Is There Any Hope?

Has the plane already crashed?

One of my favorite authors is science fiction writer John Varley. In his 1983 book Millennium, a main character is an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. In one scene, he listens to the cockpit voice recorder of a DC-10 that has suffered a catastrophic mid-air collision. As the plane hurtles toward the ground, the pilot and co-pilot are doing everything possible to keep her in the air. The final words on the tape are of the captain saying, “I’m trying to … I’m going to try … that didn’t do it, okay, uh, let’s try … shit.”

The crash investigator, who has listened to many such final moments, explains to the reader that’s how it always goes. The pilots don’t panic; they are too well-trained, having had it drilled into them that there is always another thing to try that might work. So, they keep doing everything they can right up to the moment they have run out of time and suddenly realize they and all the passengers in their care are totally screwed and there is nothing else for them to do except utter some final bit of profanity before they become part a large and fiery hole in the earth.

Sometimes, when you’ve done your utmost best yet still failed, there is nothing left except to say Aw, shit.

On November 5, 2024, the Fanta Menace was voted back into power in the United States, and millions of Americans suddenly realized they and many of the people they care about were totally screwed.

Shit.

How the hell did this happen? Racism and sexism, mostly. Those traits are innate in our species, and right-wing media, which has grown into a juggernaut this century, tapped into them to transform tens of millions of regular people into assholes who reject both compassion and reality.

And yet, even with the destruction of the First Amendment, the plane hasn’t quite pancaked into the ground. My former next-door neighbor is an airline pilot. He was flying over water when the cockpit began to fill with smoke. It was a situation those who decide such things rate as “un-survivable.” Like the pilots in Varley’s story, he didn’t give up. He kept trying different things, I’m not sure what, but he was able to land the plane safely. It must have been rough, because he was the only member of the cabin crew to ever fly again. Everyone else sought new careers, including the co-pilot.

There are still things we can do to try and keep Aircraft Earth aloft, because I’m not just talking about what happens in America. Fascism is invading much of the world. I don’t have words of encouragement that everything will be okay. Instead, I’ll share a verse by another wonderful writer, Dr. Suess, from The Lorax: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” In a rapidly changing world, each generation lives despite the actions of the one that came before, not because of it. Progress is not only seen via examining history; it is made because we absorb and understand the lessons, transgressions, and accomplishments of those who preceded us, and act accordingly. One final pop culture reference: Listen to that duet by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel “Don’t Give Up.” When the good people give up, the bad people win.

The only hope for the future is if you behave as though there is hope for the future.

Those who cannot remember the past need a history teach who says “fuck” a lot. Get both volumes of ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN

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