Living in the Middle of the End

The more time I spend online, the more pessimistic I get. Somehow, I cannot spend five minutes on social media and news portals without seeing at least one post, video or picture predicting an apocalyptic end. Various more or less commercial headlines describe the melting of glaciers, the rise in average temperatures, the extinction of insects and the reduction in biodiversity in general, the exponential advance of artificial intelligence, which some claim will put many jobs at risk. The percentage of obese people is rising, as are those below the poverty line and those suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental disorders. Wars, civil disturbances and political conflicts are ravaging the world. Inflation. Genocide, epidemics. How can one not feel small, helpless in the face of all this? The leaders of the most powerful countries are playing not just with fire, but with nuclear weapons. They contradict themselves by wanting - and carrying out - mass deportations, while at the same time, in their desire for self-sufficiency and greater influence, they nurture the idea of relocating the economy of the countries they “own” to their territory. Intolerance and fear are spreading, giving rise to violence. If we look at history, it is quite clear: do we not understand that this is no longer the beginning of the end, but that we are already deep in the middle of the end?

ŽIVETI NA SREDI KONCA

Več časa kot preživim na spletu, bolj sem pesimistična. Nekako ne morem prebiti niti pet minut na socialnih omrežjih in novičarskih portalih, ne da bi videla vsaj en zapis, video ali sliko, ki napoveduje apokaliptičen konec. Razni bolj ali manj komercialni naslovi opisujejo taljenje ledenikov, višanje povprečne temperature, izumiranje žuželk in zmanjševanje biotske raznolikosti na splošno, eksponenten napredek umetne inteligence, za katero nekateri trdijo, da bo ogrozila mnoga delovna mesta. Veča se odstotek predebelih, pa tudi ljudi pod pragom revščine in tistih, ki trpijo za anksioznimi, depresivnimi in drugimi duševnimi motnjami. Po svetu pustošijo vojne, nemiri, konflikti. Inflacija. Genocid, epidemije. Kako naj se človek ob vsem tem ne bi počutil majhnega, nemočnega? Voditelji vplivnejših držav se igrajo ne z le ognjem, pač pa z jedrskim orožjem. Sami sebi hodijo v nasprotje, ko želijo – in vršijo – množične deportacije, hkrati pa gojijo v želji po samooskrbnosti in večjem vplivu držav, ki si jih »lastijo«, ideje o selitvi gospodarstva na ozemlje le-teh. Širita se nestrpnost in strah, ki rojevata nasilje. Če se poglobimo v zgodovino je stvar precej jasna: mar ne razumemo, da to ni več začetek konca, pač pa smo že globoko v sredini konca?