Is the world "Up the Creek wihout a paddle"?
Too many thinking people believe that the whole world has become stranded up the proverbial creek without a paddle. “Not true” says author Brian Bloom, who has invested eight years of his life to research and write two factional novels - Beyond Neanderthal and The Last Finesse.
The base proposition of his novels is that problems are usually just solutions in disguise. “It’s a matter of attitude”, he said in a recent interview. “We have the technical ability to solve all our problems.” Nevertheless, it is well known that before any problem can be solved it needs to be clearly understood. “The self interested media and psychopathic politicians and bankers have created so much confusion and mistrust that too few understand what’s real and what’s bullshit”, he said.
Bloom’s novels slice through this pervasive confusion and define the problems which revolve, primarily, around unethical behaviour of decision makers, waning potency of fossil fuels, the damage caused by fossil fuels to the environment (not only greenhouse gases), egocentrism and toxic testosterone across much of society; and, because of all of the above – in a world that seems to many to be reaching its capacity to support a global population that has tripled since World War II – a moribund world economy.
“About ten years ago, Bloom related, “I sat down and asked myself this question: In a world that suffers from a deluge of information, which has forced people to talk and think in sound-bites, what’s the best way to communicate the realities of what we’re facing, so that we can roll up our sleeves and get stuck in to fixing things?”
The answer that he settled on was “ENTERTAINMENT”. If thinking people could absorb the “heavy” information seamlessly, whilst in the process of being entertained, then they would know what questions they should be asking their political representatives who have been elected to serve the people.
Bloom’s books make some suggestions as to what might be done but he is quick to emphasise that these are only points of departure for discussion. “When enough people come to understand the problems then sensible discussion can occur and we can begin to heal both society and our host planet.”
Another problem that the author recognised was that people are slow to change their behaviour and that, at a society level, change comes slowest of all. Peer group pressure amongst those who are comfortable is fiercely protective of the status quo. “Just look around you”, Bloom said: “The so-called Arab Spring in general is meeting resistance. Look at what’s happening in Syria and Egypt in particular. Occupy Wall Street is meeting resistance. There are other examples. But there are also strong signs that attitudes are changing and that the world is ready to embrace change.”
He may not be wrong. In the US, over 50% of voters want to fire all of Congress. In Europe, there are examples of previously socialistically oriented people who are banding together in what Bloom refers to as “Collaborative Capitalism” in order to create employment opportunities for themselves. But, as he observes, at a leadership level what the world really needs is focus. “We need to focus on the appropriate priorities”.
Via their light hearted and entertaining fictional storylines, Bloom’s fact based novels suggest what those priorities might be, commencing with appropriate energy paradigms that are more powerful than fossil fuels. But to have any impact at all, millions of people need to read those books. “If you want to be part of the solution, as opposed to part of the problem” Bloom suggested, “then go out and buy the books and encourage all your friends and acquaintances to do the same. Beyond Neanderthal and The Last Finesse represent a balanced emotional/logical view of our world. They can be bought via Amazon or Barnes & Nobel or other book dealers.”
Maybe the cynics should give him the benefit of the doubt. So far, readers have been giving rave reviews.
The base proposition of his novels is that problems are usually just solutions in disguise. “It’s a matter of attitude”, he said in a recent interview. “We have the technical ability to solve all our problems.” Nevertheless, it is well known that before any problem can be solved it needs to be clearly understood. “The self interested media and psychopathic politicians and bankers have created so much confusion and mistrust that too few understand what’s real and what’s bullshit”, he said.
Bloom’s novels slice through this pervasive confusion and define the problems which revolve, primarily, around unethical behaviour of decision makers, waning potency of fossil fuels, the damage caused by fossil fuels to the environment (not only greenhouse gases), egocentrism and toxic testosterone across much of society; and, because of all of the above – in a world that seems to many to be reaching its capacity to support a global population that has tripled since World War II – a moribund world economy.
“About ten years ago, Bloom related, “I sat down and asked myself this question: In a world that suffers from a deluge of information, which has forced people to talk and think in sound-bites, what’s the best way to communicate the realities of what we’re facing, so that we can roll up our sleeves and get stuck in to fixing things?”
The answer that he settled on was “ENTERTAINMENT”. If thinking people could absorb the “heavy” information seamlessly, whilst in the process of being entertained, then they would know what questions they should be asking their political representatives who have been elected to serve the people.
Bloom’s books make some suggestions as to what might be done but he is quick to emphasise that these are only points of departure for discussion. “When enough people come to understand the problems then sensible discussion can occur and we can begin to heal both society and our host planet.”
Another problem that the author recognised was that people are slow to change their behaviour and that, at a society level, change comes slowest of all. Peer group pressure amongst those who are comfortable is fiercely protective of the status quo. “Just look around you”, Bloom said: “The so-called Arab Spring in general is meeting resistance. Look at what’s happening in Syria and Egypt in particular. Occupy Wall Street is meeting resistance. There are other examples. But there are also strong signs that attitudes are changing and that the world is ready to embrace change.”
He may not be wrong. In the US, over 50% of voters want to fire all of Congress. In Europe, there are examples of previously socialistically oriented people who are banding together in what Bloom refers to as “Collaborative Capitalism” in order to create employment opportunities for themselves. But, as he observes, at a leadership level what the world really needs is focus. “We need to focus on the appropriate priorities”.
Via their light hearted and entertaining fictional storylines, Bloom’s fact based novels suggest what those priorities might be, commencing with appropriate energy paradigms that are more powerful than fossil fuels. But to have any impact at all, millions of people need to read those books. “If you want to be part of the solution, as opposed to part of the problem” Bloom suggested, “then go out and buy the books and encourage all your friends and acquaintances to do the same. Beyond Neanderthal and The Last Finesse represent a balanced emotional/logical view of our world. They can be bought via Amazon or Barnes & Nobel or other book dealers.”
Maybe the cynics should give him the benefit of the doubt. So far, readers have been giving rave reviews.
No comments have been added yet.
