MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Ed Said - Dealing with future shockOver the last six weeks or so of lockdown we have seen round-the-clock reporting of every aspect of the coronavirus as it has taken its toll on what is a surprisingly defenceless world. The very unique nature of these latest events has left a world – in these times quite desensitised to blanket coverage of tragedy and suffering – reeling with shock. While the latest reporting of a mass shooting at some US university or shopping mall barely makes headlines for more than 24 hours, seeing Covid-19 victims around the world carried away in their dozens by army trucks has been quite surreal, and the statistics of all kinds are difficult to reconcile. How much have we learned from this whole experience? As we prepare to emerge from lockdown and social distancing, just what are the opportunities realised and lessons learned? The discussion points are too many and varied for this column, but what the pandemic has highlighted to me is the paradox of people: How some are incredibly humanitarian, empathetic, resourceful and creative, yet the idiocy of others is just mind boggling. We only have to compare the leaders of some foreign nations to conclude that we may have just been lucky enough to be at the right place at the wrong time here in new Zealand. I must also profess some disappointment in myself over the last six weeks. Like many I had determined to paint the house, finally read the dusty column of books on my bedside table, and learn the ancient art of macrame. None of those things even came close to happening. A book that always seemed to bounce around the shelves at home when I was growing up was Future Shock by Alvin Toffler. A futurist – someone who specialises in and explores predictions and possibilities about human society in the future – Toffler’s first book of three dealing with the subject of ‘the future as a way of life’ was released in 1970, the year I was born. Did Toffler realise that the future he wrote about then would give readers the hindsight they have today? While Toffler’s books don’t necessarily deal with a deadly virus, they do deal with, and predict, many of the symptoms of the increasing speed of life that sends a society hurtling head long into the future, crashing through every stop sign on the way. It’s hard to argue that much of the world’s malaise isn’t a symptom of the way we treat it, ourselves, and each other. As a result, the world and our own communities are experiencing their own Future Shock. It’s almost an impossibly deep challenge of thought and consideration: Where to from here? By the time you read this we will be racing at warp speed into the future, again, as we navigate an almost post-Covid-19 level 2 society, and we look forward to getting back to normal. But then there’s debate about what normal really is. And do we really need to be there? I kind of agree with climate risk and resilience advisor, Sam McGlennon: Let’s never return to normal. Rich Pooley |