Dark Age Ahead

Change is a scary word. When things that have been a certain way for so long become different, people start to panic. They cling on to their old ways and protest against the new or choose to simply turn a blind eye to the whole matter. When people do decide to recognize that things have to change, they try to think of a solution that will result in as close of an outcome to the original as possible. And when things don’t turn out right or if they must adapt to something new, they will gripe and complain and wistfully think of the “old days.” But what most people don’t understand is that the choices they make in every day life and the values that they hold most sacred are determining the future of the rest of society- and sometimes those choices are leading us down a dim path, a spiral that will become out of control and lead us into a new dark age.

Such is the subject of Jane Jacobs’ book, Dark Age Ahead. For the most part, I found it to be a dismal collection of historical evidence and modern day examples of the direction the world is heading in unless some drastic changes take place. Jacobs outlines five pillars of culture that are corroding and will leave society with a lack of the essential tools to ensue growth and development in a new era. This era, Jacobs states, will be a new dark age, where culture and history is forgotten, communities are shattered and it’s every man for himself. Although no references are made, biblically, I relate it to the End Times. The pillars she uses as individual chapter subjects are: community and family, higher education, the effective practice of science, taxation and government and the self- regulation of learned professionals. Just in looking at these topics, I can think of several examples of each off the top of my head, which just goes to show that there are indeed things happening in a not so positive way.

When I first read the introduction to the book and the claim that our society was heading into a dark age, I thought to myself, “There’s no way. Our technology will never allow us to forget about how we got successful.” But after reading through her reasoning and seeing all the examples from the past and from today, my thinking switched. In fact, it’s downright scary how close we could be to another dark age. Granted, I don’t think we’ll be burning books and living off corn meal like in the Middle Ages, but we could definitely lose parts of our culture that we may not value much right now, but need to have in order to thrive and keep sane in this crazy world. On page 24, Jacobs makes a profound point. “A culture is unsalvageable if stabilizing forces themselves become ruined and irrelevant.” The stabilizing forces here are the five pillars and they are deteriorating quickly and without repair.

Example one is the destruction of the nuclear family unit. Welfare laws, low wages and the death of communities have all resulted in the restructuring of homes, usually to the disadvantage of those involved. With public transportation declining and the loss of manufacturing jobs in the city, many fathers were forced to leave the home in order for their family to apply for welfare. This lead to high rates of single-parent homes and less supervision and stimulating activities for children, resulting in higher delinquency and school drop-out rates. In homes with parents earning minimum wage jobs, all energy is put into earning enough to survive and without the support of a caring community, life can become unbearable. “After a community is lost, the memory of it also fades” (page 38). People become isolated and depressed. Without a core family at home, they will find another one on the streets or in prisons. And the values learnt on the streets are not usually ones to be taken into the home.

Educational systems are also failing and not just in public primary schools. “Credentialing versus Education” is the theme of the second falling pillar and this is extremely apparent in colleges and secondary education today (page 44). All over commercials and ads you see online or accelerated degree programs popping up. In traditional schools, classes are filled to the brink and are seldom taught by the professor listed on the syllabus. Instead, T.A.s or Power Points take over actual academic lectures. This is not to say that new technology hasn’t improved the learning experience, but when professors are more dedicated to their next published article than their students, the students will pick up on that and go to class just to “get the piece of paper” that says you’re ready for the “real world.” If all an employer wants is to see that you have your bachelors, then why not get it in one year online at the University of Phoenix? Pretty soon, having a degree will be irrelevant, as anyone with a computer and a few extra hours can log on and complete a program. Fast and easy is what people want from their education these days.

“Science Abandoned” focuses on the removal of the scientific practice of learning how to better the community and world and instead focusing on exploiting hidden truths and disrupting thoughts and views. Through advances in science, we begin to lose identities and values in order to seem progressive and modern. Science becomes about disproving old ideas and finding quick and easy solutions to lagging problems, without really studying and understanding the root of the problem. Without participation from society as a whole, science could (and has) been used dangerously and with serious effects.

The word “taxes” is almost a foul word, usually used in correlation with an angry rant or a confused inquiry. Where do all of my taxes go and why do I get some of it back and others not? Why don’t I get a say in where every dollar is spent? Although we all share the same resources in a city, everyone’s needs are different (page 105). When a decision about where to cut taxes are made, it usually benefits one group of people and hurts another. Tax cuts can be some of the most harmful things to an organization that depends on the money to get them through the year. The loss of these funds can leave the public feeling sullen, impatient and full of rage (page 107). The fact of the matter is, most of the aid does not find its way to the source and so much is wasted on other fees that the allotted amount is laughable and hardly makes a difference. Taxes are also used in political battles to buy an election or appease a certain class of people (page 114). The loss and reckless use of taxes for public good will lead to uglier cities, poorer residents and a sense of disinterest in the community as a whole.

Finally, self-regulation amongst the professional class is an issue that has been in the limelight in the media as of late. Corporate scandals, abusive medical workers and government officials raising their salaries are all stories we have heard about corruption in the workplace where no one is seemingly in charge and no one is held accountable. We have let professional regulation continue because usually the work is not seen as menacing or the public has no knowledge on the subject (page 129). A lot of the time the people doing the crime are well-respected and have protection from the police or government and are able to cover up what they did. Who is to blame for this type of behavior? Business Ethics 101 taken during freshmen year in college can hardly prepare students for the issues that they may face when out in the working world, but they should provide a foundation for what is right and what is wrong.

What then can uphold these five pillars of our culture and allow us to improve our society and our lives without losing what made us great in the first place? How do we stop another Dark Age from occurring? Whose responsibility is it to be stewards of our culture and hold us accountable so that we don’t forget where we came from and what was once important? Does a culture just simply evolve from one ideal to another? Like Jacobs thinking, I too believe that in the future, the suburban sprawl will have to connect back to society in some way (page 157). It may not be the same as the communities with a Main Street and a donut shop, but once people get tired of living in a cookie-cutter cul-de-sac, they will start looking to reconnect with people again. It is true that Americans value efficiency, but only to a certain extent. We like to buy cheap and in bulk and pride ourselves on saving money, but we can also be extremely frivolous when it comes to SUVs, gas, flat screen TVs and huge homes. The suburban sprawl is one sign of disconnect and isolation and once we get past a certain point, it is nearly impossible to go back.

As a community development concentration, I believe that it is my calling and duty to bring awareness to these sorts of issues to the population as a whole. I try to bring things up in conversations and enlighten people on the issues, but seeing examples in real life is better than any conversation or book. The problem is, most people are so routine in their day to day life, that to actually step back and view the issues requires time and effort on their part- something people do not give up willingly. Sensational news stories such as Enron and corruption of power or failing public projects bring issues to the public eye, but only cause a stir for a while until it is forgotten again. I think the power of images and film can make a huge difference in changing opinions of people and help them get a leg up on addressing the problems, so that is what I take from all of our readings. I hope to find an untapped issue that I can really tackle and bring to light through documentary film work.

Social awareness is the key to avoiding the decline into a dark age, but it is easier to ignore problems than to solve them. People don’t miss something until it is gone and they can’t get it back. Once something is extinct, they will do whatever they can to replace it, but the replica can never be as good as the original. What’s lost, is lost.