Is society as we know it collapsing? Eep.

Could there be a scarier question to ask than “Is society as we know it collapsing?”

I’m not sure (about whether there’s a scarier question or whether society is collapsing!) But this question has been on my mind ever since a friend of mine shared this podcast episode with me featuring Margaret Wheatley. I have since started reading her related book—Who Do we Choose to Be? Facing Reality, Claiming Leadership, Restoring Sanity.

She argues that human civilizations follow a similar cycle that ultimately ends in collapse. In her opinion, all signs point to the fact that we are currently in the final stage of collapse.

The thought is almost too much to bear. Who wants to give up hope? There’s still more we can do, right? There are more battles to fight and change to manifest.

However, she articulates a lot of what has been building up amorphously in my heart these past several years.

I’ve lived in the United States through the Trump administration, the COVID debacle, attacks against teaching about racism in our schools, the near-loss of our democracy during the transition from Trump to Biden, and the ongoing lunacy of the Governor of Texas refusing to put a mask mandate in place.

There are definitely days when I feel like it’s too far gone. Reading the hundreds of comments on my recent TikTok pleas to Governor Abbott and Biden and Harris, for example, is like a punch in the gut. We’ve lost what feels to me like a collective commitment to Truth. There’s now a blurred line between fact and opinion. How can we navigate reconciliation across lines of difference if we don’t have clear agreement about what’s a fact versus an opinion?

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have a chance to listen to this podcast episode!