The Anthropocene Chronicles:

The End of the Patriarchy

Welcome to the Anthropocene Chronicles. According to recent reports, scientists are about to formally declare a new age in human history—like the Jurassic, the Paleozoic, the Eocene. The defining characteristic of the new epoch is the impact made by human beings; beforehand, the actions taken by people (and our hominid ancestors) were in reaction to societal pressures and evolutionary conflicts. At least until this new period of accelerating change that began in 1952.

Whaddya know, 1952, the year of my birth. According to experts, we are 70 years into the Anthropocene Age, meaning that my entire lifetime has occurred during this era of human invention and consequence.

The good news is that we’re living in a period of self-creation. If the Anthropocene is an epoch of people power, then we don't have to passively accept what has been handed down, as our ancestors sitting by the hearth or peddling from pushcarts once did. In other words, we don’t have to take crap. We can invent our own rules. The bad news is that the new is not just novel—it’s necessary. If we don’t move toward more equality, freedom and conservation, life will end with us.

In this newsletter, I sift through the myths, styles, and norms that have dominated and flamed out over these seven decades. Often, these relics can be traced to their origins in societal structures that have begun to decay. (Hint: see subtitle.) Most of all, this inquiry is personal: it’s a deep dive into my unthinking embrace of the past. Exposing places where I’ve relinquished my conscious choice. In other words, where I’ve taken crap.

This newsletter is about independent thought. It’s not a space for partisanship, tribalism, wokeness or anti-wokeness. But I will be butchering some sacred cows.

Please join me as I bear witness to the Anthropocene Age.

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