Although many recognize that an individual can be
conscious of him- or herself, we seldom consider whether a whole
society can be conscious of itself. Certainly at moments of
great tragedy or great triumph there seems to be a capacity for
millions of autonomous individuals to be conscious of themselves
as a singular collective. For example, when John F. Kennedy was
assassinated, virtually an entire nation went into mourning. For
a period of several days, a whole country paused and, together,
people acknowledged the passing of their leader. Another moment
of shared knowing occurred with the first lunar landing. For a
few hours, much of the world paused to watch the first humans
walk on the moon. In recent times, the terrorist strike on the
World Trade Towers in New York City shocked a nation's
consciousness into a time of collective attention.
The power of each of these events was not only in the sense
of tragedy or triumph experienced by each person, but also in
the awareness that this personal experience was being shared
simultaneously by millions, even billions, of other people.
Clearly, a civilization can be conscious of itself and, as in
the example of the moon landing, nearly the entire species was
aware that it was passing through a historic moment in its
evolution.
Not only can we be collectively aware, but I
believe the awakening of our collective consciousness at the
scale of community, nation, and the planet is vital if we are to
choose a positive future. An emerging whole-system crisis
threatens humanity's future with powerful trends ranging from
global climate change and unsustainable economic growth to
diminished agricultural productivity, the depletion of cheap
oil, a growing chasm between rich and poor, the extinction of
species, and growing terrorism. Within the next several decades,
we citizens of developed nations will be pressed to awaken to
the world and make profound changes in our manner of living,
consuming, and working if we are to build a sustainable future.
To realize this pattern shift toward a life-affirming future
in a voluntary manner, hundreds of millions of people will be
called to act in conscious cooperation with one another. Can we
accomplish this leap to a new level and capacity in our
collective consciousness? In my estimation, absolutely Yes! I
believe that our core evolutionary potential lies, largely
unnoticed, in the scientific name that we have given to
ourselves as a species. Technically, our name is not simply
Homo sapiens or “wise humans”; instead, we
are called Homo sapiens sapiens or “doubly wise
humans.” In other words, where animals have the capacity
“to know,” humans have the capacity “to know
that we know.”
Personal reflection refers to seeing ourselves in the mirror
of consciousness and observing the unfolding of our lives. By
analogy, social reflection refers to seeing ourselves in the
mirror of collective consciousness by using tools such as
television and the internet. Once there is authentic social
reflection, we can achieve a shared understanding and a working
consensus regarding actions for a sustainable future. With a
shared understanding, actions can come quickly and voluntarily,
and we can each contribute our unique talents to the creation of
a life-affirming future.
How are we to accomplish this awakening of our collective
consciousness? It is important to recall that it was television
that enabled people to share in the large-scale collective
experiences described earlier. We were all looking through the
window of television at the assassination of JFK, the landing on
the moon, and the collapse of the World Trade Towers. The bottom
line is this: I believe that if we are to take practical steps
to awaken our society, then citizens must make their voices
heard in creating a more reflective and responsive television
environment. Although many in the “consciousness
community” have turned away from television in disgust,
the reality is that both in the U.S. and around the planet, the
overwhelming majority of people get most of their news about the
world from this single source. At this pivotal time in human
history, we cannot afford to turn away from the primary
technology that supports expression of our collective
consciousness. Instead, now is the time for: authentic reality
shows that dramatize a future of climate change and species
extinction; situation comedies that show the humorous side of
life in an “eco-village” of fifty or so people;
national interactive dialogues with sustained inquiry about our
energy future; or genuine survivor shows that take us inside
life in poorer nations.
The world is now several decades into the communications
era, and it is time for a mainstream social movement and
politics concerned with media consciousness. Our evolving use of
these powerful technologies is not keeping pace with our
deteriorating planetary conditions. We are losing the race
between awakening and catastrophe. I believe the core challenge
of this generation is to mobilize our extraordinary tools of
local-to-global connection to consciously communicate our way
into a sustainable and meaningful future. It is time for
citizens to take back the public airwaves for purposes of mature
dialogue about our common future and to create a politics of
consciousness that mobilizes our capacity for collective
reflection and conversation. It is time to awaken the double
wisdom of civilizations.
Duane Elgin is an author, speaker, educator, and activist for
media accountability. His personal website is
www.awakeningearth.org and contains his writings as well as
information about his upcoming talks, telecourses, and
workshops. Duane is also the cofounder of the nonprofit
organization Our Media Voice; see: www.ourmediavoice.org