It is going to be one of those instants, not fully accurate; but as accurate as the minds behind keeping tabs on such things can be.
At 7:16 pm EST Saturday, the great experiment known as humanity will have 6.5 billion participants. The mind reels.
I still have a sticker on one of my notebooks from the year 1999, commemorating the day that we hit the 6 billion mark. I remember celebrating the day with a few friends, a serious foray into intoxication and sobering conversation.
I promise I’m not going to fly off the handle or build up any froth around my mouth, because the truth of the matter is, either this news hits you at some gut level or it doesn’t. I’m testing my resolve here, slipping lightly into the waters of ranting and raving, because ultimately I feel compelled to discuss one small issue.
Sustainability. There, I said it, and I think that’s enough, because either you get it or you don’t.
I’d love to think that the fact that this little moment which is going to happen sometime Saturday evening will be splashed all across the news, and that it will incite hordes of people, who hadn’t given it more than a moments concern, to at least think about the attitude with which we approach the resources allotted us on this small blue sphere.
I’m too much of a realist for that.
What I wish is that I could install a link here that would flash the entirety of Daniel Quinn’s wonderful book The Story of B into your mind real quick.
Instead I’m going to find a friend who hasn’t read it yet and loan them my copy on Saturday.
If you haven’t read The Story of B, or Ishmael yet, then I encourage you to do so. If you don’t have any plans on Saturday, make some, and talk to someone else who gets it. So many times these conversations about the vast horror of possibilities that relate to our contemporary human state feel like they’re just wading around in the same tired circles. Even I get weary of it, but talking about the issues is important, it reinforces your basic precepts and occasionally calls you to consider them from a new angle, or even start from scratch.
So I guess I’m proposing a holiday. It’s a milestone, we might as well celebrate.