Resilience
De Nile, that river in Egypt, is part of the human condition. In
fact, some of the response to bad news can be characterized as an adjustment
reaction. As the American Psychological Association notes, the best way to cope
with stress and disaster is to encourage resilience.
Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity,
trauma, tragedy, threats, or even significant sources of stress -- such as
family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and
financial stressors. It means "bouncing back" from difficult
experiences.
Research
has shown that resilience is ordinary, not extraordinary. People commonly
demonstrate resilience. One example is the response of many Americans to the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and individuals' efforts to rebuild their
lives.
The best way to be resilient, of course, is to recognize threats
and plan for them.
As with global warming, or other natural disasters (pandemic being
just one), peak oil is something that many people have heard of but try not to
think about, except when gas prices get depressing (or it's 75 degrees in
Toronto in January). The folks at Peak Oil Blues are anticipating the
adjustment to a post-oil world and planning for an oil-less future. Is that
going too far? Or is the rest of the world just suffering from Panglossian
Disorder?
I have
spoken elsewhere about the label "Doomer," and IÕve come to believe
that this frame is outdated. Instead, I would like to suggest that we must stop
asking ourselves, given the lateness of the hour, why there are those
pessimistic about the future, and begin asking, instead, why there are those
still blindly and enthusiastically optimistic about it. Could this be a
disorder, in itself? HereÕs my proposal:
Panglossian Disorder: "The neurotic tendency toward extreme
optimism in the face of likely cultural and planetary collapse."
Here's a reprint in the Energy Bulletin (for easy reading), with
some of my favorite subtypes:
Temporal
Subtypes:
Scarlet
OÕHara-ism- "IÕll just have to think about that tomorrow." A strategy
of denial that allows the person to temporally compartmentalize the feared
event(s).
Futurism: "Sure, that will happen, but it will occur after all of
us are long dead." A belief that something that might happen in the
distant future is no concern in the present.
Y2K
features : "They said everything would collapse with 2000, and it
didnÕt." A belief that any prior concern about societal problems that
didnÕt occur demonstrates the impossibility of any others happening in the
future.
And a few more:
Subtypes
with Delusional or Magical Thinking:
Meglomatic Features:"This simply wonÕt happen to me." A belief
in oneÕs specialness, which will save them from the consequences affecting
those around them.
...
Doubting
Thomas Features : "Peak Oil is a scam by the Oil Companies to raise
prices!" Minimizing the possibility of the crisis by the belief that some
one or some group has ultimate control over its happening.
...
The
Flintstonian : "The stone-age didnÕt end because they ran out of
stones." A belief that modern innovation is eternal.
Frank
Zappa-ism : "As soon as things get really bad, theyÕll come up with
something." A belief that necessity is the mother of invention.
Magical
Thinking : "DonÕt worry, we can build a car that can run on air!"
Proposes solutions that are clearly outside the realm of physics.
McGiveristic Features - A belief that massive planetary problems can be
solved with ordinary/common items found readily at hand. Eg.: "Pig dung
will be the next fossil fuel." Or "Coke Cans can be turned into solar
panels."
Trouble is, there's a grain of truth in all of this. How you react
to potential natural disasters and whether you apply the precautionary
principle (action to reduce risk should not await scientific certainty). Canada
suggests doing so for infectious diseases:
We must
remember SARS because it holds lessons we must learn to protect ourselves
against future outbreaks, including a global influenza pandemic predicted by so
many scientists. If we do not learn from SARS and we do not make the government
fix the problems that remain, we will pay a terrible price in the next
pandemic. (bolded mine).
So, thinking about disaster becomes a prudent exercise in rational
awareness rather than a disorder of
logical thought.
Voters
were ready to hand control of the government to Australia's opposition Labor
party, headed by former diplomat Kevin Rudd, who has promised to boost
relations with China, pull some troops from Iraq, and re-make Australia as a
leader in the global effort to stop global warming. The defeat appears so
complete that the 68-year-old Mr. Howard, Australia's second-longest-serving
prime minister, appeared likely to lose his own parliamentary seat, which he
has held for 33 years.
If anything (think global warming), the recent elections in Australia suggest that when it comes to natural disaster, a lot more people "get it" than you think.