instead of ranking, it can be described as the partnership model.” Eisler concludes by saying: “In this model – starting from the most fundamental difference in our species, between males and females – difference is not equated with either inferiority or superiority.”
Eisler developed these ideas more recently in her book Cultivating Our Humanity: How Dominance and Partnership Shame Our Brains, Lives, and Futures written with anthropologist Douglas P. Fry. they say
“There is a new urgency to our desire for a more humane world. We are bombarded daily with news of brutal human rights abuses, terrorist attacks, nuclear proliferation and a shift towards the rule of the powerful. New technologies, from artificial intelligence to bioengineering, could have disastrous results if they are driven by cultural values of greed, bigotry and disregard for human rights.”
MenAlive: Helping men and the women who love them since 1972
MenAlive began in 1969 when I held Jemal, my newborn son, in my arms and promised to be a different father to the one my father could be to me and to do all I could to create a world where men are fully healed and engaged with their families and communities throughout their lives. I started MenAlive as my window to the world to share what I was learning about love, life, survival and transformation.
In June, I will be offering exciting new and expanded services at MenAlive. I am looking for men and women who recognize that the world is changing and who want to receive the best guidance and support available to help them live fully, love deeply and make a positive difference in the world. If this sounds like you, read on.
When our daughter, Angela, was born in 1972, it became clear that the health of boys and men and the health of girls and women were forever intertwined, and we could not improve one without improving the other. My wife Carlin and I now have six grown children, seventeen grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. We are committed to helping change our lives for the good of all and for future generations.
I’m sure I don’t need to convince you that people live in ways that are out of balance with the laws of nature. We recognize this imbalance as our climate crisis, endless conflicts and loss of ecological diversity. As the “geologist” and historian Thomas Berry warned:
“We never knew enough. Nor were we sufficiently familiar with all our cousins in the great earth family. Nor could we hear the various creatures of the earth, each telling its own story. The time has come, however, when we will listen or die.”
Many people have given up on humanity and imagine that the world would be better off without us. Others hope that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will save us. I was given a different vision during a sweat lodge ceremony at a men’s leadership conference in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1993.
The vision allowed me to see the sinking ship of sovereignty-civilization and the rising of lifeboats to a new way of life. According to Vaclav Havel, Czech politician, author, playwright and dissident,
“Today, many things show that we are going through a transitional period where it seems that something is progressing and something else is painfully born. It is as if something is collapsing, disintegrating and exhausting, while something else, still undefined, emerges from the ruins.”
At MenAlive, I will introduce my community to innovative programs that offer new ways to communicate, such as “Safe Conversations,” developed by Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt. You can learn about them here: https://quantumconnections.com/.
We also need new ways of healing men’s mental, emotional and relational wounds, such as those developed by Joe Conrad in Man Therapy:
Becoming David: Why men have a critical role to play in overcoming Goliath
Clearly, we need everyone involved if we want to change the world for good. This includes men, women and children. I believe men have a critical role to play. Comedian Elayne Booler captured this thought when she said:
“When women get depressed, they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. It’s a completely different way of thinking.”
In his book Goliath’s CurseLuke Kemp says,
“In the biblical story, Goliath is slain by a sling-wielding future king named David. Defeating Goliath, in fact, is not done alone. Instead, it takes actions that leverage the people and communities around us.”
Kemp offers the following four guiding principles:
- Don’t be Dick
“I’m proposing a simple pledge not to be dumb. This is a pledge not to work for, invest in, or support any company, institute, or individual that contributes significantly to global catastrophic risk.”
“More than that, it’s a promise not to become a Goliath yourself. All of us are capable of being corrupted by power. We all desire status to some degree. Don’t let the darker angels of your nature win.”
2. Be a democrat.
“Practice democracy. Democracy is not just a form of government, it’s a culture and a way of life. What we all need to reclaim.”
3. Vote against the Apocalypse.
“You are a citizen first and foremost, not a consumer. If everyone in Australia (or the US or the UK) started turning off their lights sensibly and choosing lower carbon travel options then it would barely make a dent in national emissions.”
“If they switched their vote to those offering the strongest decarbonisation plans, then suddenly emissions could be eliminated within decades.”
4. Don’t dominate.
“Resist dominance in your relationships, whether personal, family or work.
“One of the earliest and most pernicious stories justifying submission was that of the savior leader. It’s time to say “enough is enough”. It is time to realize the bright and terrifying truth: no god, king, hero or master is going to save us. Slaying Goliath and avoiding evolutionary suicide is, like all great achievements, going to be a collective action. It’s upon us.”
If you want more information about MenAlive, you can visit me here. If you want information about Harville Hendrix and “Safe Conversations” you can do it here. You can learn more about Joe Conrad’s work and his new book Man Therapy here.
You can watch an in-depth interview with Luke Kemp, “Can Collapse Benefit Everyone” here.
