Paganistan: Notes from the Secret Commonwealth

In Which One Midwest Man-in-Black Confers, Converses & Otherwise Hob-Nobs with his Fellow Hob-Men (& -Women) Concerning the Sundry Ways of the Famed but Ill-Starred Tribe of Witches.

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The Emperors Are Bare: Some Larger Lessons of the Covid Outbreak

Maybe there are too many human beings.

Virtually all of our current ecological problems—climate change, among them—come down to the fact that the number of human beings on the planet far outstrips Earth's carrying capacity. If we don't do something about it ourselves, "Nature"—i.e. the gods—will take care of it. (They're doing that now.) Is that really what we want?

Maybe globalization isn't such a good idea after all.

If the world's supply of Thing One is made in Country A, and suddenly for some reason Country A can't produce Thing One any more, then there's a problem. Maybe relegating manufacturing to Somewhere Else isn't really in our long-term best interest. Maybe we need to make locally what we need locally.

Maybe raising most of our food Somewhere Else isn't such a good idea after all, either.

Before World War II, most American cities were surrounded by farm belts. As supply chains stretch thin, can we see why this might be a good idea today?

Maybe routine air travel needs to become a thing of the past.

Face it, routine air travel is responsible for the spread of covid-19. Maybe the airlines are an industry whose time has passed.

Maybe the age of Global Religion is over.

Easter mass is off. This year's hajj is canceled.

Back in the old days, pretty much all religion was local, and we all took responsibility for our own spiritual lives. Then came the age of Spiritual Imperialism.

Well, folks, the Emperors are bare.

Maybe it's time for Local Religion again.

 

 

 

 

 

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Poet, scholar and storyteller Steven Posch was raised in the hardwood forests of western Pennsylvania by white-tailed deer. (That's the story, anyway.) He emigrated to Paganistan in 1979 and by sheer dint of personality has become one of Lake Country's foremost men-in-black. He is current keeper of the Minnesota Ooser.

Comments

  • Jamie
    Jamie Saturday, 04 April 2020

    Mr. Posch,

    All good points, and well said.

    Praise be to the Goddesses and Gods. I've been saying a lot of the same things about globalization for a long time.

    Ross Perot was right about the economic aspects of this thirty years ago, and not enough people listened.

    The rise of monotheism was also intertwined with the centralization of political power, in many if not most cases. Decentralization will only help our cause in the long run.

    Jamie

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