New_Fork_in_the

In 2009, the world is faced with an overwhelmingly complex
array of dire challenges. The entire planet faces problems of
such enormous proportions that solutions seem impossible.
In every domain of human activity, at every level of society,
the evidence points to increasing threats to the very
existence of modern civilization. We are faced with near
collapse of the global economy, climate change, dependence
on dwindling foreign sources of fossil fuels, unsustainable
population growth, radical religious fundamentalism and
terrorism, conflict and war, starvation and disease.

In the United States, we are affected by all of the global
issues, plus we must deal with a rapidly deteriorating
national infrastructure, joblessness, an overly expensive and
dysfunctional health care system, a divisive and corrupt
political culture, and a media and corporate obsession with
superficial gains, consumerism and celebrity.

Most of these problems are not new. Aside from cyclical
economic variations and the effects of neglect over time, the
major issues have been known for at least 35 years. Yet
American society has continued to live in a long-term state of
denial. We have resisted and avoided finding sustainable
solutions to our problems, only to see them grow and fester.
We have collectively allowed ourselves to be preoccupied
with individual materialistic pursuits, a claim to a right to live
the “good life” mostly financed by borrowed cash, and petty
conflicts and distractions, while the very foundations of our
society have crumbled beneath us.

Today, we are finally being forced to acknowledge our
predicament simply because the underpinnings of our way of
life are beginning to fail. We have kept our heads buried in
the sand for so long that once we have finally come up for air
we have discovered that the beach is almost entirely eroded
away. We have begun to face the consequences of our self-
imposed ignorance, our refusal to learn from our experiences
and mistakes, and our blind insistence that things will take
care of themselves and everything will be alright. In short,
we are beginning to suffer and we have no idea what to do
about it.

In a near state of panic, and realizing that what we had
been doing for so long was no longer working, the U.S.
electorate made the radical and transformative choice of
Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States.
This collective decision was based on a number of factors
rooted in our national past. It was a deliberate move to turn
away from long-standing errors, make up for our historical
hypocrisy, and try to embrace unprecedented change. It was
a national grab for the only visible lifeline, an attempt to find
someone entirely new who might have a chance of cleaning
up the unbelievable mess that has been generations in the
making. Obama provided the right message for the time and
he did it in an inspiring and impressive style.

The nation and the world have a right to be excited, joyful,
and hopeful that the next president can indeed provide the
new direction needed to begin to dig ourselves out of the
self-created hole we all find ourselves in. But we also need to
temper our expectations with the realization that no single
individual, no matter how talented or intelligent, can fix our
condition alone. A president, as inspiring as he might be, can
only set the tone and provide a vision. Turning those ideas
into a reality that provides the basis for the level of change
our global society must accept and absorb will take the
support and the active participation of nearly everyone else.

We truly face the emergency rescue of human civilization. The
challenge is no less than that. The United States, perhaps for
the last time if we do not act, is in the position to lead the
world toward the resolution of these vast, interconnected
challenges. But we have little time left. Our entire society
must gather the courage and the resolve to step up and
accept the challenge at every level. We must be prepared to
make personal changes and be willing to contribute individual
resources to an immense effort that, in the end, will define
our ability to survive on this planet.

As critically as we truly do need a “Yes We Can” attitude, we
must acknowledge that our current circumstances are the
result of many years of bad collective choices. If we cannot
do that, if we cannot admit to years of misguided mistakes
on the part of most of us, we will have no chance of success.
This is a time when we must find the will to thoroughly reform
our past behavior, top to bottom, left to right. We have no
more time for petty bickering, ideological disagreements, or
just plain refusal to face the facts. The knowledge we need,
the ideas we must embrace, the personal changes we must
make are known.

The nation, indeed the world, stands at a new fork in the
road. We can take the path where we continue business as
usual, selfishly grabbing short-term rewards for personal
gain without a thought to the consequences, or we can take
the other path, the road of responsibility and stewardship at
every level, the road that conserves our resources and plans
for a sustainable future we can all share.

The new president has set the right tone, framed the
situation for what it is. But the rest of us, from the corporate
CEO to the clerk at the big box discount store, must
acknowledge that we are in trouble and be willing to step up
and make the choice to change our collective behavior in the
many ways that will allow us to survive, and eventually
prosper again.

A generation ago we stood at a similar fork in the road. As a
nation, as a civilization, we made bad choices and headed
down a path marked by greed, wastefulness, the continued
plunder of natural resources, and violent confrontation. Now
may be our last chance to get it right. Taking the path that
will begin to reverse our seemingly irreversible plunge off the
cliff will take dedication to a level of global, national,
institutional, and personal change that we can yet barely
comprehend. It will take new forms of leadership in every
sphere of society that can stay focused on the greater good,
on doing the right thing even when it costs us our comfort
and the immediate gratification of our desires.

If we are to surmount the challenges that surround us, that
threaten to engulf us, we must make the choice to get on the
right path together. All of our choices and all of our actions
must contribute to getting us to a common, survivable
destination. Choosing the wrong path at this fork in the road
may well leave us with no choices at all.

Comments?

The New Fork in the Road
By David A. Baldwin

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