Low-Tech Classified Ads

There is a growing awareness about two divergent paths our species could follow from this point in our bewildering milieu. The first presupposes that our technology will continue to advance exponentially toward beautiful (or perhaps terrifying) outcomes and horizons of possibility. The second shivers with the fear of a planet-wide collapse of society and technology, spiraling us into a new “dark age” of low technology and primitive social structures.

I follow Klint Finley’s blog, Technoccult, and appreciate his insight and attention to unfolding trends in technology and society. He recently began a thread with this question: “In a low-tech, post-apocalyptic world, what would you want your job to be?” I still haven’t found an answer to this question, but it began ticking at the back of my brain.

This question spiked to the forefront of my mind again yesterday, after receiving an email from my dear friend Carolyn, about low-tech booby traps setup alongside popular hiking trails in Utah. The article got me to thinking about another angle on Finley’s question; and made me pose my own: What if persons already committed to a low-technology future are already placing bids on their jobs in the post-apocalyptic world?

Our entire culture, at this very moment, is white knuckling the steering wheel into a tunnel with no light at the other end. Our collective future is shadowed by Fukushima, increasing tension and violence between “law” enforcement and citizens worldwide, and a persistent fear-based media that aims to unhinge citizens young and old and create divisive reefs between people who have more in common with each other than the governments who represent their interests (and I use that word loosely).

I’ll admit I’m not ignorant, or without consideration, of a possible low-tech society in our immediate future. During a conversation with a friend on his birthday last week, the notion of a “ten-year” plan popped up. He has two kids, seven and five-years-old, so for him, there is a stronger notion of a necessity to plan for the future. I’m single and have no children, but the concept hit me pretty hard. What will the world look like in ten years? What do I want my role in whatever world unfolds in ten years to be? How do I start placing my bid on that role now?

Tying rocks and spiked stakes to ropes in trees is definitely not the best answer. Neither is arguing moot political blunderings until we’re all blue in the face or parading in the streets alongside violence tourists. The only answer I’ve discovered to this point, is the same notion I’ve tried to build my life on for the past ten years: learn to be a boundless being in this culture which tries, with all its might, to incarcerate you, whether it be in a job, a house, or a tailor-made personality marketed on the web or television. It is up to you to decide your own role in the post-apocalyptic, zombified world, which is already upon us.