When Do We Take Action?

The conventional wisdom in Alcoholics Anonymous is that alcoholism is a 'disease' of the ego -- self-centeredness. Basically the alcoholic becomes trapped in his or her own point of view and denies any other perspective on 'reality'. The alcohol is a symptom of a loss of control and choice -- a condition of cognitive blindness and a self-destructive pattern of behavior.

I have distinguished that culture works the same way. That is, the ego is to the individual what culture is to an organization or society -- a self-referential structure of interpretation (a worldview) that blinds us to possibilities, robs us of any semblance of choice, and eventually results in some form of 'hitting bottom'. The belief in AA is that no one really 'gets it' and does what needs to be done to sober up until this happens. The only question is where is the bottom?

I introduce this analogy because it has become obvious over the past few years that our way of life (as we've known it) is changing radically and at a pace that was unimaginable not long ago. Every day we see more and more evidence that this is nothing compared to what's coming.

There are at least three major forces driving this kind of transformational change. One is the environment. Two is the economy. Three is the demographic impact of an aging population. All of these are interconnected. There may be other factors. Whatever the case, it is clear that if we don't take action related to these three areas then we will remain 'out of control' for the foreseeable future and in all probability will 'hit bottom' sometime in the not too distant future.

There is nothing new in this recognition. People have been sounding alarms about the impact human beings are having on the environment for decades. At some point, it doesn't matter whether we all agree or disagree about a particular statistic or threat to our water, climate, arable land, ozone, oceans, estuaries. It is all serious enough that prudence would call for strong action sooner than later. The alternative is to wait until the evidence is so strong that it can no longer be denied. The question is whether that will also be too late to take corrective action.

President Obama is making trillion dollar bets to fix the economy. Even if successful, a recovery will be short-lived unless, as David Korten says, we can build our economic future based on creating real value and real demand rather than playing the kind of self-serving financial games on paper that 'stack the deck' in favor of the financial professionals and their clientele at the expense of the average person.

According to The Economist's report on aging, one in three Americans will be over 60 in the next 11 years and that number will reach more than 2 billion worldwide by 2050. The predictable impact of this number of older people on public spending is unprecedented. More importantly, it is threatening to turn grandparents and grandchildren into constituents competing for scarce resources and further eroding our sense of family and community.

Our idea of 'Eldering' as a context for transforming our experience of growing includes the idea of our being responsible elders and putting our wisdom into action. Just as in AA, the question of "Where is the bottom?" is the same question that confronts us with respect to our aging population. Sixty percent of those over 60 are facing some form of economic hardship. Without a different attitude, expectation and relationship with money, this will certainly result in widespread suffering.

Age is not just about individuals. It is about all of us -- how we define ourselves and our value and our relationship with each other. We are already seeing that many of our models for 'retirement' are changing. We can see the handwriting on the wall: we cannot expect the young to pay 1/3 of their income to care for the old. We need new models for understanding our value and for living together in communities that work for people of all ages.

Each of us needs to be in action today if we're going to have a choice as a society in the future. We need to 'sober up', face reality and find or create a 'new' reality. Just as an alcoholic cannot imagine what life might be without alcohol, none of us knows what the world will look like in the coming decade. But we do know this: it will be different than any of us can imagine. And the choice of what it will be is up to us.

Comments

[speedy0314]

your understanding of AA's "conventional wisdom" is as superficial as your take on contemporary economics.

AA's unconventional wisdom is defined explicitly as a 3-fold 'illness' of mind, body, & spirit. while part of its 'solution' for conquering ‘alcoholism’ includes 'ego-deflation', its primary thrust is in finding & maintaining a personal relationship with an intervening God ('higher power'). part & parcel of that 'relationship' requires turning one's 'will & life over to’ that God.

sorry to skewer your neat metaphor, but multi-national financial institutions relying on the imaginary (e.g., derivatives markets & monetization of wildly irresponsible credit allowances) is what got us in the economic mess. looking for more 'imaginary' solutions out of our 'self-centered' individual fiscal practices might make for a tidy blog post, but it's hot air.

joe consumer buying the plasma screen TV & the house he couldn't afford on shaky credit grounds isn't what collapsed institutional investment banking on a global scale. it was the institutions who gambled on turning an imaginary boom into lasting prosperity.

economic models need to change. as does individual conscientiousness about the limits & harsh ramifications of an unfettered, unregulated free-market economy. but the definition of "creating real value and real demand" is a very fluid one (witness your own opining on a largely 'virtual' media space).

following the voice of a God / higher power got us 8 years of Bush/Cheney -- whose vested interests in civilian defense contracting has emerged quite the economic winner in this bear market.

[Sinick]

We Americans are missing something that many other cultures practice. Living together with your elders instead of having them scratching out a living in their own home or paying mega dollars to put them in assisted living, adult communities or nursing homes.

Think about it. Virtually free day care, baby sitters and pre-schooling from somebody you absolutely trust. Somebody who has the patience and life experience that they will gladly pass along to our young. This would not only save the average family tons of cash but increase the quality of life for everybody.

Why is it that we Americans are compelled to stash away our elders? All I know is that the banksters, local tax collectors and the industries related to nursing homes and assisted living do not want change because they are raking in the dough.