Suzanne's Take: A Social Commentary
THE MIRACLE OF Y2K
November 18, 1998
The uproar about Kenneth Starr fits into our dualistic paradigm,
in which good calls up evil in knee-jerk fashion. How else to
explain such a widely prevailing sentiment in which Starr being
the villain lets Clinton off the hook? Clinton is exposed,
irrespective of who pulled the curtain. Whatever we think of
Starr, nailing the guy who raised the lid doesn't deal with what
has spilled out of Pandora's box.
On the question of impeachment, we are in a troublesome
dichotomy. If it is judged that Clinton didn't go far enough to
be impeached, we will miss dealing with the cost to us of his
continuing to lead. Though we can point to previous presidents
who were transgressors, their clandestine deeds were unknown to
humanity during their tenures. With everyone in the know about
Clinton, where we are being led by someone who is an object of
scorn and ridicule, a collective shame subsumes the spirit of
high-mindedness that the United States has upheld for the world.
These consequences, however, may become moot when the year
2,000 hits. An unnamed source recently pictured Y2K as "the only
simultaneous, global, infrastructure-disrupting event humanity
has ever known." As the L.A. Weekly put it, it could be "an
extinction event."
This grave challenge, however, has an up-side, where preparing for
what could be very bad could be very good. If we look at how to pull
together, bracing ourselves as best as we can for the worst, and
Y2K turns out to be less than annihilating, we will have made
great gains in our capacity to relate as One. Since the reaction
to news of Y2K started out as debate about whether it was going
to be very bad or not -- a dualistic argument that goes nowhere --
it is good news that people are being creative now about what
could lie ahead. Joining for mutual good is the hope of the
world, and Y2K could be our deliverance.
Along the lines of preparing ourselves, bearing in mind that a
big city could become a dangerous place, I'm looking at one of my
long standing dreams for some mighty companions to go to the
country and establish a retreat space. If and when civilization
marched on, we'd have a place for forward-thinkers to convene.
In a small world which possesses mega powers of destruction,
it's crazy not to hold non-political council. We need an arena
for evolved people to look beyond a good guys/bad guys mentality
at the single system the world has become. What would such
a forum advise about Clinton? How would it suggest dealing
with Y2K? Anybody want to head for the hills?
