World Ark Magazine - January/February 2008 - (Page 9) capacity for compassion, is unable to see the world from any viewpoint but his or her own and is psychologically incapable of moral behavior. Contrary to common belief, such behaviors are not inherent in our human nature. They are symptoms of flawed cultural beliefs and institutions that suppress the development of a mature human consciousness. WA: You’ve said that the older generation can play a huge role in bringing about change. Why is that? Korten: The normal healthy path from the beginning to the end of the individual human life takes us from a narrowly self-centered to a profoundly inclusive view of reality, our human nature and our human relationship to creation. The mature consciousness has a capacity beyond the understanding of the immature consciousness to comprehend the deep roots of the crisis and to recognize the possibility of creating a very different society, a very different civilization. The mature consciousness, which for most people is acquired only through years of experience, thus poses a serious threat to Empire. Recognizing this threat, the institutions of Empire encourage us to retire at 65 and drop out. We are supposed to spend the rest of our lives playing golf, lounging at the beach and reconciling ourselves to death. Yet these elder years are potentially the most important, exciting and productive time of life. We have discretionary time and money, a depth of experience and influential connections. The last thing anyone should want to do in these precious years is go away and slip into resignation. The elder years have traditionally been a time of special responsibility to contribute as teachers, mentors and wisdom keepers on behalf of the whole—which is a whole lot more fun than sitting on the beach waiting to die. For my generation—I’m now 70—our responsibility is all the greater for the fact of the special privilege we enjoy. Young people, who now come out of college burdened with debt and a difficult search for a decentpaying job, have little of the freedom we have to devote ourselves to the unpaid work of navigating a human turning to a path that strips the institutions of Empire of their unaccountable power. WA: In practical terms, what needs to happen to create this Earth Community? Korten: There’s such a wide range of things that needs to be done. Every individual needs to find his or her particular place of service. Essentially any activity that rebuilds relationships of community based on mutual caring and trust is a positive contribution. A defining strategic goal is to replace the framing stories of our culture that tell us our well-being depends on the dominator institutions of Empire with stories that awaken a sense of our potential to create caring communities in which we live in dynamic balance with one another and Earth. WA: What will happen if we don’t move toward an Earth Community? Korten: We’re on a path to a last-manstanding competition for the last tree, the last drinkable drop of water, the last breathable air. Unless we change course, we will see a continuing downward spiral of environmental and social collapse leading to increasing fragmentation, violence and ultimately a massive die-back of the human population, if not outright extinction. It is fully within our human means, however, to navigate a Great Turning. At Yes! magazine (www.yesmagazine.org) we’re continuously putting out the story of this possibility. Find more information about Korten’s newest book at www.thegreatturning.net. www.heifer.org January/February 2008 | WORLD ARK 9 http://www.yesmagazine.org http://www.thegreatturning.net http://www.heifer.org
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