Soma: Ignorance is Bliss... Right?

In our weekly discussions, we continually return to the theme of what our response ought to be the growing consequence of our neglect.  One of the DQ's asked us whether resisting climate change is futile?  Or have we become jaded and indifferent to climate change? I must admit, I probably fall short of my larger duty to society as a whole--but that failure is not limited to climate change alone.  When I see the sheer scale of the socioeconomic problems that the United States, developed and developing countries face, I get dispirited.  I mean, what can can one guy do?  

It is a bit strange, honestly, that I would be detached from the issue of climate change.  I am an avid hiker.  I regularly spend weekends backpacking, and experiencing mother nature is cathartic.  One would assume that I--of all people--would take climate change personally.  While I have taken small measures whenever possible, if that ecological footprint calculator is accurate, my lifestyle is only moderately better than the average American (and that's not saying much).  Despite these actions, I tend to be cynical when it comes to politics and generally avoid "hot topics."  More often than not, the headlines have no bearing on my day-to-day life; thus, I ignore them.

                                                          

In mulling the DQ prompt, I considered a discussion I had a earlier this fall over Adolphus Huxley's Brave New World.  Specifically, the soma.  In Brave New World, the people life in a utopian society.  One of the central features of the utopia is soma, a mind-deadening drug.  The members of society enjoy peace and prosperity, whilst enjoying a world of mediocracy.  Huxley starkly contrasts the value of classical, high society versus the base, mindless happiness of humanity (this is a gross oversimplification).  The average citizen is not interested in reading the Bible, Othello, or The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.  Instead, they would rather choose the blissful ignorance.  

Soma is a drug with vague, undefined properties.  However, it is a recurring theme throughout the book.  There is plenty of literary analysis out there discussing the nuances the soma metaphor, but I have always interpreted soma as representing basic, hedonistic pleasures.  Brave New World offers a satirical rebuttal to John Stuart Mill's classic argument that individuals, when given the choice, would choose "higher quality" pleasures over "lower quality" pleasures (e.g. better to be a miserable human than a happy pig).  Mill's proportionality doctrine has been criticized, and a fair amount of research has been done on evaluating its merits.  For example, Michael Sandel has surveyed his students and asked them to decide between the Simpsons and Hamlet.  Most students said that the Simpsons was "more enjoyable," but Shakespeare was "better" (Sandel 54).  The punchline is this: people, in general, will settle immediate and mediocre fulfillment.  If happiness requires an endless struggle of self-improvement, most people will not be interested.  As Huxley puts it:

“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.”

― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

This is the crux of the matter.  Fighting to stop climate change requires massive mobilization--a grand campaign.  Not using a straw with one's pop or banning plastic grocery sacks alone will not stave off ecological disaster.  The world needs drastic action, but people are politically exhausted.  It is hard to muster the energy when it feels like the political process is flawed and any action you take is not going to change much.  Instead, we turn to our soma, our bread and circuses.  We choose to, in the words of Huxley, overcompensate for our misery, our discontent.  For me, it hiking.  I "escape the word" to go walk around in the woods.  I ignore the pressing problems of the larger world to go wander rugged Smokey Mountains or and the twisting rivers and canyons of the Big South Fork.

This is not meant to be some sappy sob story about my crappy lifestyle, nor a depressing take on humanity.  This is an assessment, the result of a dawning realization that I need to motivate myself to stay motivated.  Whereas one could typically settle for mediocrity and enjoy the bliss of ignorance, there is no middle ground when it comes to climate change.  Even if addressing climate change appears to be a Sisyphean task, I must remember to keep moving forward.  

Citation:

Sandel, M. J. (2009). "Justice: What's the right thing to do?." New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

(Edited) Semester total: 40

- Weekly essay

- Commented on Betty Mae's post (Jaded Left)

- Commented on Dr. Oliver's post (Green New Deal)

- Commented on Tyler Brook's post (Automation)