The extinction of empathy

Today I finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's latest, Unsheltered. I can't say I enjoyed it as much as her other books, but I found the conclusion highly satisfying. The story is about two families, one in the late 1800s, and the other living in modern times. The historical family is living at a time when Charles Darwin's ideas are gaining in notoriety--there's reference to him being burned in effigy by people (most people) who are threatened by ideas that challenge Christian orthodoxy. The parallel she draws to modern times is that the same rigid mindset prevents us from seeing a paradigm shift, in this case the end of plenty and the advancing end for most species, perhaps our own.

It really is a marvel that we go on living in our Western capitalist consumerist societies, racing toward the cliff's edge in our SUVs in our designer outfits with our Kardashian make up and the latest iPhone. Pity the poor scientist who is holding up the speed limit sign, the slow-down-danger-ahead sign, only to see the motorists accelerate. The disconnect between how we act and understanding the consequences of our actions is unfathomable. Especially for people with children and grandchildren. Do people vote for Trump because they need someone to buttress their denial? Do they need loud company as they hum ever more loudly over the roar of the angry ocean and the insatiable fires?

There's a memorable character in the book, Tig, who is in her early 20s and is fully woke to the Mad Max future we face. I wonder how many of her generation share that outlook?

I watched a video on Facebook the other day showing the extent of US-style intensive agriculture in the UK--rows and rows of massive sheds full of chickens, alive and dead. Rows and rows of massive sheds packed with cows standing in shit. I wish everyone who ate meat had to look at the living conditions of the animals whose bodies they eat. Do the majority of people not know what industrial agriculture entails? I'd like a psychologist or sociologist to explain how we harden ourselves to live in a world of suffering that we cause. I think the denial of climate change and the denial of industrial agriculture have to spring from the same poisoned well. But how do people really think this story will end?

March 3