Navian
Inactive Member
I've learned some new things lately that make it very difficult to come up with a good reason to invest myself in creative work of most kinds, including RP. And this came at a time where I was already barely hanging on by a thread in maintaining an interest in RP, even on its own merits. It seems a bit strange to call this a life event, but I suppose major revelations do count.
I don't want to get into politics here, but given the alternatives for speculation and the gravity of the situation, I think I should say a little. I considered myself to be mostly on top of things intellectually, but I found out this week that while the term 'fake news' gets thrown around a lot by people who want to believe a narrative that is even more out of touch with reality, the mainstream media really does engage in a lot of blatant propaganda. This is due to how journalists are taught to work, due to the means by which politicians are elected--money seems to vote rather than people, in practice--due to our economy being based on unsustainable growth at all levels, and because we seem unable to fix these problems, even as they escalate to the point where any hope of long-term survival--of one day having the chance for our descendants to live on other worlds--is not only put at risk, but is on its way to becoming a remote possibility.
As at least something resembling a science fiction fan, I can't say I look forward to living in a world where an energy crisis is going to lead to a technological collapse. I'd be relatively okay with an ecological crisis leading to a biosphere collapse, so long as we still manage to escape from the planet, but aside from it being so bad to even have to consider the notion as one of our best prospects, it doesn't seem like the most likely one, due to the rate at which the world is going through its energy reserves and our growth-based economy. So, perhaps that explains why I find it hard to continue to have much interest in art, or optimistic speculative fiction: I'm desperate to figure out how to avoid observing or participating in the creation of a future dystopia where very few things are possible, compared to what we can imagine today. I want to have more to look forward to.
To put it another way, I've suddenly become extremely worried, because people who understand the worst problems the world faces are a much smaller minority than I understood before, because there are barriers to solving them that are not understood by most, and because these are not just passive barriers, but active forces that work to deluded even very well-educated people with propaganda so intense that even after decades of exposure, the signal didn't get through to me until my twin sister, who gave up just short of completing her thesis defense for her PhD in paleontology, cut me in on the loop and showed me how to access critical information that hasn't been filtered through the western world's biggest propaganda machine or its direct competition (or conspiracy theorists who are just looking for comforting, easy answers--it's not 'a conspiracy' any more than religion itself is 'a conspiracy', it's a system of belief almost everyone buys into.) The signal for what kinds of change need to happen isn't getting through, it's being deflected to all kinds of distractions, very successfully. And I don't know what to do about it, but I need to do something.
Unfortunately, having fun or playing games are not very high on the list unless they're at least relevant to the problem and help me unwind. Playing games that teach me about the nature of power--and that aren't designed as misleading or misdirecting propaganda, intentionally or not--might help. I still need stimulation and a way to unwind, though probably not nearly as much as the culture we live in has been trying to tell me for the sake of sustaining itself with my spending. But, well... when SARP teaches me about that, it's not part of the game and it's not helpful. So, I'm going to be spending less time here, and likely phasing out my involvement. If I continue to meet my obligations here, it's not going to be the result of an extraordinary effort.
I don't want to get into politics here, but given the alternatives for speculation and the gravity of the situation, I think I should say a little. I considered myself to be mostly on top of things intellectually, but I found out this week that while the term 'fake news' gets thrown around a lot by people who want to believe a narrative that is even more out of touch with reality, the mainstream media really does engage in a lot of blatant propaganda. This is due to how journalists are taught to work, due to the means by which politicians are elected--money seems to vote rather than people, in practice--due to our economy being based on unsustainable growth at all levels, and because we seem unable to fix these problems, even as they escalate to the point where any hope of long-term survival--of one day having the chance for our descendants to live on other worlds--is not only put at risk, but is on its way to becoming a remote possibility.
As at least something resembling a science fiction fan, I can't say I look forward to living in a world where an energy crisis is going to lead to a technological collapse. I'd be relatively okay with an ecological crisis leading to a biosphere collapse, so long as we still manage to escape from the planet, but aside from it being so bad to even have to consider the notion as one of our best prospects, it doesn't seem like the most likely one, due to the rate at which the world is going through its energy reserves and our growth-based economy. So, perhaps that explains why I find it hard to continue to have much interest in art, or optimistic speculative fiction: I'm desperate to figure out how to avoid observing or participating in the creation of a future dystopia where very few things are possible, compared to what we can imagine today. I want to have more to look forward to.
To put it another way, I've suddenly become extremely worried, because people who understand the worst problems the world faces are a much smaller minority than I understood before, because there are barriers to solving them that are not understood by most, and because these are not just passive barriers, but active forces that work to deluded even very well-educated people with propaganda so intense that even after decades of exposure, the signal didn't get through to me until my twin sister, who gave up just short of completing her thesis defense for her PhD in paleontology, cut me in on the loop and showed me how to access critical information that hasn't been filtered through the western world's biggest propaganda machine or its direct competition (or conspiracy theorists who are just looking for comforting, easy answers--it's not 'a conspiracy' any more than religion itself is 'a conspiracy', it's a system of belief almost everyone buys into.) The signal for what kinds of change need to happen isn't getting through, it's being deflected to all kinds of distractions, very successfully. And I don't know what to do about it, but I need to do something.
Unfortunately, having fun or playing games are not very high on the list unless they're at least relevant to the problem and help me unwind. Playing games that teach me about the nature of power--and that aren't designed as misleading or misdirecting propaganda, intentionally or not--might help. I still need stimulation and a way to unwind, though probably not nearly as much as the culture we live in has been trying to tell me for the sake of sustaining itself with my spending. But, well... when SARP teaches me about that, it's not part of the game and it's not helpful. So, I'm going to be spending less time here, and likely phasing out my involvement. If I continue to meet my obligations here, it's not going to be the result of an extraordinary effort.
