Omar Sakr - About the apocalypse

I think of how the word ‘apocalypse’ has been haunting this past decade as we witness these extreme fires and our cities are smothered in smoke that warps the sun into a malevolent eye. Honestly, I am bored of the word, or at least the Hollywoodesque understanding of ‘apocalypse’ as a single disastrous event: we seem to be waiting for the tsunami, or comet, or volcano eruption, or nuclear disaster to trigger the end of the world. What none of us appear to be reckoning with is the idea that the apocalypse, having begun long since, might last for the entirety of our lifetimes; that we could live through this slow worsening, the poisoning of sky, water, land, and mind as the world heats up, resources become more scarce, and violent conflict spreads.  Ask yourself: what will you do if things don’t get better, and also the world doesn’t end? Who will you show up for, and how?

Sakr, Omar. “Head in the Sand.” Meanjin, December 22, 2019. https://meanjin.com.au/blog/head-in-the-sand/.