Brave New Reality

Totalitarianism Leads to Total War

I started warning of a “Death Spiral,” and of the need for “Societal Safety and Survival,” more than a year and a half ago, because the effects of today were already underway.  Processes of societal breakdown begin long before we see outward manifestations.  Now, the reasons for my warnings have vastly accelerated.

The world is aflame with wars.  Just a couple weeks ago, the U.S. Secretary of Defense boasted that the Pentagon was unveiling a “gigantic new nuclear bomb 24 times more powerful than deadly one dropped on Japan.”  After killing 10,000 innocent civilians, the Israeli prime minister has again rejected global calls for a ceasefire and vows to crush Hamas with “full force.”  The Russian defense minister has threatened that the “Western line of steady escalation … carries the threat of a direct military clash between nuclear powers.”  And China has warned Washington that “those who play with fire will perish by it,” in response to a Congressional war strategy report.

The “Doomsday Clock,” of which I have been writing continuously, should now be moved much closer to Midnight.  I highlight this not to stoke fear or to increase a sense of helplessness, but to draw attention to our common humanity, and therefore to hope.