All at Sea...

[Lightspeed]

While researching an entirely different article I came across this one.

For me it was a good analogy of what is going on in the world around us.

Thoughts?

http://www.newsociety.com/var/storage/bl..._intro.pdf

Imagine yourself in the following circumstance: You have just awak-
ened from sleep to find yourself on a tarpaper raft floating away
from shore. With you on the raft are a couple of hundred people,
most of whom seem completely oblivious to their situation. They
are drinking beer, barbecuing ribs, fishing, or sleeping. You look at
the rickety vessel and say to yourself, “My God, this thing is going
to sink any second!”

Miraculously, seconds go by and it is still afloat. You look around
to see who’s in charge. The only people you can find who appear
to have any authority are some pompous-looking characters
operating a gambling casino in the middle of the raft. In back of
them stand heavily armed soldiers. You point out that the raft
appears dangerous. They inform you that it is the safest and most
wonderful vessel ever constructed, and that if you persist in sug-
gesting otherwise the guards will exercise their brand of persuasion
on you. You back away, smiling, and move to the edge of the raft.
At this point, you’re convinced (and even comment to a stranger
next to you) that, with those idiots at the helm, the raft can’t last
more than another minute or so.

A minute goes by and still the damn thing is afloat. You turn
your gaze out to the water. You notice now that the raft is sur-
rounded by many sound-looking canoes, each carrying a family of
indigenous fishers. Men on the raft are systematically forcing peo-
ple out of the canoes and onto the raft at gunpoint, and shooting
holes in the bottoms of the canoes. This is clearly insane behavior:
the canoes are the only possible sources of escape or rescue if the
raft goes down, and taking more people on board the already over-
crowded raft is gradually bringing its deck even with the water line.
You reckon that there must now be four hundred souls aboard. At
this rate, the raft is sure to capsize in a matter of seconds.

A few seconds elapse. You can see and feel water lapping at
your shoes, but amazingly enough the raft itself is still afloat, and
nearly everyone is still busy eating, drinking, or gambling (indeed,
the activity around the casino has heated up considerably). You
hear someone in the distance shouting about how the raft is about
to sink. You rush in the direction of the voice only to see its source
being tossed unceremoniously overboard. You decide to keep
quiet, but think silently to yourself, “Jeez, this thing can’t last more
than another couple of minutes! What the hell should I do?”
You notice a group of a dozen or so people working to patch
and reinforce one corner of the raft. This, at least, is constructive
behavior, so you join in. But it’s not long before you realize that the
only materials available to do the patching with are ones cannibal-
ized from elsewhere on the raft. Even though the people you’re
working with clearly have the best of intentions and are making
some noticeable improvements to the few square feet on which
they’ve worked, there is simply no way they can render the entire
vessel “sustainable,” given its size, the amount of time required, and
the limited availability of basic materials. You think to yourself that
there must be some better solution, but can’t quite focus on one.
As you stand there fretting, a couple of minutes pass. You real-
ize that every one of your predictions about the fate of the raft has
been disconfirmed. You feel useless and silly. You are about to make
the only rational deductions — that there must be some mystical
power keeping the raft afloat, and that you might as well make the
most of the situation and have some barbecue — when a thought
comes to you: The “sustainability” crowd has the right idea . . .
except that, as they rebuild their corner of the raft, they should
make it easily detachable, so that when the boat as a whole sinks
they can simply disengage from it and paddle toward shore. But
then, what about the hundreds of people who won’t be able to fit
onto this smaller, reconditioned raftlet?

You notice now that there is a group of rafters grappling with the
soldiers who’ve been shooting holes in canoes. Maybe, if some of
the canoes and their indigenous occupants survive, then the scope
of the impending tragedy can be reduced. But direct confrontation
with the soldiers appears to be a dangerous business, since many of
the protesters are being shot or thrown into the water.

You continue working with the sustainability group, since they
seem to have the best understanding of the problem and the best
chances of survival. At the same time, your sympathies are with the
protesters and the fisher families. You hope and pray that this is all
some nightmare from which you will soon awaken, or that there is
some means of escape

......