Isn’t raging against the conditions of the time in which one is born inherently lacking in faith?
Also speaking from experience, the backyard goats and friends and family around the table, despite and in the midst of it all, can be pretty damn good even if nobody’s turning back any clocks. We can navigate this time without being destroyed or subsumed by it — and without rejecting it or trying to escape it.
> We can navigate this time without being destroyed or subsumed by it — and without rejecting it or trying to escape it.
We can even influence it! Choose which aspects we want to engage with, which we do not - which flavor of pain we wish to eat, for some pain is inevitable. Over time, we can even insert new forms of alternative modernity into the cultural fray - "backyard goats and friends and family around the table" is a part of this, I think.
There are alternatives to technocratic horrors - alternate operating systems, low-level open source microcode, even smartphones can run without Google/Apple services now.
There are alternatives to transhuman biohackers - homeopathy, herbalism, nutrition, midwifery, without denying the amazing advances in surgical intervention, medical imaging, and lab diagnostics where appropriate.
Manufacturing has been almost entirely democratized - basically anything can be made in a home garage now, and very affordably.
The list goes on, yet the headwind we are up against is that most people are not making these decisions consciously. They're sleepwalkers and always have been. Maybe alternative modernity also needs alternative Philosopher-Kings. Hyperlocal ones.
"Modernity, in all its inhumanity, produced a human who was worth it."
How does one navigate this world of tangled roots? As carefully as possible, holding tight onto the hand of God. I take the above quote as a work of love by a God who takes sin and evil and turns it to make something good come from it. You're right that we can't undo Modernity, just as we can't undo our own sin. What we can do with both is repent. "As for me and my house, we will trust the Lord." You make your corner as neat as you can, you know where the pitfalls are, which are largest in your own soul, and you love those you come in contact with. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your strength, with all your will, with all your might, and this, too, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is nothing new under the sun. The last days are said to be like Noah's. We don't know what the tower of Babel was, but some say it was a ziggurat that the demon gods of old came down to, drinking the blood that was offered, and giving the men of those times the wisdom of how to make great and terrible machines. Or, so I've heard. One thing's for sure. We ain't seen nothing yet.
As usual you produce another article which throws the double speak and complexity up for us to look at in plain daylight. Another gem.
I just wonder - does anyone actually ask the children who grow up, or should I say when said child/ren grow up what they think?
We never seem to get to that stage or hear of the follow-up versions of such things.
The Child vs Adult desire. Instinctual and otherwise.
How much of our human 'nature' are we willing to sacrifice and give up and what is the price to be paid. If we really have any idea at all of who we really and truly are.
This peice really captures the complexty of modern life. The weeds and wheat parable is spot on, we cant pull out one without affecting the other. Its hard to know where to draw the line betweem accepting progress and recognizing when technology has pushed too far into territories we dont fully understand.
Good article, more emotional than your normal output. The world we live in is very strange. But my knee jerk reaction is to think more blonde babies is a net positive.
Very sad stories. Very real stories. Increasingly common stories.
The Savage Reservations of Brave New World existed solely by the grace of Mustafa Mond. They were no threat to The Machine. The Machine was being merciful in not killing them all with the push of a button.
Kingsnorth is fond of this literary analogy - given its implications, I'm not sure why.
Contemplation late at night turns over many uncomfortable rocks, you just did the deed and they can’t be put back in place. Temptations, not all illicit flourish in this New Age environment, it is challenging even to walk one’s own path. You are inspirational , provocative in your writings, keep on keeping on…...
My 15yr old is a huge fan of the Singulaity is Near. I love that about him. I love sci-fi. I also had him read How To Be A Christian in A Brave New World by Joni Earackson Tada. Tada, a paraplegic, writes about all of this stuff in a clear, moving way. The thing is, most evangelicals haven't thought it out.
Sometimes playing with nature backfires badly. Humans seem to not know when or where to quit. I opt for caring for that which already has life. Seems we as a species don't really have that perfected yet either.
Isn’t raging against the conditions of the time in which one is born inherently lacking in faith?
Also speaking from experience, the backyard goats and friends and family around the table, despite and in the midst of it all, can be pretty damn good even if nobody’s turning back any clocks. We can navigate this time without being destroyed or subsumed by it — and without rejecting it or trying to escape it.
> We can navigate this time without being destroyed or subsumed by it — and without rejecting it or trying to escape it.
We can even influence it! Choose which aspects we want to engage with, which we do not - which flavor of pain we wish to eat, for some pain is inevitable. Over time, we can even insert new forms of alternative modernity into the cultural fray - "backyard goats and friends and family around the table" is a part of this, I think.
There are alternatives to technocratic horrors - alternate operating systems, low-level open source microcode, even smartphones can run without Google/Apple services now.
There are alternatives to transhuman biohackers - homeopathy, herbalism, nutrition, midwifery, without denying the amazing advances in surgical intervention, medical imaging, and lab diagnostics where appropriate.
Manufacturing has been almost entirely democratized - basically anything can be made in a home garage now, and very affordably.
The list goes on, yet the headwind we are up against is that most people are not making these decisions consciously. They're sleepwalkers and always have been. Maybe alternative modernity also needs alternative Philosopher-Kings. Hyperlocal ones.
Haha couldn’t agree more — you might say I aspire to being one of those hyper local kings
"Modernity, in all its inhumanity, produced a human who was worth it."
How does one navigate this world of tangled roots? As carefully as possible, holding tight onto the hand of God. I take the above quote as a work of love by a God who takes sin and evil and turns it to make something good come from it. You're right that we can't undo Modernity, just as we can't undo our own sin. What we can do with both is repent. "As for me and my house, we will trust the Lord." You make your corner as neat as you can, you know where the pitfalls are, which are largest in your own soul, and you love those you come in contact with. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your strength, with all your will, with all your might, and this, too, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is nothing new under the sun. The last days are said to be like Noah's. We don't know what the tower of Babel was, but some say it was a ziggurat that the demon gods of old came down to, drinking the blood that was offered, and giving the men of those times the wisdom of how to make great and terrible machines. Or, so I've heard. One thing's for sure. We ain't seen nothing yet.
I always think of Jurassic Park “Just because you could - should you?”
As usual you produce another article which throws the double speak and complexity up for us to look at in plain daylight. Another gem.
I just wonder - does anyone actually ask the children who grow up, or should I say when said child/ren grow up what they think?
We never seem to get to that stage or hear of the follow-up versions of such things.
The Child vs Adult desire. Instinctual and otherwise.
How much of our human 'nature' are we willing to sacrifice and give up and what is the price to be paid. If we really have any idea at all of who we really and truly are.
We are finding out.
May heaven help us all.
This peice really captures the complexty of modern life. The weeds and wheat parable is spot on, we cant pull out one without affecting the other. Its hard to know where to draw the line betweem accepting progress and recognizing when technology has pushed too far into territories we dont fully understand.
Good article, more emotional than your normal output. The world we live in is very strange. But my knee jerk reaction is to think more blonde babies is a net positive.
Very sad stories. Very real stories. Increasingly common stories.
The Savage Reservations of Brave New World existed solely by the grace of Mustafa Mond. They were no threat to The Machine. The Machine was being merciful in not killing them all with the push of a button.
Kingsnorth is fond of this literary analogy - given its implications, I'm not sure why.
Contemplation late at night turns over many uncomfortable rocks, you just did the deed and they can’t be put back in place. Temptations, not all illicit flourish in this New Age environment, it is challenging even to walk one’s own path. You are inspirational , provocative in your writings, keep on keeping on…...
Jacob’s wives trading mandrakes for babies.
There is nothing new under the sun.
Brilliant piece.
Thank you.
That was hard to write.
What have we wrought?
There is no way to unring this bell.
My 15yr old is a huge fan of the Singulaity is Near. I love that about him. I love sci-fi. I also had him read How To Be A Christian in A Brave New World by Joni Earackson Tada. Tada, a paraplegic, writes about all of this stuff in a clear, moving way. The thing is, most evangelicals haven't thought it out.
Sometimes playing with nature backfires badly. Humans seem to not know when or where to quit. I opt for caring for that which already has life. Seems we as a species don't really have that perfected yet either.