The original heresy is the belief that the earth is not our home, that our real life is somewhere else—whether in heaven or a future technotopia. We embrace this heresy to make sense of that nagging feeling that something is wrong with the world itself. But the real reason we feel this way is because civilization alienates us from everything that makes us human.
Author Archives: John Halstead
Thoughts on Homophobia and Toxic Masculinity from a Straight Father of Bisexual Children
And was there a reason my daughter could come out to us earlier than my son? Something to do with a specifically masculine form or homophobia. Something to do with how homophobia and toxic masculinity are wound up together. Was this maybe something I communicated inadvertently to my son?
Questions for the End of the World
I want to know if you are willing to live, day by day, with the consequence of love and the bitter unwanted passion of your sure defeat.
A Critique of Octavia Butler’s “Destiny”
“The Destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars.” — Parable of the Sower (1993) by Octavia Butler Cover art for Parable of the Sower by John Jude Palencar Editor’s Note: This is a shortened version of a longer essay titled “The Most Dangerous Story Ever Told: Ecological Collapse, Progress, and Human Destiny”,ContinueContinue reading “A Critique of Octavia Butler’s “Destiny””
The Most Dangerous Story Ever Told: Environmental Collapse, Progress, and Human Destiny
As time goes on, more and more of my daily news feed consists of reports of ecological collapse: fires, hurricanes, floods, droughts. It’s increasingly easy to believe the earth is telling us to leave.
Growing is Asking Different Questions
Maybe being a part of religious community means, not necessarily having the same answers, but having the same questions.
What I Left on the Road
This is intended as a creative way to explore the stages by which our civilized identity may be shed during a period of civilizational collapse.
We won’t be the first civilization to collapse — but we may well be the last
“Our civilization’s collapse will be unique in size, magnified by the destructive force of our fossil fuel-driven industrial society. But it will replicate the familiar patterns of collapse that toppled civilizations of the past.”
Here’s What YOU Can Do to Stop Collapse
Nothing. Seriously. Not a goddamn thing.
Collapse and the Stages of Grief
For many people, finding out about the inevitable collapse of civilization is like getting diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Another End of the World is Possible 