For this piece I wanted to share with the readers a sort of maxim that I try to live by, in the hopes that readers might find it useful in their own lives. Before I do that, however, I wanted to make clear that I’m not trying to branch out into becoming some sort of life advice or personal help guru. Most people who claim to be such a thing in my corner of time and space are insufferable, arrogant, and are far less worldly than their persona would imply. Taking oneself too seriously while dispensing advice is a path that can easily lead to becoming a cult leader. This might sound hypocritical if readers look back on some of my previous writing to discover that I often give advice on how people should behave and think. Me being a hypocrite is not an impossible suggestion, but I hope that I remain curious enough to learn, and humble enough to admit my shortcomings so that I will avoid classic cultish pitfalls.
With those disclaimers out of the way, what is the personal maxim that I try to live by? It’s probably not that inventive, other people have and probably will think of something similar. It can be boiled down to two words, simple, and hopefully honest, bitter resolve. Determination or perseverance are close to synonyms but they don’t quite capture what I mean. “Steely resolve” might be a less negative way to describe the idea. Either way, it speaks to a way of looking at the world that is neither blindly hopeful, nor despondent. What might this attitude of bitter or steely resolve look like in practice? I think climate change is the perfect example.
This piece is being written at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. As I’m writing this the effects of human-enabled climate change are growing in number and severity. Wildfires, floods, hurricanes, drought, record breaking temperatures, and more are all on the rise, and all signs indicate they will only grow worse as the 21st wears on. While there remains a vocal minority who vociferously deny that climate change is happening, anyone who isn’t an idiot could justifiably wonder if climate change might be an existential threat to humanity, and a lot of other life on the planet. I’m not discounting that fear, there are times when a certain amount of fear is the rational response to a situation. On the other hand, fear and a mixture of other emotions can lead people to two extreme and unhelpful conclusions.
The first is that people give up. They feel like there is nothing that can be done to solve or mitigate the effects of climate change, so they don’t try. I can understand this mindset. As a person who has struggled with depression since puberty I have felt like life is hopeless and pointless more times than I can remember. However, I don’t think it’s particularly controversial to point out that a lot of people are selfish and lazy. Giving up and wailing that everything is hopeless is a convenient excuse, it means you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to advocate for change in local and global climate policies, and you don’t have to make any changes in your lifestyle that might be able to help the environment. There are people who feel genuinely hopeless about humanity’s chances to adapt to climate change, but I suspect there are others who give up so they don’t have to admit that they don’t care.
The second extreme is unfettered optimism. An attitude of cheerful denial is also an excuse to do nothing. If you convince yourself that everything will work out in the end, then nothing is required of you either.
Avoiding fear or giving in to fear of the effects of climate change both have their appeals, but both are unproductive. What is productive is the rational analysis that the 21st century will be remembered as a trying time for humanity. Not only will humanity deal with the same issues it always has, war, genocide, inequality, political turmoil, but we must also come to terms with climate change largely of our own making. Will we be able to adapt to the changes we’ve made to the environment while adjusting our societies to make those changes less extreme? Time will tell. Personally I think our chances are a lot better if we avoid both dejected dread and empty hope, and instead proceed knowing the difficulties ahead with a clear sense of resolve.