</a>Conclusion

Spontaneous Initiation of Armageddon -- a heartfelt response to systemic negligence (Part #13)

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The apparently unrelated metaphors (above) interweave to develop a common theme that is given focus by the "secret" Pentagon report on climate change and the extreme worldwide crises it foresees in the near future. Such a crisis of crises was first envisaged by John Platt:

What finally makes all of our crises still more dangerous is that they are now coming on top of each other. Most administrations...are not prepared to deal with...multiple crises, a crisis of crises all at one time...Every problem may escalate because those involved no longer have time to think straight. (John Platt. What we must do. Science, 28 November 1969, p.1115-1121).

Such a crisis could well trigger "Armageddon" -- as many hope in the "hurry up God" lobby [more]. They might be understood to be employing what could become known as the "Aristide maneuver" (practiced in Haiti in 2004) in which sufficient chaos is encouraged to catalyze the intervention of God. But the Pentagon's "climate change" may also be explored metaphorically in terms of the "winds of change" affecting public opinion. The environmental stress associated with such crisis, and the destruction of connecting patterns, can be understood both in terms of the "heart" and "lifeblood" of civilization and of the impact on the individual human "heart". This plays a central role in both internalizing such stress and in sustaining the psycho-social fragmentation basic to a less than "wholehearted" response to the crises of the world. "Armageddon", as the "heart failure" of civilization, is therefore spontaneously evoked by the condition of the human "heart" and its vulnerability to "heart attack" under stress.

What are the prospects for "wholehearted" coherent action as explored elsewhere (Coherent Policy-making Beyond the Information Barrier,1999)? Fundamentalists of every persuasion will have ready answers to the question. The more systemically sensitive prospects may offer some potential in isolated "Renaissance Zones" as discussed elsewhere (Renaissance Zones: experimenting with the intentional significance of the Damanhur community, 2003) notably given the possibility of some form of "rebirth" after Armageddon (Challenges of Renaissance suggestive pattern of concerns in the light of the birth metaphor, 2003). Much may depend on the collective ability to move beyond linear agendas like the UNs Agenda 21 (1992). Again centro-symmetric agendas inspired by certain religious patterns (rose windows, mandalas, lotus flower, etc) may be viable in providing coherence in isolated communities, but it is too late for their global consideration (see Future Generation through Global Conversation, 1997)). The same applies in the case of the potentially more relevant patterns of organization based on insights from quantum and chaos theories, and from the study of complexity.

But it appears it will quickly prove too late for any global coherent response in practice, as illustrated by the limited follow up to Platt's early warning. Typically any analyses (such as those by the Club of Rome), and proposals for collective action, will prove non-viable in the light of the tendencies noted above. Furthermore, as the "South Wind" rises, any analysis taking the form of this paper will be justly rejected as meaningless (see, for example, Terry Eagleton. Why ideas no longer matter: Modern politicians deal only in facts, not philosophical reasoning. The Guardian, 23 March 2004).

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