Apocalypse

People often make the mistake of thinking that “apocalypse” refers to some final calamity, some cosmic unavoidable cataclysm. I have heard major media outlets and politicians misuse the word in this way. In fact, the Greek word means revelation, a sudden dramatic act of vision. During our current apocalypse, many things are revealed including spin, dis-information, second agendas and many acts of heroism and dedication…it is a confusing series of sights.

Two things have become clearer to me. One is that there is a vast socio-cultural network of politicians, journalists, religious leaders and marketers of all sorts that are sparing no energy or expense in an effort to tell me exactly what I should think and feel. These are the opinion engineers and they are the direct opposite of revelation and they rely on our cultural education. The pressure for “right thinking” and fitting in are their allies and the pressure they exert changes one’s honest reactions as inexorably as ocean pressures change the beautiful lines of a lost ship into an unrecognizable mass of twisted parts. The result is a bit grotesque and no truth is to be found.

We also contribute to the transmogrification. A heady mix of what we want to believe and what seems “fitting” obscures our vision. Much of the deformation has to do with our own strange views of ourselves. We add volume to the chorus of those that would influence us by asking ourselves things like, ” what will the neighbors think ” or “that just isn’t done” or “how does this effect me’; we lose perspective and we lose the sense of personal tragedy that is all around us.

It is, of course, easier to conform with certain narratives that tell us it will be over soon and it’s not so bad after all. We conceal much of our alarm and grief because we are daily being told to do so. When the truth is told, a storm of gaslighting, decision and isolation is often the result. The “agreeing machines” are humming and we are all asked to get on board the train of half-truths that they manufacture.

Kurt Vonnegut once said, “so in the interests of survival, they trained themselves to be agreeing machines. All their minds had to do was discover what other people were thinking and then, they thought that too.” The current situation has pushed those that operate the agreeing machines to the point that we can not ignore them. Daily, we are presented with the patrty line as the heart breaking news piles up. Not allowing us to properly grieve is a sin in itself. The, “it will soon go away” crowd hopes that we will fall in line.

The second revelation is more positive. There actually are those that tell us the truth and let us deal with that truth without spin. They have the guts to think for themselves and the good sense to avoid a glossing over with a deluge of Hallmark Messages. They are not scammers but vessels of truth. They are scientists.

So here’s to those that think for themselves and insist on the primacy of their own, true feelings. The doctors, the medical staffs, various Governors and others have thrown a monkey wrench into the cogs of the agreeing machine. I will listen to their words to clarify a vision of what’s really going on.

Their candor will save many lives.