Learning New Things
I learned a new word yesterday, and in a moment, it changed my thinking on what the future may possibly may hold for us. (Wait. What? Mr doom and gloom has had a change of heart?) I enjoy learning new things, and yes they can, on occasion, change your outlook on any number of things.
The word was “Protopia.” This word was coined by futurist writer Kevin Kelly in a 2010 book, “What Technology Wants.” The idea of a Protopia goes a little like this. Dystopias are bleak and downright horrifying, totally hopeless. Utopias, long discussed and debated by intellectuals are perfect. But, with imperfect humans trying to construct a perfect future, it is ultimately doomed to utter failure. Much the same for Pre-Dystopians, once we start down that road, you might as well throw in the towel. We have long been feeding on a steady diet of TV, movie and books of Dystopian possibilities, it is like we have given up on any thought of any kind of livable tomorrow. A Protopian idea is that better days are completely possible, it is not full of big thoughts and grand visions, it is just a simple idea of facing and of overcoming, through hard work, the myriad problems of our modern civilization and coming out the other side alive and well.
Accordingly, the last time we thought of a livable and progressive future was back in 1966 with the appearance of Star Trek. The premise was that we had overcome most of our earthly and human problems and had progressed to the point of exploring space and living peacefully, (mostly), with other species. As a young teenager I was fascinated with the idea that we could possibly make it to that Star Trek future. The American space program was in full flight in the sixties and we were all caught up with getting into space and to the moon. Here was a program set a couple of hundred years in the future and saying that we had actually succeeded in our human and space ambitions. I became a lifelong fan of Star Trek and have tried to live the dream of a better future.
I have to admit, it has been rough, and lately I have all but given up on the idea of a livable future. But the Star Trek vision has always been there to keep me hopeful. We don’t have to do big things to solve every problem. The best way to eat an elephant, it has been said, is one bite at a time. Little steps, small moves, and taking a bite out of the big problems when we can. We must do it this way, there are still too many that oppose and deny that there are problems, and actively work to prevent others from working on trying to fix things. They are busy looking to promote their Utopian vision of endless growth, complete control over society, wasting all of our resources and polluting our air, water and land for their greedy and selfish needs. Protopia is an idea whose time has come and I am completely on board this ship to the future.
(So, my Star Trek future is not completely dead yet, and I will hopefully continue to paint those visions like I have for the last 50 years.)
