We are living in a time of urgency and chaos. Fascism, economic inequality, and environmental degradation are imminent threats that may not leave a world for our children. While we face these fears, we have lost essential tools to combat them. American culture has shifted away from ideas of community and civic unity to embrace a stark individualism that tears apart the social fabric and will lead to the fall of the American Empire. What we are missing is something to hold us together, to give us purpose. For most of human history, up until the Enlightenment, that unifying factor was spirituality and religion. But we, as a society, have lost that force. I myself have lost my religion, lost my faith in god, and my belief in anything supernatural. Though there are still pockets of faith in the world, they aren’t strong enough to hold us all together as a community. We see our religion as an individual belief structure or a personal decision.
So, we do not have the tool that has historically made us believe in community. How can we possibly expect to face or survive the future? No divine force is coming to save us, and our leaders are too divided and devoted to their personal profits to be of any use. The answer I offer, is that we must look to each other and rebuild our sense of connectedness. There is nothing supernatural that can help, there is only you and me together. Ultimately, this world, these little relationships we have together, the love we fall into, the friendships we fight for, and the community we build is something sacred, something holy, and somehow magical. You and I together. And if we can build a new religion of trust and faith in each other, based just on our ordinary, everyday experiences, we might have a chance.