Clock of the Long Now

An additional post for week 6: 10,000 Year Clock of the Long Now.

When I read about this in Blessed Unrest, I was intrigued. I finally had time to visit the Clock of Long Now's website, and have decided it is the coolest thing ever! Hawken writes that the clock is an attempt to remind humans of the idea of the future. We are living not just for today but every action we take will affect those farther down the road, just like we are affected by historical events behind us.

The Long Now website states that civilization is revving itself into a pathologically short life-span and some sort of balancing corrective to the short-sightedness is needed to encourage the long term view measured in centuries. This could not be more true. We are driven by fast moving technology and a world of constant new commodities. Even our democracy is short sighted. The election process starts at least a year in advance and when one party replaces another they simply spend their time undoing everything. It is a cycle of stagnant near-sightedness.

Hawken asks, will there be anyone around to hear the clock chime in 12,006? He argues that if you do not believe so then you should not have children, because by having children you are are betting on the Clock of Long Now. If you do place the bet that someone will be around to celebrate when the Clock chimes, how could you possibly not do everything in your power to ensure the generations that precede you will inherit a safe, clean world?

I would like to have hope in the clock of long now, and I think it is a clever tool for thinking about the future. Even if I never have children, I am a proud Aunt to ten adorable children and sure hope their descendants are around when the clock chimes. This is enough for me to try to live as simply as I can, and you should too. Bet on the future.

*Excerpts taken from Paul Hawken, "Immunity," Blessed Unrest (Penguin Books: New York, 2007), 154.