Homo Ignoramus
The world and its inhabitants are in an evolutionary crisis. Some call it a meta-crisis, a crisis not in one or two areas but in nearly all areas of life. So much is breaking down, and the result of our ignoring this growing disaster is Donald Trump as president.
Since most systems are breaking down, there are two ways to go. We can confront the challenge head-on or double down on ignorance and watch our whole planet and civilization disintegrate.
Nothing stays the same. It is either evolving or devolving, getting better or worse, and there is growing evidence of people going in both directions.
Modern humans are referred to as Homo Sapiens, Man the knower but it seems that designation is outmoded. Many don’t want to know anymore. Just as evolution has created many species within the genus “homo”, so it is creating a new one now.
Some people are growing and evolving while others are withering and devolving. Unfortunately, as times have gotten worse, it’s the latter who have gained in numbers and attained power in the US and other countries, doubling down on ignorance. The devolvers haven’t learned from past mistakes because they see themselves as separate from the whole. They focus only on what is suitable for themselves and those in their inner circle.
I’ve tried to figure out a good name for them and the best I have come up with is Homo Ignoramus because these people ignore our problems today, particularly the existential threats to life on this planet and our democracy. Not only do they ignore these issues, but advocate policies to make them worse.
Climate change is our greatest threat, and in true Homo Ignoramus fashion, Trump is not only cutting environmental regulations, and green energy programs, but also supporting increased fossil fuel use that will create even greater climate disasters. To top it all off, he is cutting FEMA, meaning federal funds will no longer be available to help rebuild affected areas. It’s hard to fathom such ignorance, such a blatant disregard for the sanctity of life. Ignoramus is too tame a word.
I know Trump is going to be 79 soon, so in his egotistical way, he probably thinks, “What do I care about the planet? I won’t be here when it goes up in flames.” But what about his kids, his grandkids? Apparently, he doesn’t care about them either.
And this leads us right to our evolutionary crossroads. We are in this mess because the vast majority don’t like to think about things like the destruction of the planet or democracy. We assume someone will eventually take care of these problems because it would be preposterous for us to lose our democracy, much less our planet.
We think we have lasted this long, muddling our way through other problems, and we’ll do it again because by God, we are the United States of America, and there is nothing we can’t do if we put our minds to it. Of course, the big problem is that we aren’t putting our minds to it.
But there is hope. Ignoring these fundamental issues and allowing them to metastasize has finally reached a breaking point. People who voted for Trump in the last election, primarily out of economic desperation, bought into the Trump lie that he gave a hoot about them.
They are starting to realize the error of their ways as Trump moves to end Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, issues that will have a profound effect on Trump’s working-class voters. No group of people will be hit harder and they’ll realize their so-called champion is nothing but a con artist who steals from them to give to himself and his billionaire buddies in the form of tax cuts.
It’s a wake-up call for the rest of us, too. Some will continue to back Trump for a while longer, ignoring problems in hopes that their savior will come to their rescue. But as he attacks and destroys every facet of our society, that support will diminish as his supporters realize Trump doesn’t give a damn about them.
So, what is the way forward? Climate change is the Universe’s method to wake us up, not only to climate change but to all the other issues affecting us in this meta-crisis like the economy, the threat to due process, the Ukraine/Russia war, the slaughter and famine in Gaza, threats to the media, education, law firms. the Judiciary, the FBI, and LGBTQ rights. The list goes on and on. Will we heed the call? It’s painful to deal with these issues, but our very existence is at stake. We need to face our insecurities, fears, and doubts. We must face this meta-crisis head-on before it is too late.
Trump is the Universe’s warning shot across the bow. He is what we get when we ignore our problems, someone who not only isn’t interested in solving complicated and difficult issues but strives to make them worse.
I feel the tide is turning. As we enter increasingly turbulent times, more and more people will awaken to this tragedy. To handle this intelligently, we must find that still point, that quiet place inside where we can calmly and rationally face our fears and doubts, then listen deeply for what our inner wisdom tells us to do next. We want to be part of the solution and not sit on the sidelines or the insanity will continue to grow.
