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I have realized that for the past few years I’ve been developing a semi-conscious feeling that at some point within my lifetime, society as I know it will cease to be. I think this is brought on by a few factors, and is probably more related to American society than human civilization at large. Nothing lasts forever, after all, and all empires go through a cycle of power. It feels to me like America hit its peak in the 80s and 90s, and is now on a downward trend. So in the back of my head, I’m always thinking to myself, “How can I save up, and what skills should I be honing, for that inevitable day (or more likely, decade) when it all crumbles?”
I think people in general are paid too much money for what they do, and it also seems like the majority of jobs don’t really provide anything concrete to society. The entertainment industry seems unbalanced in regards to other industries, for example — farmers feed us, construction workers house us, but the entertainment industry isn’t something that’s necessary for us to live, yet so many of our resources are tied up in it. I just met someone the other night who works in marketing, and her salary is close to $200,000. On the one hand, good for her! On the other… I think there are too many jobs like this, and economically speaking, sooner or later something’s gotta give. And it seems to be in the process of giving way.
Our monetary system is so complex that it is an industry unto itself. One of the larger ones, in fact. Doesn’t something seem logically wrong with that — like something akin to a circular argument? And America is spending its dwindling riches feeding money into China to keep its lifestyle, which is essentially propelling the destruction of the environment. Not to get all treehuggin’, but I’ve heard that China has now surpassed America in carbon emissions (or if not already, then they will very soon). And with how their government is, I think that trend will only grow.
I looked out across the waters of Chicago, over to the mass of abandoned buildings in Gary, Indiana… and I wondered, “How long until most of America is like that? How long until people have taken so much from the land that it can no longer support all of us?” I imagine a world of people starving, crippled by the comforts of modern life and unable to survive without them. And the crazy part is, a big part of me looks forward to it. I think it’s best summed up by Chuck Palahniuk, so I will leave you with this quote:
“In the world I see, you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You’ll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You’ll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. And when you look down, you’ll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.”
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