Democracy Dead? Vote Another Way: Be Kind. Do Good.

To those of you who tried so hard to make the world a better place, I’m so sorry. I feel your pain as I, unenviably, feel the pain of all sentient beings. I’d like to tell you and them that everything will be okay. And, maybe soon it will be. Just not the way you’d hoped.

“Enjoy.” Then go outside, find some beauty, put some water out for the birds, help nature; everyone hurts… just like you.

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The climate catastrophe is quickly unfolding. Water and food are running out. We in rich countries are feeling it last because we have systems in place to enslave workers (humans and other animals) and steal resources from poorer people around the world. And we are fortunate enough to be able to blast our air conditioning until the power runs out. 

Still, the rich countries are already starting to feel the unraveling effects of Climate Chaos. Blame inflation, but it's heat-flation. Blame crumbling supply chains, but it's a dwindling supply. Crops are failing. Farmed animals are dying. Farm workers (including enslaved nonhuman animals) are dying in the heat. Waterways are increasingly drying up, slowing water transportation. And inland flooding is stopping land transport. 

Our dying planet is simply unable to meet the growing demand of an ever-growing human population hellbent on gathering and consuming as much as we can, as fast as we can.

As food and water run out and as the ever-intensifying heat makes more, and eventually most parts of the world unsurvivable, mass migrations will surge. We fear-driven human animals, like other animals, seek out and cluster with those we feel are like ourselves. In the modern era, we do this both physically and online. Each segregated tribe basks in the illusion of relative safety. And each tribe looks at other tribes as outsiders, as threats and, inevitably, as competitors for resources.

This tribalism and fear usher in the rise of jingoistic nationalism. Flags unfurl amongst chants of "Us first and to hell with everyone else." 

With nationalism and jingoism, the trembling, unbelievably stressed masses look for a leader or more accurately, a false god, a dictator who will make sure that their tribe comes first. Fuck democracy, fuck morality, fuck the rest of the world -- it's about survival now. If it's good for the tribe, that's all that matters. Time to look out for number one. 

The dictator can do no wrong in the eyes of the converted. The will of the people gives way to the demands of the dictator. By then it’s too late – even those who willingly relinquished their own power are no longer allowed to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Government shrinks to a small circle, like a tribe inside the tribe, trusting no one from the outside. 

The dictator rules by force and stays in power by drumming up fear. This constant state of fear is maintained through complete control over messaging and disinformation, through the complete control of resources, and most often through brutality. This is fascism.

I’m afraid the fight for democracy will not be easy and it will not end until it all ends, or until we, the few who remain free, are conquered, die, or simply give up.

What can you do? Nothing about the climate catastrophe. We are fucked. Most of the younger people of today will not live full lives. Those who do will suffer immeasurably. Things are going to get worse before they get… much, much worse.

But you can make important choices that will affect you and everyone else:

1. Advocate and vote for democracy and freedom. Democracy has not and will not “just happen.” It needs you. If you vote for a dictator, it very well may be the last vote you ever cast. Believing a dictator who makes promises that currently appeal to you and thinking that thereafter, somehow, you will be able maintain your way of life is naive and misguided. To a dictator you are valuable only as long as you cost them nothing and give them everything.

2. Vote with your dollars, however many or however few, by choosing plant-based foods. Plant-based foods require only a fraction of the land, water and other resources it takes to produce animal-based products. Sadly, this compassionate, sustainable choice can no longer save the world; it’s too late. But eating lower on the food chain can help feed as many people as possible as long as we can. This may also help stave off the inevitable wars for resources, and the accompanying desperation that will lead to the unimaginable.

Choosing plant-based foods instead of eating farmed animals also gives animals a chance to breathe. Some wild animals may return, for a while at least, to lands they once inhabited. Their homes are currently being destroyed by grazing and by overproduction of grain – all to fatten cattle and hundreds of billions of other farmed animals. Animal agriculture is unfathomably wasteful. 

And, of course, by your simply choosing plant-based foods, countless farmed animals will no longer be raped, caged, mutilated and murdered. You have the opportunity to not willingly contribute to the pain and suffering that surrounds us.

Being mindful of what and who you consume is also a practical daily meditation to build compassion and agency. It’s a consistent exercise in caring about someone other than yourself. And no one can take that away from you. Expanding your circle of compassion to the meekest among us also helps frame the world from the viewpoint of others. It’s tough out there for everyone. 

3. Don’t bring children into the world. If you have the desire and ability to take care of children, adopt. There are millions who would love your help. And millions more are being displaced and unwillingly abandoned due to climate change. Bringing children into the nightmare ahead is unconscionable. I realize some of you don’t know what’s coming and that’s not necessarily your fault. But please, if you really care about children, do not bring them into this dying world.

It’s pretty simple really. Be kind to animals. Be kind to people. Be understanding of every tired, scared, stressed, angry and hurting being. We’re all in this together. 

Then do something good. Help someone in need. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture. It could be as simple as helping an elderly neighbor carry groceries, or spending time petting the fur kids at your local shelter, putting water out for the birds. There are countless ways to practice kindness. You'll be amazed how quickly your own outlook shifts out of "fuck it" and into "how can I help."

Or, as I like to say, “Be kind. Do good. And don’t be an asshole on the way out.”