Dedicated to the People of Darfur: Writings on Fear, Risk, and Hope

Choices on a Runaway Train

156 ROBERT JENSEN Imagine you are on a train that for many years has been barreling ahead at full speed, always with ample fuel to power the engines. You are seated at the front of the train, in the club car, where there is plenty of food, lots of beverages, and adequate entertainment on board. The pollution generated by the engine passes by your window pretty quickly. The waste generated in the club car either gets tossed out or shoved into cars in the back—in either case, it’s out of sight and out of mind. Over the years and along the way there have been occasional slow-downs and a rare derailment, but from your seat in the club car these have been only minor annoyances. The train has always gotten back on track, staying on schedule , full steam ahead. It has always seemed that the tracks would go on endlessly and that there were enough of all the necessary supplies to keep going, while the waste remained out of sight. From your view in that first-class car, things seemed fine. Then one day, you look out the window and see that, in fact, the tracks end a ways up ahead—at the edge of a cliff. Well, imagine that. Now, imagine living in the developed world in the st century. Imagine that we are on that train, that the consequences of human hubris and FirstWorld excess are coming due. Think about rapid climate change, peak oil, and a toxic environment, in the context of growing global inequality. Ponder the cliff. What are the options of that club-car rider? What risks does each option entail? OPTION #1: Shut the window, ignore the cliff, stay quiet, and order another round of drinks. Choices on a Runaway Train






















CH035.qxd 7/15/09 8:03 AM Page 156 CHOICES ON A RUNAWAY TRAIN 157 If it’s difficult to imagine how the train can be slowed down in time to avoid going over the cliff, it could be argued the rational thing to do is to enjoy what’s left of the ride. But two realities should trouble those who might lean this way. First, how can we know for sure the train can’t be slowed, maybe even stopped? Should we really be so sure there’s nothing to be done? Second, even if there is little or no chance of slowing the train, do we want to be the kind of people who ride in relative luxury while others in the cars behind suffer? OPTION #2: Throw open all the windows, acknowledge the cliff, start shouting , and do things. We live in a time that demands action without guarantees, in both intellectual and moral/political terms. That is, we can’t be sure that we are capable of knowing enough to solve the problems that humans have created in this world. We also can’t be sure that if we did know enough that we have the moral strength to shift politically, to change the distribution of power, in time. That leaves us facing the questions from Option #. First, precisely because we can’t know for sure, our only choice is to act with an understanding that some suffering of the most vulnerable in the short term can be alleviated and that long-term change is potentially within our grasp. Second, by acting, we define ourselves as human beings in the deepest and most fulfilling sense. I offer options starkly in black-and-white terms that, of course, oversimplify the situation. But such over-simplification is useful to remind us of the risks of the two stances. There are two main risks in Option #, one external and one internal. If one speaks openly and honestly about Option #, one is likely to be labeled apocalyptic , unrealistic, sensationalistic. When one talks like that at a party, people tend quickly to find reasons to move across the room. Talk about it too often with friends, and one might find one has fewer friends. Even more difficult is the internal struggle of coming to terms with such a stark view of the world; it’s not easy, and it takes one into intellectual, emotional, and theological space that can be difficult to traverse. In short, the risk of Option # is that people will treat you like you are crazy and that you will feel like you are going crazy. But those risks seem minimal...