Coming from a cloistered Central Valley farm town to the Bay Area of the late 1960s was a transformational experience—a personal age of discovery. At UC Berkeley, I realized that it wasn’t just me, but in fact, the world stood at the beginnings of a remarkable new era of discovery.
A few decades later, we are deep into this new Age of Discovery. Or as my writing partner and I have dubbed it, the Green Industrial Revolution. While I focus most of my attention on alternative energy and emerging technologies, it’s impossible to overlook the democratization of information caused by digitalization and the vast upheavals and transformations being created by scientists and engineers in all areas of our lives.
Most likely, this is the best moment in history to be alive. Despite climate change and the violence of the Middle East, overall human health, education and aggregate wealth are flourishing. Billions of people are being pulled from poverty, eating protein, and absorbing the vast wonders of the universe with a mouse click. There are more scientists alive today than in all previous generations, and the discoveries that they are making (think the genome) transcend anything imaginable.
Sadly, this robust modern Renaissance suffers from some of the same tragic elements that nearly derailed the original 15th century Age of Discovery that was propelled out of Medieval darkness by the geniuses of Gutenberg, Martin Luther, and later da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo, Copernicus and Columbus.
Like the original, our new Age of Discovery is moving so fast, with so many breakthroughs, that key elements of stability like the workplace and community are being disrupted. This is clear in the Bay Area where a new generation of young, brilliant high-tech workers are transforming old established communities in the East Bay.
While the Bay Area has a culture of adjusting and redefining without excessive anxiety and fear, the rest of the nation is not so flexible. The pace of technological change is outstripping the average person’s ability to adapt. Large numbers of the U.S. population find themselves or their communities left behind, their skills no longer needed, careers thwarted and lives and neighborhoods in decline.
In the first Age of Discovery, Lorenzo Medici’s Florence was nearly torn apart when Girolamo Savonarola, a charismatic zealot managed to sweep away much of the establishment with his message of public purification and anti-intellectual intimidation. Savonarola launched an ugly purge against art and ideas that led to the Bonfire of the Vanities and the destruction of priceless beauty and knowledge.
Similarly, the U.S. is now besieged by a racist bigot who strives to be our President. Like Savonarola, his followers are those diminished by the anxiety of being left behind by a world in change. Their world has been forever altered by this new Age of Discovery. Unionism collapsed as the U.S. aging manufacturing sector was supplanted by superior robotic technology and Asian business acumen. Once secure and comfortable, much of the U.S. workforce, particularly those approaching the end of their careers, no longer feel able to adjust or to comprehend the rapidity of change being generated daily.
The new digital commerce accelerated by bad government tax policies has created enormous wealth for the very few. This inequality of wealth has created envy and social dislocation while celebrity worship has replaced spiritual balance. This change is happening so fast that key anchor institutions like government, education, and religion are powerless to provide answers and are being left behind.
The dysfunctionality of the U.S. Congress is a prime example of this institutional failure. The latest failure, the Senate’s inability to craft a law prohibiting terrorists from purchasing assault rifles. Are our senators crazy, corrupt, or just ineffectual?
Closer to home, the instant and almost total collapse of Oakland’s police structure is a shocking example of how fragile municipal government has become. Benicia City Council’s failure to follow the Planning Commission’s recommendation to disallow Valero’s greed-driven Crude-By-Rail Project is another example of paralysis and failed leadership.
As these institutions stumble and more citizens become insecure and mystified, bellicose and charismatic leaders offering cathartic redemption rise in the void of rational leadership and effective solutions. No longer is the voice of reason listened to, instead it is the bellowing of unprincipled self-aggrandizement wrapped in the sophist’s argument that some minority group or immigrant has stolen your stuff, your job and your self-respect.
This sadly is why the U.S. Republican Party has devolved into offering the nation a presumptive presidential nominee who reminds of Savonarola. The Grand Old Party that once led the struggle for emancipation, whose members wrote the text for the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote and whose president signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960, now has a narcissistic racist bully at the helm.
Savonarola darn near destroyed the Italian Renaissance and almost threw the Age of the Discovery back into the abyss of superstition and ignorance. Let’s hope that our modern Age of Discovery and our values of tolerance and democracy are secure and stable enough to withstand Trump’s battering.
A longtime Benicia resident, Grant Cooke is the CEO of Sustainable Energy Associates and a writer. His books, written with Woodrow Clark II include “Smart Green Cities: Toward a Carbon Neutral World”_and “The_Green Industrial Revolution: Energy, Engineering and Economics.”
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I am not a Trump supporter. I don’t like Hillary.
The author has every right to offer his opinion. But to describe Trump as a “racist bigot” is flame throwing and not helpful. There is plenty to argue that would denigrate Trump, but name calling will only fan partisan flames. Yes, Trump makes stupid comments. He is a blowhard. He is a supreme egotist. But to claim to know his heart is just speculation.
We now will see responses concerning Hillary. She will be described as a lying elisitst, totally corrupt, while making hundreds of millions of dollars while feeding at the taxpayers pockets.
What good does all this do?
We have lousy candidate choices. Both are flawed. What to do?
I say, study the issues. How will they govern? What policies will they promote? What type of foreign policy will they conduct. What will be their judicial appointments? What are their economic policies? How will they fight terrorism?
Let’s debate policy. Name calling diverts from a serious discussion.
Thank you matter, Cooke is the same as despises. It’s time to look in the mirror.
I believe Grant just wrote a good article that exposes his own elite status. Dumb downs the rest of the country because they do not think his way. He also forgets to tell you that the state is total run by Progressives. So all the crime, murder and his elite folks in the San Jose area are ALL above this. A very biased and Progressive elite claim to superiority while putting down the rest of the country for his own self motivation. The folks that Grant is rating on are the Dems base. So it appears he feels that the Bay Area is the elite part of the country and the rest of the folks are out of touch. His article tells the whole story of the elite Progressive approach to putting down all others. Think my way or there is the door. He is trying elevate the Progressives to elite status. Sorry Grant you failed with a pure self promoting article. He also jumbs all over Oakland which is run by his Progressive followers. So much fior ,that. It is mthe Progressives fauklt that is even happenerd. Then jumbs all over local elected officisals because mthey did the right thing for mthe cvity. It was not his way so they mare wrong. Grant you are pure self promoting Enviri Greenie. Yes it is my stATEMERNT
Sorry for the typos. Hit the wrong button before editing. It does happen but the point was made.
Grant,
“This change is happening so fast that key anchor institutions like government, education, and religion are powerless to provide answers and are being left behind.” I cant figure out if, in regards to religion specifically, you are implying this to be a good or bad thing. However, I believe the answer is further down in the column where you state: “….and almost threw the Age of the Discovery back into the abyss of superstition and ignorance.”. Superstition and ignorance sums it up.
Thanks for the column. Glad the BH is up and running again and you continue to contribute.
Thomas, thanks for the comment. I didn’t mean to imply that it was good or bad that religion or any significant institution was in decline, just that it was happening. The point was that as key personal psychological cornerstones decline people develop anxiety and lash out. Their anger usually comes from insecurity and lack of personal reflection and accountability. It is “they” who have done it to me; not that it is “I” who needs to change. Most people avoid any sort of personal responsibility for institutional ineffectiveness. Just look at the argument that is going on in Benicia; folks are unwilling to change the town’s dependence on the fossil fuel industry though they know intellectually that the fossil fuel industry is in decline. Eventually, they will have to find another tax revenue base, but the town’s residents would rather ignore that reality. Others are so riddled with insecurity that rational thought is replaced by incoherent babble.
Grant you are wrong. The city is trying to develop the Seeno property and is being stopped by both the council and for sure the planning commission. They refuse to enter into talks about a good compromise. The anti fossil fuel crowd is trying to just shut out the refinery. Fossil fuel will be here for many years to come. In the mean time the council and planning commission are the culprit.. Many members of the council understand the importance of econ dev but are stopped by the very Enviro Greenie planning Commission and the Mayor and two other council members. The city does know what is needed. Grant it is people like you that want to stop fossil fuel at once. I assume you would be very happy if all five refinery’s closed.; It is your crowd that is the problem.
Demagogues vs
I wont be voting for either businessman Donald Trump or S
From the above article:
” Are our senators crazy, corrupt, or just ineffectual”?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-fbi-criminal-investigation-into-clinton-email-server-its-time-for-hillary-to-concede-to-bernie-sanders/5532581
We Need A USAXIT Vote
By the Berxit vote the Brits demanded they are sovereign country out from under the regional rule of Brussels and the wants of the other European countries.
Perhaps the US should look at a USAXIT vote to get out from under the rules of the UN which are not always in the best interest of the United States sovereignty.
The demagogue vs the corporate queen of Wall Street—The media attention is all on Mr. Trump’s rants which deflects attention away from Hillary’s trouble(s).
Suffice to say I won’t be voting for either businessman Donald Trump or Senator Hillary Clinton.
From the above article:
” Are our senators crazy, corrupt, or just ineffectual”?
The FBI will be interviewing Sen. Clinton the first week in July. The article(s) below gives our community, citizens and voters more information on the ongoing investigation.
“The Christian Science Monitor clearly states the nature of the FBI’s investigation, stating ‘The FBI is indeed conducting a criminal investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information on the private email server Clinton used for State Department communications.’ Yes, Hillary supporters, ‘The FBI is indeed conducting a criminal investigation.’”
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-fbi-criminal-investigation-into-clinton-email-server-its-time-for-hillary-to-concede-to-
http://www.voltairenet.org/article192318.html
As the incessant media attention gives the reader/viewer more Trump 24/7…the democratic party’s platform committe is making news that should interest concerned citizens…
“Betraying Progressives, DNC Platform Backs Fracking, TPP, and Israel Occupation”
“Appointees by Clinton and Wasserman Schulz resoundingly reject numerous proposals put forth by Sanders surrogates”
“During a 9-hour meeting in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, members of the DNC’s platform drafting committee voted down a number of measures proposed by Bernie Sanders surrogates that would have come out against the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), fracking, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. At the same time, proposals to support a carbon tax, Single Payer healthcare, and a $15 minimum wage tied to inflation were also disregarded.”
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/25/betraying-progressives-dnc-platform-backs-fracking-tpp-and-israel-occupation
Grant stated: :”the Senate’s inability to craft a law prohibiting terrorists from purchasing assault rifles”
There is no law that can be passed to accomplish that, short of an outright ban on guns for all citizens (which is the ultimate goal of the hard anti gun advocates). Take the Orlando Jihadist – He was reported twice to the FBI, a co-worker raised a red flag internally and a gun shop owner also raised a red flag, yet he was not seen by authorities as a terrorist. Why not? Rather than taking the rights away of law abiding citizens, we need to get away from political correctness turning a blind eye to the obvious.
Great reply Dennis. Very well said.