Welcome to Planet Gel-o: A Brief Explanation of Global Chaos

It is not news that we are in an unprecedented time of change and global uncertainty. Things are shaking and wobbling everywhere. Never in human history has there been such a confluence of powerful, unstoppable drivers and forces impacting the face of the globe, simultaneously and across all borders. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has taken us to a new level of geopolitical transformation. The outcome of which is entirely unpredictable. We could say that we now live on Planet Gel-o instead of Planet Earth.

With a change, this rapid and constant "the world as we know it" only exists for a short time, and in some form, a new generation is born every few years. The explosion of the internet has connected the globe, and artificial intelligence has launched us into the third industrial revolution (The idea of The Third Industrial Revolution has been around for many years. See The Economist, April 21, 2012 edition for an early commentary). While incredible opportunities for good exist in our advancement, we are watching extremely challenging issues on every front.

The hard truth is that although humanity has survived this far, the cost of survival has often been high due to our lesser human characteristics like greed, anger, fear, etc. We have all the resources necessary to face our current challenges, but humans as a species continuously prove unable to make the hard decisions for unified advancement. Instead, we follow the path of lesser organisms and pursue survival of the fittest.?

Great difficulties face the world, but only unified action can make the difference, and such action has only been marginally evident. For example, over 25 years of climate warnings, how much closer are we to actually managing, slowing, or corporately preparing for, the ecological changes that we are seeing unfold all around the globe. With global powers pushing toward advanced nuclear capabilities, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists now has the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight. There was no change from 2021, but the decision to retain the 100-second position took place in January 2022 before Russia's invasion and the global reaction unfolding afterward.??

In 1988 Physicist Stephen Hawking wrote the book "A Brief History of Time" to explain the vastness of the universe to those who hadn't thought much about it. I hope this article might help some who read it consider some issues we don't naturally encounter. I have tried to avoid technical terminology or concepts from a particular school of thought or academic discipline. I request forbearance from those of you who are more educated or knowledgeable on these matters.

For the reasons I discuss in the following paragraphs, I question whether humanity can head off the worst-case scenarios. The following are my reasons.?

Reason One: Systems

The universe operates by systems — both natural and human-made worlds. From the dark matter that plays a part in holding the universe together, down to the plumbing that runs through a house, systems make things work.

The study of systems is a science. There are degrees, classes, books, papers, lectures, and blogs on systems. You can find many descriptions of "Systems Thinking," "Systems Theory," "Systems Philosophy," and much more on the web or in any library. Wikipedia defines a system as "any group of interacting separate entities operating in a consistent pattern over a period of time." If we use this simple definition of a "system," there is an immeasurable number of them operating daily in our lives and around the globe. A few major ones include

· Planetary systems that make up our galaxy and millions of others

· Ecological systems make up our planet's health and keep it safe for human existence, providing air to breathe and water to drink.

· Weather systems that create a soft breeze or a violent storm.

· Facility systems in homes and buildings worldwide for electricity, waste management, etc.

· Communication systems from cell phones to computers to Social Media.

· Transportation systems like trains, roads, freeways, boats, and airplanes which allow us to move and travel.

· Food Systems that grow, harvest or butcher, pack, ship, deliver, store and sell to us so we can eat.?

· Financial systems that control money and supposedly keep it safe for us.

· Economic systems that include financial systems, businesses, and the organizations where we work.

· Healthcare systems that include hospitals, doctors, and other health professionals.

· Entertainment systems include everything from Hollywood to Redbox outlets and video games.

· Government systems, some democratic, others totalitarian, and others theocratic.

· Education systems from grade school to graduate schools.

Many of these systems work together and are increasingly interconnected. The Great Recession of 2007, which took years to overcome, impacted the entire globe due to that interconnectivity. Since the Great Recession, this interconnectivity has increased, and with the growth of artificial intelligence, interconnectivity now has few limits. Whereas The Great Recession demonstrated the impact of our interconnectivity on a financial level, the global reaction to Russia's invasion shows how this interconnectivity can be weaponized and focused on a single nation or people group.

Emerging generations embrace this interconnectivity without hesitation and often without questions. How many people read the privacy and usage policies – let alone understand - every application, or program, they download? They click and engage. The more systems are connected and interdependent; the more one broken piece potentially impacts another. On top of this, we are adding new systems with potentially unforeseeable consequences.

For some individuals, interconnectivity is a positive trend leading us to greater global awareness and a one-planet–one-people mentality. They see interconnectivity as a call to global community, awareness, and understanding. For others, this trend has become the motivation for a countermovement of nationalism and anti-globalism. This more recent pushback against globalism and the current Russia-Ukraine crisis may slow things down on some levels, but it is only a blip on the march toward interconnectivity.?

Reason Two: The Systems Catalyst

Let's assume that all of the world's systems are divided into two large groups; everything natural or that exists apart from humanity's efforts. And everything artificial or man-made. In between these two systems and their interconnectivity is humanity itself. We are the catalyst for all interactions between those two groups of systems. And as stated earlier, humanity's existence itself is defined by complex systems; physical, mental, and relational. One system within us doesn't determine whether we live or die, but it determines our interactions with the other systems. This system is called our belief system or worldview.

An individual's worldview includes conscious and unconscious beliefs, some truthful and others not, about everything from our origin as a species to what goes through our head when we look at ourselves in the mirror. Our worldview develops throughout our lifetime as many different forces like learning, experiencing, watching, thinking, and reasoning combine into a view of life and its operation. Even our DNA and genetic bents help shape our worldview, and it is constantly being molded but becomes more rigid with age.?

This process, which I call our Whole Person Experience, shapes all of our beliefs about relationships, jobs, work, government, sex, money, education, and everything else that is part of daily life.?

It is humanity's world views that are at war and create the decisions, fear, anger, and chaos that is now upon us.

Reason Three: A Very Real and Present War

Around the world and here in America, we see a war between world views play out in the media every day. These wars are often called culture wars, but I posit they are more extensive than cultural discrepancies and represent a fundamental clash between the complex views of life shaped by our Whole Person Experience. Some say America is as divided ideologically as it has been since the civil war. There is no end to this civil war of worldviews, and actual wars demonstrate how far we as humans will go to make our view the dominant one. Violence takes place every day, and the only thing that holds back worse actions are systems of government and laws that prevent it. When the law breaks down, violence escalates in some form. The controlling nature of the law is also why both sides battle to control it through partisan politics, political action committees, lobbying, and more.

Reason Four: The War of World Views Always Gets Lethal

In our current world, nations where individual rights and freedoms are upheld, exist in contrast to those countries where individual rights are subject to the authority or belief system of the state or the state's primary leadership, both secular and theocratic. The Russia/Ukraine war is such a situation.?

Very few in the west believe the Russian people are responsible for this atrocity. Nor do many in the west think the majority are active supporters of the war unless Russian media have thoroughly brainwashed them. The Russian people are choosing freedom over tyranny.?

The recent action of a desperate newscaster to warn her comrades of the lies on state television is one amazing example of Russia's citizens taking a stand. She risked her life to defy this reprehensible action by the country's leadership, and she may already be dead as a consequence. Thousands more have protested and been arrested for their efforts.??

Our ability to process the harsh reality of our warring worldviews and find a path forward will determine the future of every nation and our planet. We can protest, march, yell, spend money, vote, campaign, jump up and down, or violently attack the symptoms and outcomes of world views we don't like. In the end, it will not create peace and coexistence. Without a path to coexistence, the war of world views will always be about power and control and lead to violence.

Is There Hope?

Our World Views are embedded in us through our whole person experience, and they do not change easily. Change management gurus like John Kotter and others who study people, social groups, and human behavior have documented the elements necessary for change. Their research has consistently shown that hitting bottom, or crisis, is often the most reliable starting point for change. Crisis generates a sense of urgency or motivation. "Crisis" might seem like a harsh word, so let me put it in a different form. Change will ONLY occur when the pain of continuing the status quo exceeds the fears related to the change. I am sure it has been stated better by someone else, but the bottom line is that most people won't change unless they have to. And the "have to" often is brought forth by some form of crisis, either situationally, relationally, emotionally, or even spiritually.

?What level of crisis will it take for change that leads to peaceful coexistence? Is change possible without some level of crisis? Can we find another way?

In most dystopian movies made today, humanity ends up with a nuclear, climactic, alien, or Artificial Intelligence version of crisis. What's left of humanity after the crisis varies from movie to movie. Depending on your worldview, any one of these dystopian scenarios might be possible.?

My worldview firmly believes that humanity has the capacity to find a path forward. However, my worldview also holds we will not do so. The four mentioned characteristics of our modern world are on a track with unstoppable momentum. Let's look at the engines.?

Engines That Drive Us

When I do seminars and training on personality styles, I focus on three A's. Awareness, Acceptance, and Adaptation. Our training helps individuals become aware of their and others' unique personal styles. We challenge them to accept that uniqueness, both in themselves and others. Then we give them some tools for adapting their communication and behavior to work more effectively with people who have different styles. I believe these three A's also hold the path to a future of hope versus the negative possibilities we face.

In our training, we tell people that deeper understanding isn't complex; it's just very hard, like managing weight. Managing weight requires three specific things. Eat right, exercise, and drink lots of water. You do that, and you will manage weight and get in shape. So why is weight management so hard? It's hard because we must overcome all the internal stuff that gets in our way. If we are going to find a path toward peace and coexistence, we must be able to have a dialogue on the complex differences within our world views.

Just like the internal engines that make weight control challenging on an individual level, there are inherent engines that make change extremely difficult on a systemic level.??

Engine number One: Integrated symbiosis

As systems cross borders, waters, and the globe, they become more and more integrated with other systems. As they do, there is a mutual benefit (symbiosis) that begins to occur for each due to their integration. Symbiosis magnifies complexity and inter-dependency. The more this happens, the more difficult it is to bring about change in one system because it affects other systems, thereby nurturing an inherent resistance to change within the system.

Let's use our discussion thus far to create an example.?

First, every individual has a worldview created through their Whole Person Experience.?

Second, their worldview dictates how they interact with all of the systems in life around them.?

Third, change in an individual's worldview can create a crisis with one of the many systems in their lives.?

An individual looking at change could negatively affect their relationships, lifestyle, future, family, community, etc. Changing your worldview can go against cultural norms. Depending on your culture, this can be costly, even life-threatening.

Fourth, the more symbiotic systems become, the greater chance that fear of the unknowable will overcome the pain of the status quo, and change will be avoided or denial maintained.

Symbiosis is built layer by layer. Much of the intensity of symbiosis is experienced subconsciously or emotionally. Change requires that we understand what needs to change - it becomes conscious - and we face the potential consequences and emotions created by the anticipation of change - usually fear.?

Fifth, add personal investment. The more the individual invests their time, energy, and money into pursuing and reinforcing their worldview. Or developing a career around that worldview, the more difficult it is to accept the need for change in that worldview.?

Integrated symbiosis makes change very difficult, and that is just the beginning.?

Engine Number Two: Survivalism

The will to survive is a potent driver. There are incredible stories of survival that surface when individuals face impossible odds. Overcoming slavery, capture at war, injuries, fatigue, torture, emotional bondage are all examples of the will to survive. It might not be a matter of life or death. Survival can be about our job, a relationship, finances, or any number of things. When we feel threatened, specific mechanisms kick in to protect us. When a system is threatened, it will also fight to defend itself. And the individuals that depend on that system will be part of that fight.

Watching the people of Ukraine stand against the aggression of Russia is an example of heroic survivalism and has captured the hearts of free peoples around the world. But the resistance for the world to step into their battle in a manner that would help them survive is a result of integrated symbiosis. Leaders fear the outcomes of a wrong step and the potential global fallout of war between two nuclear powers.

Tremendous change must occur across highly integrated and symbiotic systems to avoid humanity's challenges. At the heart of those systems are individuals with worldviews that support them and are supported by them. It's not impossible, but it's improbable that the level of systemic change needed to avoid calamity can take place without running into the wall of survivalism. Survivalism is why Russia's leader could not simply step back and say, "I blew it!" Sorry! President Putin is fully vested in the outcome, and his political and possibly physical survival is now at stake.?

Engine Number Three: Good and Bad in the Heart?

Humanity has unlimited potential for good and bad, and this reality is displayed every day in our communities and the media. Whatever your worldview labels these forces - darkness and light, yin and yang, or something else- a deceptive facet of this reality is that good and bad are often at war within every human heart. Whether it is in small ways or big ones, the fight exists. Even if the case can be made clear, across the globe, that our existence as human beings is on the existential edge, will enough individuals follow the good in their soul, sacrifice their lifestyle, or do whatever it takes to make a better world for the next generation. Can millions of parents make sacrifices that might impact their children to save the world for their great-grandchildren? As much good as humans can achieve, my observations and experience tell me that to expect such altruism on a grand scale is na?ve' or simple fantasy.

When you watch the types of hoarding, looting, violence, and other manifestations of bad choices that occur when things get tough, world views feel threatened, or the law breaks down, it is hard to believe that people will make the right choices when they don't have to, but need to, which is where we are now.

People will come together to fight a common enemy as we are seeing in Ukraine and experienced in America following 9-11. However, these times are generally fleeting, and when survivalism kicks in, things change.?

Engine Number Four: Finalism

I use "finalism" in this context to denote an individual's beliefs about life after death. (Authors note: in full disclosure, I must acknowledge there is a specific definition for finalism rooted in Aristotle's teaching. I am borrowing the word because it is loosely related to my usage, and I could not find a better one in the time I had for research)?

An individual's afterlife beliefs are one of the most powerful in the universe. Regardless of what individuals believe about life after death, they hold those beliefs by faith. We cannot prove anything about the existence or non-existence of an afterlife, God, gods, or simple oblivion. Therefore we choose to hold onto a set of beliefs and live accordingly. Unprovable beliefs trusted to the point of action equals faith. Some hate to admit this, but it's a fact whatever your unprovable beliefs may be. Throughout history and every day in the media, we see some aspect of the war between afterlife belief systems. If change isn't hard enough yet, throw in eternal ramifications, and it becomes nearly impossible.?

For most people, afterlife beliefs are a central component of their world views and drive their interaction with all the systems they engage. If these beliefs include convictions about how their actions determine their life after death, then those specific convictions will govern those actions more than other parts of their worldview. In other words, if you believe that your behavior here during your lifetime has some impact on life after death, you will probably act accordingly. Conversely, if you believe there is nothing after death, you are inclined to live for the here and now. While someone with no afterlife beliefs may find a path to an altruistic lifestyle for the sake of human evolution, my observation is that this is a rarity. The more someone believes they only have this life to live, the greater likelihood they will become more primal, not less.??

Driving The Engines: Gas, Oil, and Spark

I have described four significant engines which drive human behavior and our global reality. There are many lesser forces and drivers that represent the gas, oil, and spark that drive the engines. These add layer upon layer to our systemic global stew. This stew increases the odds against healthy change.?

As individuals, they are those within us like pride, greed, fear, denial, and self-deception. On top of typical human characteristics are some forces with inherent drivers that push them all independently. These include technological advancement, consumerism, capitalism, moral individuation, changing social and family constructs, sexuality, and sexual identity, to mention a few.

None of these things exist in isolation but are woven into the tapestry of our world. These drivers and forces resist change in all its forms. Overcoming these forces to save humanity will not occur without a great crisis, if at all. Thus, avoiding such a crisis is highly improbable - but still not impossible. We have all that potential good in us also.?

SUMMARY

I first wrote this article several years ago during the early years of Donald Trump's Presidency and the global push to avoid Climate catastrophe. The efforts put forth to communicate the potential challenges of a divided world, necessary shifts in equality and justice, and the impending outcomes of climate change have been upended by Russia's action. Meeting any climate goals now is off the table, and global energy independence will now overcome all efforts toward renewable energy.?

It is hard to imagine a quick recovery from our current situation. However, there is a path through awareness, acceptance, and adapting action, but this author is not confident we will find that path. But I am still hopeful. Perhaps you can be part of my hope.

CHALLENGE

part of the hope and take the Planet Gel-O Challenge. Remember the three A's – Awareness, Acceptance, and Adapting Action.

Awareness:?Find someone whom you know strongly disagrees with you on one or more subjects and ask them to have a talk with you about why they believe what they believe.??

Acceptance:?Listen without judgment. Your goal isn't to change them but to understand their perspective.?

You do not have to fear their beliefs or agree with them, nor do you have to try and change their views. Just try to understand what the roots of those beliefs are.

Adapting Action:

1. Tell someone about your experience and encourage them to try it.
2. Get together a small group of opposites and multiply the outcome, but make sure everyone agrees on the three A's concept ahead of time.
3. Use your social media avenues to spread this article and the challenge.

Take the challenge. Be part of the path to peaceful coexistence. The alternative isn't looking very good.

ADDENDUM:?I may not have a lot of hope for humanity, but I have a lot of hope because of my worldview. Jesus is my hope. Where man failed, God prevailed. Jesus paid an ultimate price to give us hope in our hopelessness. He is my hope, and he can be yours also. Let his life, death, and resurrection become the worldview you choose to hold onto, and hope will surprise you.?