Strange times, mirror worlds and fending off despair
Naomi Klein's Doppelgänger and trying to keep hope alive
Over the holidays I was able to read Naomi Klein’s new book, Doppelgänger, and it felt like an important read for those like me who feel disoriented and dislocated by the changes of the last decade or two. One of the biggest and most difficult changes has been that thanks to the internet, social media, and billionaire-backed media machines like FOX, truth no longer seems to matter in public discourse, or any discourse. Or maybe more accurately, everyone makes claims to truth, but evidence in any real sense of the word no longer seems to be a requirement. It feels like the loudest voices with the most financial backing always win. And with the rapid advances in AI, the disappearance of many traditional news outlets, and growing cynicism and apathy on the part of the public we’re at a very pivotal moment for the future of democracy.
Naomi Klein’s jumping-off point is almost funny. Throughout her entire career as a writer and social critic of sorts, she has been confused with another public figure, Naomi Wolf. In the past this was a minor annoyance, until over the course of the pandemic Naomi Wolf became a vocal champion for the alt-right and a regular guest on Steve Bannon’s talk show. The book explores the repercussions of this for Klein, and the wider problem of a “mirror world” online that has been extraordinarily successful in spewing out disinformation and calling disaffected and angry people to action. Far more successfully, one might argue, than the environmental movement, the anti-racist movement or any other social justice propositions. In fact the “mirror world” often perverts and co-opts what social justice advocates are doing: for example by taking the dying words of George Floyd (“I can’t breathe”) and re-using them for anti-mask movement.
The book is not about bashing the conspiracy believers, but rather about the failure of many of us to take the concerns of the mirror world seriously. Or to recognize the human penchant for inventing fantasies that are more palatable than the reality of the many crises we are facing.
As I read the book I recognized much of what Wolf described going on in my own psyche. For example, when the alt right initially began gaining steam I laughed it off. I thought there was no way that rational people would believe the claims they were making. I stopped laughing when Donald Trump got elected. Since then I’ve struggled with grief, anxiety and frequent feelings that I’m in some kind of Alice-inWonderland nightmare I can’t wake up from.
Like most of us these days, I’ve had the experience of watching people I knew and cared about become unrecognizable, and also have discovered that a large contingent of my friends have opted to completely check out. They deliberately avoid consuming any news coverage at all, which means they have absolutely no idea about anything that’s going on—and they like it that way. They say that they need to have hope, and apparently, wishful thinking is enough. That makes me angry. I understand why they do it, but it feels to me like an abdication of responsibility and I despair of moving any good policies forward when we don’t have citizens engaged enough to support them. (And on my dark days I wonder why I should bother, when caring causes me so much distress).
But despair is not a useful emotion. Cynicism is far too easy. Really, that’s just another way of “checking out.” The claim that “I can’t do anything about it” is a cop out. Naomi Klein does have ideas about how we can make things better. Among other things, we need to go beyond our individual identities (which have been shaped by social media into another kind of doppelgänger which is a brand rather than an authentic self) and work collectively. We can’t do much as individuals, but we can make change when we band together. We need to better support and collaborate with one another, preferably in the real world (away from the distraction machine). Gabriel Marcel once argued that hope is only available when an interaction exists between givers of hope and those who need to receive it. I think I felt that at the SCGC Fundraiser in October. There is great strength in gathering together. (Whether it’s by Zoom or in the flesh isn’t so important, but having two way, in-the-moment conversations goes a long way).
My hope for the new year is that we’ll be able to better support each other, reflect collectively, organize, and build the resources to motivate others to get engaged. We all essentially want the same things: safety, dignity, belonging, a measure of predictability in our daily lives, and a livable future for both our children and the natural world. Let’s not give up hope, and on the days we feel we’re falling, let’s be willing to let others in our networks pick us up.
Weekly News Digest - “The Blowhole”
Here’s an interesting opinion piece about scientific literacy among decision-makers
And here’s a moving video I was conflicted about sharing—because coming from an emotional place in the environmental movement so often is met with contempt (a possible future blog perhaps). This video made it big in the U.K. over the holidays:
And an article from Anthropocene about carbon footprints and inequality.
And a hopeful talk called “In Defense of Democracy” by former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi I stumbled on this week. (I don’t agree with him entirely but I think he has important things to say). This was recorded in December of 2022.
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