Intentionally mask the great catastrophe of just hitting the iceberg
Have you ever wondered if we’re like the guests at the dinner table in the Titanic, priding ourselves with the glamour of the etiquette, admiring the regal effects, hypnotized by the flicker of candlelight, and the sweet orchestra music playing, as we intentionally mask the great catastrophe of just hitting the iceberg?
As we tap our feet rhythmically to the music of the giant systems that mankind has invented and contemplate that, “its too big to break, too scientific to be wrong, too mathematical to be inaccurate.” And then we get that flicker of hope on the horizon that the warning signs are just a blip in the chart, a self-balancing error, an obvious mathematical fluctuation, a predictable outcome.”
And then we sustain our reasoning with fleeting thoughts that encircle our brain as we remember stirring statements such as, “The great economic and financial architects of the world are dealing with issues that transcend national borders that can promote cooperation, achieve sustainable world growth, and promote international financial stability that benefits all.” And a warm feeling possesses our being as we lift the crystal glass of champagne, sparkling off the luminance of the chandelier, to toast the brilliance of the human mind.
Then the feelings of faint disquiet become more stabilized, as the economic and scientific words gush in minds as such reassuring language is almost audible in our thoughts and we hear ourselves inwardly reflecting, “Flexible Credit Line (FCL), Preventive Loans, Precautionary Credit Line (PCL), Systemically Important Financial institutions (SIFIs), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and above all, Food Security.” And voice in another part of our brain echoes across the wavy terrain and almost like a whisper in the darkness says, “The big guys know what they are doing.”
Then as we lift our glass for another toast, a severe shake surprises us, as the Titanic table almost loses its balance and we reactively grasp for support, transiently blaming intoxication. And like waking up from a dream of a thousand sights and sounds occupying the deep recesses of our brains, we clutch the table with more vigor as the champagne glass spills on the immaculate floor.
And like a flashlight shining in our eyes as we emerge from the deep trance, and other thoughts dazzle our minds as smaller voices are heard penetrating the Atlantic roar and almost audible in our brains we hear: “How do we measure happiness, how do we measure motherhood, fatherhood, parenting, friendship, culture, respect for the family, clean air, pure water, wetlands, biodiversity, barefoot-at-the-beach, lovely-bird-soaring-over-beautiful-mountain, and new-born-clutching-mother’s finger.”
Then like a mighty wave rising from great depths, towering sky- high in a rush upwards as the inevitable descent promises to drag everything down to the watery abyss, the gracefully adorned table rushes across the shiny floor and a distant, dark dream descends on everyone as metallic echoes grind forever in the subconscious.
Bibliography and additional reading:
Case study; the collapse of the Lehmam Brothers
GDP is a misleading measure of wealth
